REVIEWS AND PREVIEWS OF: EKLAVYA - The Royal Guard

Eklavya The Royal Guard

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Jimmy Shergill, Boman Irani, Raima Sen
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom.

Yet Eklavya (Amitabh Bachchan), their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty and the king. For nine generations Eklavya's family has protected Devigarh, a centuries old citadel in Rajasthan.

His marksmanships are stuff of legends. His unflinching loyalty inspires ballads. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets but now he's getting old and increasingly blind.

Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan (Saif Ali Khan), has stayed away in London. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi (Sharmila Tagore), forces the Prince back to the kingdom he had left behind.

The Prince's return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princes Nandini (Raima Sen) and his childhood love Rajjo (Vidya Balan) are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived.

There is unrest in the kingdom: Farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jayawardhan (Boman Irani), influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff), supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone.

An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar (Sanjay Dutt), is called into investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the mayhem, the safety guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled.

What follows is a contemporary, edge-of-the-seat dramatic action thriller with a stellar ensemble cast - Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Shergil, Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore. The film marks the return of Vidhu Vinod Chopra who directs after a hiatus of seven years.
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Vinod Chopra's ˜Eklavya' releases February 2007

Vinod Chopra Films' Eklavya – The Royal Guard, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, marks the coming together of a grand multi star cast for the first time. The film is slated for release on 16 February 2007.

Eklavya will see Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore sharing screen space for the first time together.

The music for Eklavya has been provided by Shantanu Moitra, who worked with Chopra for Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai too.

Eklavya - The Royal Guard is a contemporary action thriller is about Eklavya, loyal guardian of a royal dynasty whose duty is to protect the erstwhile royal family in Devigarh, Rajasthan.

The cast of characters includes Prince Harshwardhan (Saif Ali Khan), an irreverent police inspector (Sanjay Dutt), the King's scheming brother (Jackie Shroff), his son (Jimmy Shergill) and the prince's childhood love (Vidya Balan). What follows is a story of deceit, revenge, drama and action.

Set in present day India, the film has a special resonance for today's world, beleaguered by hate and violence born from fanatic belief.

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January 4, 2007
˜Eklavya' gets clean chit from censors



One keeps hearing of indian censors clearing a film with 3/4/5 or more cuts, depending on what they perceive as objectionable in the film. But rarely, in fact very rarely, does a film gets past with a ˜U' certificate [Universal exhibition], with not a single cut.

in the recent past, Priyadarshan's BHAGAM BHAG was okayed by the Central Board of Film Certification with ˜U' certificate and no cuts and now Vidhu Vinod Chopra's EKLAVYA - THE ROYAL GUARD has followed suit. it has been passed with a ˜U' certificate and no cuts.

incidentally, Chopra returns to direction after a gap of seven years, after MiSSiON KASHMiR. Will EKLAVYA go the LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAi way at the ticket window, only time will tell. The film hits the screens on 16th February.

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Eklavya (2006): The Royal Guard (DRAMA)

Eklavya is about this loyal guardian (Amitabh Bachchan) of an ancient royal castle whose duty is to protect those who live within the castle. The guardian vows to burn down all the secrets of the royal family with the holy fire of his own funeral.
Eklavya will be another treat for you to watch. The entire team of Parineeta is featuring in Eklavya including Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen.
Vidya Balan is again playing the role of lead actress in this movie.
In addition, Vidhu Vinod Chopra has roped in Big B to play the title role. The movie also stars Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani and Sharmila Tagore.
Even the crew is same with Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire returning to handle the music and lyrics department while Nataraja Subramanian continuing to be the cinematographer.
Like Parineeta, everyone is expecting Eklavya to be nice, period movie with colorful cast and excellent performances.

