Don is simply one of AB?s all time great movies. I usually watch every AB movie more than 10 times, but I think with Don it has passed the 100 mark, in fact I even lost count of the number of times, I seen it.
Don was in the line of successful movies which Amitabh Bachan had in collaboration with Salim-Javed Zanzeer, Deewar, Trishul, Kala Patthar( if we can leave aside the forgettable Imaan Dharam).
Its still a pretty good thriller movie in the double trouble genre and of course the chartbusting number ?Khaike Paan Banaras Wala? which is still a rage even today.
If any one wants proof of Amitabh?s magic, this movie is the best proof. The director of this movie Chandra Barotwas hardly a big name, it didn?t exactly have a conventional story line and AB was the only big star. Yet Don went on to become the biggest hits of 1978.
THE STORY
Don (Amitabh Bachan)is a notorious underworld figure who is wanted by the cops. He is pretty ruthless in his dealings, eliminating any one who comes in his way. One such person is a police informer Ramesh, whose sister Roma ( Zeenat Aman), joins the gang to take revenge on Don.
In the meanwhile Don is shot dead in an encounter with the cops, but the DCP ( Ifthikar)keeps this a secret, as he wants to gather more information. In the mean time the DCP stumbles upon Vijay ( Amitabh Bachan again)who is a spitting look alike of Don and comes up with a plan by which Vijay could infiltrate Don?s gang and help the cops bust it. Not an easy plan, since Vijay is the exact opposite of Don. While Don is suave, urbane, polished, Vijay is a paan chewing country Bhaiyya, who sings on roads for a living.
Though Vijay is reluctant to take the plunge, he does so when the DCP assures him that he will look after the 2 Orphan kids who stay with him. These kids belong to JJ ( Pran)who is a circus acrobat, but thanks to a dirty game played by Don?s gang, ends up a prisoner and cripple. He blames the DCP for his plight, and vows to kill him. The rest of the movie is about how Vijay a.k.a Don infiltrates the gang, unmasks the real mastermind behind the gang, his romance with Roma and how JJ helps him out.
THE MOVIE
Don was not exactly an original story. The idea of a good guy replacing his evil look alike in a gang, to help the cops was tried out earlier in movies like Chinatown( Shammi Kapoor), Saccha Jhuta( Rajesh Khanna) and Kalicharan( Shatrughan Sinha) to name a few and those movies were successful too. But the movie has a very good script penned by Salim Javed, with enough twists and turns to keep you occupied. Just when you feel the story is going in one direction, there comes a new twist which makes you feel intrigued. At no stage do you feel your interest flagging, and you always wonder whats going to happen next.
Don has many good scenes, though the action scenes, look pretty cagey compared to today?s movies. But there are many interesting sequences in the movie
· Chase scenes are well shot, especially the scene where cops chase Vijay through the dhobi ghat.
· The scene where Vijay establishes his innocence with Roma.
· The scene where JJ steals cash from a heavily guarded van.
· The scene where all of Vijay?s attempts to prove that he is not Don but Vijay are in vain is interesting and grabs your attention.
· Also the scene where Vijay feigns to regain his so called lost memory.
· The scene where Vijay comes to know of the real mastermind behind the gang.
· The scene where Vijay and JJ misunderstand each other and get into a fight.
· The scene where Vijay deliberately provokes Shetty into a fight to escape from the cops.
On the flip side some of the action scenes do look very fake, used as we are to realistic action stuff. But like as I told u, the script is interesting enough, to let us not get too bothered about it. Don is certainly one of the better made thriller stuff, and is much better than the inspired thrillers that one regularly finds from the Bhatt factory.
Music
Kalyanji Anandji come up with a great score. And the background music is just great. Most of the movies of the 70?s didn?t have real good background music, and it was same for all movies. But only some did, like Sholay and Don. KA come up with a real great background music score in this movie.
And yes the songs
Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Diwanais a lovely seduction song by Asha Bhonsle, picturized on Helen where she tries to stop Don from leaving.
Yeh Hai Bambai Nagariyais a great song from Kishore da, where he makes gentle fun of Mumbai city. It?s a really good song on Mumbai and accurately represents India?s city of dreams.
Jiska Mujhe Tha Intezaaris a nice duet by Kishore and Lata, picturized on AB and Zeenat. Typical party song type.
Main Hoon Donis one of the chartbuster numbers of the movie, by Kishore again. I remember when AB came into this song, the entire theater erupted into whistles and cheers, and people just went crazy. This song was a great hit that time and every where you went this was played.
Khaike Paan Banaras Walais one of the biggest hit songs of all time. Kishore da?s flawless rendition and AB?s superb dancing made this one of the most unforgettable songs of all time. Mind you AB was not really a very good dancer, but in this songs, he just puts everything into it, and audiences just went crazy over it. Even now in many college functions, many students show off their dancing skills with this song.
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.