DON 2 REVIEW

Director :	Farhan Akhtar
Music :	Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca, Shankar Mahadevan
Lyrics :	Javed Akhtar
Starring :	Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani and Om Puri

Farhan Akhtar has taken credit for the dialogues, direction and story of DON 2. This, apart from being in the production team. Farhan, as we all know, has set very high standards in Bollywood. So DON 2, which has no story, dialogues which are 'college class' and no direction comes as a surprise.

No, in fact it is a huge blow because this is not something that you expect from a Farhan Akhtar. DON 2 is as bad as the recent duds like SHAKAL PE MAT JA, BE-CAREFUL, and MILEY NAA MILEY HUM, to name a few.

Let me start from the beginning. For the first 15 minutes, you are clueless. The next 15 minutes you are trying to fathom what exactly is going on the screen. For the remainder of the film, you are left numb with disbelief.

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Shah Rukh Khan tries too hard. There is no aura of a Don around him. Nothing sinister even though he tries bloody hard. Priyanka Chopra is left mouthing, 'Oh my God,' 'Really,' and 'I'm on my way.' She is not convincing as the character she plays and is as clueless as Farhan and SRK. Om Puri looks as stunned as the rest of the cast while a role etched out for Kunal Kapoor is laughable. Even Aly Khan who was impressive in a movie released two weeks ago, JO HUM CHAHEIN (Featuring two debutants), is left groping in the dark. Boman Irani, what have they Don(e) with you!
The beginning itself is a bummer. Everyone wants Don dead and the Malaysian cartel where he is king has been given a deal by gang lords in Europe to finish off Don so that they have a network there. This is because Don has now set his sights on Europe. There is a gun (automatic weapon) pointed at Don's head and he is surrounded from all sides. So what do these guys do? They indulge in dialogue baazi and in the clumsiest of action moves Don triumphs. C'mon Farhan, this is an action flick. Make it believable!

There is no fear in the moment. Another low-point is Don surrendering and being imprisoned in a maximum high security prison in Malaysia. His escape from there with Vardhan (Boman Irani), in the most comical way is more annoying than sinister. It's like a Tom and Jerry show. But even in a Tom and Jerry show you marvel at the innovative ideas of the two characters to get at each other.

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A third most disappointing factor is the use of Hrithik Roshan. OK, even if you have to use him as a face mask, at least don't show his double thumb. This way we will think he is a part of the cast!
And yes, there is a hint of Don 3 making its way...

Ratings : 1/5