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		Home > Bollywood Movie Reviews > Don New Don Makes Bad Look Good APK | October 22, 2006 Rating: **1/2 (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad) Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Isha Koppikar, Om Puri, Chunky Pandey, Pawan Malhotra, Boman Irani, Sushma Reddy, Diwakar Pundir and Others. Choreography: Farah Khan, Prabhu Deva, Saroj Khan, Ganesh Hegde & Rajeev Soorti. Cinematography: Mohanan. Dialogues: Farhan Akhtar & Salim Khan. Editing: Anand Subaya & Neil Sadwelkar. Screenplay & Lyricist: Javed Akhtar. Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Story Javed Akhtar & Salim Khan. Direction: Farhan Akhtar. Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani. Banner: Excel Entertainment. Release Date: 20th October, 2006. When the 'Badshah' wants to don the mantle of the 'Shahenshah', then he literally dons it. Don's stylish, slick promos and pix fired the audiences' imagination, but people (especially the old Don's enthusiasts and Amitabh fans) were still skeptical about SRK chewing pan and mouthing awadhi like the UP based Bachchan. Writer-director Farhan Akhtar who adapted it from the Salim-Javed original must have sensed it, as he took a few creative liberties to suit SRK's style and image. We all liked him as the bad guy in Darr and Baazigar, but even there those characters gained sympathy. Don is ruthless, cunning and, yes, he has that trademark laugh. Plot Don (SRK) is a cocaine king working for Singhania (Rajesh Khattar), while his rival Vardhan's identity is not known to the police. DCP DSilva (Boman Irani) is after Don and his disc containing all the info regarding their deals and bank accounts. He manages to capture an injured and ropes in Don's look-alike Vijay to get into his business and act as his spy to get the info. Now Vijay is taking care of Deepu, a lost kid who is actually Jasjit's (Rampal) son. Rampal was framed for robbery because of DSilva and is after his blood and gets hold of the disc, while DSilva dies and the only proof that Vijay is not Don is gone-and the mad rush to get the disc begins. Does Vijay get to prove his innocence, and where is Vardhan? The rest of the story unfolds thus to a new climax. Story, screenplay and direction The story is a classic-but has been changed considerably, especially the twist towards the end. Farhan's direction and snail pace suited the likes of a movie like Dil chahta hai, but an action thriller like Don needs a little more speed, and just cannot afford to drag. Without even comparing it to the original, if we look at the new Don, it still does not exactly entertain throughout, and drags here and there. The music just falls flat, but the action sequences are interesting. The car chase where Don gets his memory back, the final scenes leading up to the arrest of Vardhan are good. This climax suits SRK better, and all the classic Don lines-"Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi, na munkin hai" or "Don ke dushmano ki ek hi galti hai, ki who Don ke dushman hai" are super cool and stylish. Performances SRK as Don. Well, if you've watched and loved the original, you will squirm in your seat as you watch Shah Rukh as Vijay. Any good Hindi movie lover will know that Vijay is the Big B and Rahul is SRK. No confusion there. So to watch SRK as Vijay is where the problem begins and ends. But thankfully, Vijay has little to do in this changed and modified script, and watching the evil Don make bad look good is entertaining. Priyanka as Roma seems on a roll, first Krrish and now Don. She has put in lots of hard work, be it the acting part or the action sequences, and the result is good. She still has to get there, but she is nearer than ever before, as she is consistent and improving with each movie. Isha Koppikar is an actor with a lot of potential, but wasted as Anita in a blink-and-miss role. Boman Irani does full justice to his role, while the surprise package is Arjun Rampal. First it sounded unbelievable-that a stone-faced hunk was playing the role originally played by the veteran Pran, but he gives it his best shot, and does not disappoint. Kareena's part is disappointing, and the song 'Ye mera dil' just falls flat, if you've even caught a glimpse of the original with Helen. And the verdict is.. It can be looked at in two ways-as a completely new flick for the younger lot who haven't seen the old Don, or for those who grew up with AB as Don alias Vijay, and all his paan-chewing and comic histrionics. The first way, this stylish and evil Don will set a few fashion trends, but that's about it. With the pace and narration of the movie, having a repeat audience like for all the mushy SRK movies is difficult. For those who loved the original, they might not be able to digest the new Don. But with SRK's magnetic charisma and immense star power, and curious crowds wanting to see this classic remake, a one-time watch is guaranteed.