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Eklavya (2007)
Movie Information

Movie Name : Eklavya
Tagline : The Royal Guard
Year of Release : 2007
Release Date : 16 February 2007
Genre : Drama

Banner : Vinod Chopra Productions
Presenter : Vir Chopra
Producer : Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Executive Producer : Anil Davda


Director : Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Cast : Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Jackie Shroff, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Jimmy Shergill, Raima Sen, Boman Irani
Cinematographer : Natrajan
Screenplay Writer : Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Abhijit Joshi
Production Designer : Nitin Desai
Action Director : Tinu Verma
Publicity Designer : Rahul Nanda, Himanshu Nanda
PRO : Buzz

Synopsis :
Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom.
Yet Eklavya (Amitabh Bachchan), their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty and the king. For nine generations Eklavya's family has protected Devigarh, a centuries old citadel in Rajasthan. His marksmanships are stuff of legends. His unflinching loyalty inspires ballads. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets but now he's getting old and increasingly blind.
Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan (Saif Ali Khan), has stayed away in London. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi (Sharmila Tagore), forces the Prince back to the kingdom he had left behind.
The Prince's return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princes Nandini (Raima Sen) and his childhood love Rajjo (Vidya Balan) are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived.
There is unrest in the kingdom: Farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jayawardhan (Boman Irani), influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff), supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar (Sanjay Dutt), is called into investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the mayhem, the safety guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled.
What follows is a contemporary, edge-of-the-seat dramatic action thriller with a stellar ensemble cast - Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Shergil, Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore. The film marks the return of Vidhu Vinod Chopra who directs after a hiatus of seven years.

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STILLS FROM EKLAVYA: THE ROYAL GUARD:

Vidya is looking stunning in this movie(EkLavya) as she did in Vivah (saw Vivah last weekend, enjoyed it, a couple of the songs makes an impression)

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quote:

Originally posted by asj:
Vidya is looking stunning in this movie(EkLavya) as she did in Vivah (saw Vivah last weekend, enjoyed it, a couple of the songs makes an impression)

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I didn't know she was in Vivah. I thought that was Amrita Rao. Did Vidya make a special appearance in Vivah?

quote:

Originally posted by Riya:

quote:

Originally posted by asj:
Vidya is looking stunning in this movie(EkLavya) as she did in Vivah (saw Vivah last weekend, enjoyed it, a couple of the songs makes an impression)

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I didn't know she was in Vivah. I thought that was Amrita Rao. Did Vidya make a special appearance in Vivah?

Oops you are correct, I really meant Parineeta, saw both movie last w'end Parineeta and Vivah, have both dvd's and enjoyed both films, Vidya steals the show in Parineeta, was impressed by her performance.

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Character Sketch

Amitabh Bachchan plays the title character of Eklavya, the royal guard of a Raj family
Boman Irani is Rana, the head of the royal family
Saif Ali Khan is Rana's descendant
Vidya Balan is the daughter of Rana's chauffeur and the childhood love of Saif
Raima Sen is Saif's mentally challenged sister
Sharmila Tagore plays Saif's mother
Jackie Shroff plays Saif's uncle
Sanjay Dutt plays a police officer


Trivia
While on the subject, here are some interesting factoids on the film.

Eklavya was earlier titled 'Yagna'. They decided to change the title as Amitabh Bachchan plays the title character, Eklavya.
Shot primarily in Rajasthan, many parts of the film were shot within the premises of the Jaipur Palace whereas the desert sequences were shot in Gajneer.
The film has a large canvas with a budget of around 14 crores. The budget escalated as the entire crew travelled in chartered planes.
To shoot a particular scene, a chopper was required. After the first day of shooting, director Vidhu Vinod Chopra was not happy with the shade of the sky that was being captured on camera. So being the perfectionist that he is, he kept the chopper for another 5 days, till he got the right hue, and canned the perfect shot.
Touted as one of the most visually appealing films, Vidhu Vinod Chopra used 800 camels for the shooting of a particular scene in the film.
The film just goes to bolster Bachchan's immense fan following. A hardcore Amitabh Bachchcan fan walked in the scorching heat of Rajasthan for an astounding 12 days, without food just to catch one glimpse of his favourite star.
The film brings together the real life mother-son team of Sharmila Tagore and Saif Ali Khan onscreen for the first time. Also Sharmila plays Saif's mother in the film. Years back, both Sharmila and Saif were part of the cast of Saif Ali Khan's second film Aashiq Awara but did share any common screen space.
One scene in the movie required Amitabh Bachchan to go inside a swimming pool, blindfolded in search of an ornament. While briefing Bachchan on the scene, Chopra got so involved that he just jumped in the pool, without bothering about his clothes!

