Duniya phir jeetne aaya Don. He is back. Back with a bigger agenda. Helmed by Farhan Akhtar, Don 2 is a sequel to Don (2006), which again came from the Farhan Akhtar-SRK duo.
The Plot
Asia’s drug mafia is no more an issue for Don (Shahrukh Khan). He is all done with either eliminating or sidelining (read imprisoning) his rivals and opponents. He is now game to gain a better jackpot. Whatever the means, the desired outcome obviously is huge money. So huge that he can continue ruling the world and take the European mafia under control. Vardhan (Boman Irani) comes into picture again, because Don wants him to. Roma (Priyanka Chopra) is always there planning to put an end to Don’s reign.
Result: Don wins, again. How? Watch the movie.
Analysis
Farhan Akhtar deserves a pat for attempting this. Don 2 is purely his vision, only the characters are retained from the original but not the entire plot. Ignore the borrowing from Hollywood movies, almost every filmmaker does that. You take time to sync in the first 30 minutes, but later you are into it waiting for Don to hatch the plan. There are ample of chase-run sequences and some unexpected twists in the tale. Then at a certain point the movie gets predictable but remains bearable. Though there is scope in the script to make it racy and engaging, Farhan kept the movie to the point.
Thanks to the editor, there were no exaggerations or forced romantic tracks. The dialogues were casual and wise that you’ll fall in love with the coolest Don of Bollywood. Choice of locations was amazing. Cinematography was brilliant and significantly enhances the movie watching experience. Thumbs up to the background score.
Actors
SRK was good. I, for the first time, liked him and his style. Thankfully, he isn’t cracking senseless jokes or dancing around the trees this time. Though the characters of G.One and Rahul were haunting him here and there, his body language and dialogue delivery were reasonable. Not a thumbs down.
Priyanka and Lara looked elegant. Lara dazzled in her limited role. Priyanka should have worked more on emoting and even dialogue delivery. After watching Angelina doing action movies, you always feel the need to complain on others.
I don’t think anyone except Boman Irani would have played Vardhan so well. He has his own witty style. Kunal Kapoor did his bit well. Om Puri and Aly Khan were apt.
Hrithik Roshan appeared, and I was like, wow! He was so admirable, poised, and you want him to be there playing Don for some more time or probably for the whole movie. If you ask me, who better than SRK can be a cool Don, it is undeniably Hrithik!
Final word
If dealt with more care, it could’ve turned out to be an action thriller. Don 2 could be watched for its smartness and style. You need to be generous to ignore few occasional hiccups. I will go with 3 out of 5.
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Great, now I can go and watch the film at peace, was a little disappointed with the Ra.On outing and was hesitant about this one, though the SRK fan in me will go anyway, but after reading this review, I can take the chance earlier.
I am so unsure why the cinema industry is churning out terrible movies these days. It’s a sad situation.