With a self-obsessed and boastful lead character, hackneyed plot on a heist and faulty execution Don 2 fails to please the Don fans! - Mansha Rastogi Thu, 22 Dec 2011 After a promotional explosion for Ra.One, astute businessman Shah Rukh Khan kept a slightly low profile for his latest release Don 2 and chose to make his film viral among the youth by coining 'Don'isms. The Donisms turned out to be a hit among the youngsters just like the PJs on Rajinikanth almost turning Don into a separate entity. When I saw Shah Rukh mouthing self-obsessed Donisms too in the movie, I wondered if he too was referring to someone else but himself!
Right from the first scene that has Don's voice over declaring himself to be a king of drug cartels who has all the other cartels across the globe vying to kill him in order to eliminate competition, you know you are in for a self-obsessed and boastful marathon.
The film begins in Thailand where Don becomes aware of his rivals' plans and surrenders himself to the cops of Malaysia Roma (Priyanka Chopra) and Mallik (Om Puri). He goes to jail with an agenda at hand - to escape with Vardhan (Boman Irani) and scheme a master plan that's to rob the money making silver plates from Berlin.
While the original and the remake possessed clever writing, simple plot and brilliant narrative, the sequel turns into a banal thriller on a heist. The film takes an entire first half to establish the premise which could well be shown in a quick succession of various scenes.
The second half that has the heist going on though attracts some attention from the audience however, the climax gets to supremely stretched that one nearly wishes someone to die, either Don, or Vardhan or themselves out of sheer boredom leave alone anyone else!
What's surprising is the complete absence of Farhan Akhtar's filmmaking brilliance. The man who was known for swift narrative, interesting storyline and brilliant dialogues that people would use as catchphrases, appears disinterested in his own product.
There are scenes that almost leave you shocked at the laxity shown while making it. For instance, Hrithik Roshan's cameo, that basically has a 5ft something SRK wearing a mask and turning into a 6ft tall, 6 fingered Hrithik Roshan! It takes only two days for Don to escape from the Malaysian prison with Vardhan by only spiking the food of other prisoners and causing mass food poisoning!
What works for a cinegoer is the shooting brilliance. The action sequences are international standards and the locations are beautifully utilized. It wouldn't be wrong to call Don2 highly stylized. The car chasing scene is absolutely brilliant and keeps you at the edge of your seat. Some of the twists and turns are least predicted and make you use your brains in order to solve the puzzle.
Boman Irani is a saving grace and yet again provides some light-hearted funny scenes. Kunal Kapoor as a hacker is average at best. Lara Dutta, except for a song, two scenes and some fancy outfits, barely adds to the film. Sahil Shroff in his cameo appears wooden.
Priyanka Chopra doesn't get utilized properly. The love chase of Don for Roma is completely unnecessary and Priyanka falters in its execution too courtesy poor writing.
Over all, with the trade buzz of the film being low, unattractive promos and songs that failed to get the mass glued, Don2 might find it hard to get a record making opening or even match up to Ra.One collections!
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