Despite a star-studded cast the film has a runtime of approx. 100 minutes only. But with Vidhu Vinod Chopra at the helm of affairs we expect him to do complete justice to each of his movie characters.

The Casts of Parineeta dominate this one: EKLAVYA THE ROYAL GUARD:

ELLAVYA THE ROYAL GUARD

Eros to globally distribute EKLAVYA-The Royal Guard

Bollywood's leading media and entertainment company, Eros International announced that it has formed an alliance with the leading filmmaker Vinod Chopra Films for global distribution of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's much awaited star-studded extravaganza, EKLAVYA – The Royal Guard.

A Vinod Chopra Films release through Eros will showcase a worldwide release of the film Eklavya on February 16, 2007 including day and date releases across India, North America, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and rest of Africa, Mauritius, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Sri Lanka.

Set in the princely state of Rajasthan in India, EKLAVYA is a picturesque epic with a line-up of Bollywood superstars including Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani, Jimmy Sheirgill, Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore.

Kishore Lulla, CEO & Chairman, Eros International, said: "Vinod Chopra is a credit to our film industry and represents the creative DNA of neo-Bollywood. EKLAVYA is our second film with Vinod Chopra Films this year, following Lage Raho Munna Bhai which was a breakout success. Vinod is undoubtedly a film-maker par excellence and Eklavya has all the ingredients to become Bollywood's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Eros is delighted to be marketing and distributing the film globally."

Vinod Chopra, founder of Vinod Chopra Films, said: "My wonderful association with Eros goes back a long way from one of my earlier films 1942 A LOVE STORY. Eros is one of the few companies in the industry, which truly has a global distribution network. It's a pleasure dealing with Eros as they are large yet nimble, well-scaled yet personal."

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Eklavya - The Royal Guard

Eklavya - The Royal Guard
Eklavya is the keeper of secrets; guardian of an ancient dynastic legacy whose duty it is to protect the erstwhile royal family in the once princely state of Rajasthan.

For nine generations his family has protected the Kings of Devigarh, a centuries old citadel in Rajasthan. Eklavya (Bachchan) trains everyday, from sunrise to sunset, with one steadfast goal in mind: protecting the king, the royal legacy and their secrets. In an independent, democratic modern India, the King (Irani) is merely a figurehead; an archaic relic of the past. But this doesn't negate from Eklavya's zeal toward his duty. With the passage of time his marksmanship becomes the stuff of legend, and his unflinching loyalty inspires ballads. But he remains in a self-imposed time warp, and the advent of time means his failing sight and aging body trail his intent.

The arrival of Prince Harshwardhan (Khan), for the deceased Queen's (Tagore) funeral rites brings solace to Eklavya. Harshwardhan is barely tolerant towards the suffocating customs of his land but he feels a strange affection for the aging bodyguard and his eccentricities. But the fragile peace of the land is shattered by bullets. The bloodshed, which ensues engulfs the life of both Eklavya and the Prince. What follows is a contemporary edge-of-the-seat thriller with characters such as irreverent police officer Pannalal Chauhar (Dutt), the king's wily younger brother (Shroff), his murderous son (Shergill), the mentally challenged princess (Sen) and the prince's first love, Rajjo (Balan).

