"Don-2" Movie Review

"Don-2" is Shah Rukh Khan's second film for 2011 and could do better than "Ra.One" despite low-key publicity. Farhan Akhtar's films and scripting caliber are always something to look forward to - he rarely loses his mojo. After the success of Don, he and chum Ridesh Sadhwani seem well-determined to enhance the franchisee value of "Don" - and they do reasonably well in capturing the original mo...od of Don in this sequel. Shah Rukh Khan looks comfortable in his skin - and swagger and swashbuckle come naturally to him in the movie as he mouths many pithy one-liners - he packs a punch in many of the garbs he puts on in the film - first as a Thai prisoner (in an adorable hermit-like Samurai) and later as the metrosexual and suave Don. Treatment of the film is the same as that of the first - slow-moving but steady and slick action sequences and the song numbers that burst out lately. Bomman Irani doesn't get a role he deserves but others like Kunal Kapoor and Nawab Shah do better. Priyanka Chopra gets as meaty role as possible as a cop out to nab Don while for Lara Dutta - she doesn't get anywhere even if she shows more skin than Priyanka Chopra. The plot of the film is a little less multi-layered than "Don" as the scene shifts from Asia to Europe where Don wants to rule now. I wonder if thats what all Dons are thinking right now - Don's job is to get the plates to print the Euro in Berlin from a German Bank DCB. I wonder if thats true again - I thought Brussels office of the ECB prints the Euro - but lets leave that. The scene then shifts mostly between Zurich and Berlin for the rest of the movie and shows how the heist is performed with perfect execution by Don and team. No twist in the tail here unlike the original - and thats what leaves the fans with a uni-dimensional flavor - an uber cool James Bond project disguised as Don-2 with car chases and fights that get the gut minus romance. 146 minutes of boyhood adventures minus "real" girl stuff is what Farhan Akhtar dexterously weaves with superb help from Editing, Cinematography (someone called James West who is truly outstanding) and music. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy score magnificently on BGM but their songs are not that hummable as "Aaj Keee Raaaaat..." (Don). The surprise thats worth the movie's weight in gold is Hrithik Roshan's brief cameo before the interval. Watchable once for the effort and the scale of execution but repeated viewing I doubt. Shah Rukh fans can atleast rejoice he is ending 2011 better than what he struck you in the middle with.

"My Name is Khan" movie (Hindi)

"My Name is Khan" after all the controversies is surprisingly good film - with powered performances by Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. Karan Johar scores new high with a better story and crisp screenplay (Syed Field helped?). Its just a bit longer with low mass appeal. The movie may resonate more than recent movies on 9/11. Good music apart, you get to see San Francisco closer in multiplex. And its a movie which may bond with American audiences than here.