Friday, December 23, 2011

Don 2


Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Kunal Kapoor 
Direction: Farhan Akhtar

Don 2 was officially tagged with the title "The King is Back", don't know about the King, but Don is surely back. And back with charm, elan and flamboyance. One of the most technically sound action films to come out this season has to be this. The VFX and action sequences are not just thrown into your face for getting some muscle on it, instead the performances are enhanced with the addition of those scenes.



The film starts off with a piece where a conspiracy is being hatched to bump off Don, who is now a vulnerability more than a strength for them. Feelers are soon sent to the poised gangster at large, Don does know how to avoid a certain kill. Roma (Priyanka Chopra) is now a full-time shirt-wearing police officer, CBI officer Mallik (Om Puri) calls her to his room and informs her that he is soon going to retire. Mallik's proud of his record of booking over hundred criminals, but Roma reminds him of that one guy that he couldn't catch. No prizes for guessing. 

Next thing you know, he shows up to surrender himself to the cops & seeks asylum in jail. It is this prison where Don meets Vardhan (Boman Irani) his nemesis, they don't share any pleasantries. Has Don ever remained confined? Then why would he do that? How will he survive with an alarming danger to his life, in the inside & outside world? Don has some plan all along, but you won't realize what that comprises of.

He can still waltz & woo women, multitasking with gathering information. I won't reveal the plot any further, as this film goes on a slow, building pace until the interval. The second half is where you witness the enamour & the shocking ease with which Don goes about his business. Even in moments of helplessness, Don is never really pinned down. His love for "Junglee Billiyan" is still the same. He likes to hear love stories even in tense situations, but you never really question him since he has a wicked sense of humour and wit that could catapult the people at the receiving end into fury. This story is about Don, and Farhan Akhtar prefers to put it that way. Shahrukh's character grows with you, almost to point you know that even an approaching bullet won't be quick enough to go into his chest, of course that doesn't happen, not Matrix or South Indian gravity defying here.

The "other guys" have their own traits here too, Samir Ali (Kunal Kapoor) a young crook works at bristling speed while hacking into machines, but likes his share of lollipops against Don's cigarettes. Boman Irani puts up the mean guy act very well, Sahil Shroff and Om Puri don't have much to do. Priyanka holds her own and shows that she's still the same tough chick. The 3D factor is quite insignificant as there is not enough of those weird graphics, a normal print would have sufficed. Violence is almost gracious with all the limited, but important punches and kicks. The editing department puts up a great job with the unveiling of several secrets throughout the course of two and a half hours. The dialogue is articulate and quirky, syncing with Don's antics. Farhan has given us yet another exuberant film with a lot of perfect spots.

Don 2 is just that film that kind of a film that the Hindi film industry needed after hits and misses from various genres. A good way to end the year, you won't complain even if you aren't a SRK or Farhan fan.  
  
Ratings: 

Review by Rohan Valecha


3 comments:

tushar rane said...

A good way to end the year, you won't complain even if you aren't a SRK or Farhan fan!! perfect!! as many of my frnds who hated srk in ra.one and pledged to never see his movie again, praised his performance in DON2 and also d movie as a whole!
good review btw ...gr8 work pucca critic! :D

dashy said...

As said by grate srk ,, he loves action,villain role rather den being taggd as only a romantic guy,,,

Rohan-The Piper said...

Thanks for dropping by. He's done a fine job.