Masand's verdict: Don, such a con

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Rajdeep Sardesai

Television, for politicians with a vision

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Keywords: Review, Don

Direction: Farhan Akhtar

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal and Boman Irani

Less than 24 hours since I returned from that screening of Jaan-e-mann, I was back inside those darkened halls, this time to watch director Farhan Akhtar's Don, his remake or his contemporary version - whatever he likes to call it - of the 70s Bachchan starrer.

Having watched the original Don many, many years ago, it had been on my mind for more than a few weeks now, to revisit the original film once again, perhaps on DVD, before watching the new Shah Rukh Khan remake, but eventually I decided against it. I think it's important to watch each film independently and to judge it on its own merits. And in all honesty, that's the approach I finally took while watching and critiquing Farhan's film.

I trust you're more or less familiar with the plot, but here goes nonetheless: Shah Rukh Khan plays a slick underworld kingpin who the police force in 11 countries is in hot pursuit of. After successfully dodging the cops across the world, Don is eventually, fatally injured in an encounter with the police here in India.

The officer assigned to the case, Boman Irani sees an opportunity to uncover the entire mob ring by replacing Don with a look-alike - a local simpleton - who infiltrates the mafia. It's when that officer Boman Irani gets killed, that the real problem arises because he was the only man who knew that the real Don is dead, and that this guy is actually a police mole. Now to this premise add a few more vital characters and a handful of new twists, and lo you have it - Farhan Akhtar's take on that vintage hit.

I understand that your daddy co-wrote the original film and that you've actually paid money to acquire the remake rights of the earlier picture, but I still have to ask, what gives director Farhan Akhtar the right to indulge himself like a child in a candy store? If his very basic reason to remake Don was because it has such an enduring story, then why tinker around with it pointlessly?

Characters in the new film are poorly developed, case in point, Arjun Rampal as the avenging angel who you learn in flashback was a software engineer who was bullied into stealing diamonds from a millionaire's safe. One moment he's helping people change their computer passwords, next moment he's scaling a skyscraper and breaking an entry with the ease of a pro.