What follows is a story of deceit, intrigue, drama and revenge. Set in present day India, the film has a special resonance for today's world, beleaguered by hate and violence born from fanatical belief. As Eklavya struggles to conceal the family's gravest secrets; and modernity, time and kin conspire against him.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has both directed and produced some of the most intelligent and memorable movies in India. He has, in his time pretty much been there / done that, after all – he garnered a National Award and an Academy Award nomination with his debut An Encounter With Faces. Pioneering gangster flick Parinda, partition epic 1942 A Love Story, thriller Mission Kashmir or the hilarious Munnabhai movies, Chopra equals class. A maverick in every sense of the word - pretty much anything from his stable now is usually always an instant classic. The trailer excites and looks intriguing, and perfectionist Chopra is sure to give us an exhilerating experience.

What's common between 1942 - A LOVE STORY and EKLAVYA?
Joginder Tuteja, IndiaGlitz [Tuesday, January 16, 2007]

Vidhu Vinod Chopra made an epic called 1942 - A LOVE STORY way back in 1994. And now he is back with yet another epic of monumental stature - EKLAVYA - THE ROYAL GUARD. So what's common between the two films?

Well, apart from the obvious wide canvas look and multi starcast that both the films boast, there is also a commonality between the lead heroines of the film. This is because both Manisha Koirala [1942 - A LOVE STORY] and Vidya Balan [EKLAVYA], who play small town women in the respective films, share a common name - RAJJO!

A mere coincidence? Certainly not, especially with VVC at the helm who has more often than not given his heroines a meaty role to play, whether it is Madhuri Dixit [PARINDA] or Neha [KAREEB].

While Manisha's performance in 1942 - A LOVE STORY ranks amongst her Top-5 performances ever, one expects the same from Vidya too who now even shares the character's name.

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Sanjay Dutt with VV Chopra:

Eklavya is a character from the Mahabharat epic. He wanted to learn archery but was refused as a student of the Acharya Drona because of his low shudra caste. Eklavya decided to make an idol out of clay of the guru Drona and learnt by worshipping the idol archery. When Drona found out that Eklavya successfully had learnt archery, he requested Eklavya to cut off his thumb as dakshina to the guru.

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This film is looking so interesting, with all the hype, it seems that Big B will come out on tops of this one:
Royal Family living in a Palace, they have secrets and Big B is the Keeper of the Secrets.

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quote:

Originally posted by asj:
Eklavya is a character from the Mahabharat epic. He wanted to learn archery but was refused as a student of the Acharya Drona because of his low shudra caste. Eklavya decided to make an idol out of clay of the guru Drona and learnt by worshipping the idol archery. When Drona found out that Eklavya successfully had learnt archery, he requested Eklavya to cut off his thumb as dakshina to the guru.

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Eklavya Incident

When Guru teaches his disciples he teaches them equally. That knowledge which he imparts to them is like clear water, whatever color you mix in it, water becomes of the same color. So the weapons are the same - Gadaa, or bow or sword, but when they are in different disciples' hands they take a different meaning, such as Gadaa is same, but when Bheem will take it, it will have different meaning, but when Duryodhan will take it, it will have a completely different meaning. Then what Guru can do?

One day a child named Eklavya came to Drone and requested him to be his Guru for archery. Drone asked him - "Who are you?" Eklavya siaid - "I am Eklavya, the son of Hiranyadhanu, the king of Nishaad." Drone wouldn't take him as his disciple because he was not a Kshatriya, so he said - "Dear child, I cannot take you as my disciple because I am teaching to these Kshatriya princes. I like you but I cannot teach you." Disappointed the young child came back to the forest. He bore no ill-will towards Drone in his mind. but was not happy with him.

Back in the forest he made a figure of Drone out of mud with his own hands. He called him his Guru. Daily he would worship his image of Guru and practice archery. Within a short time he was able to learn archery. His love for archery and his love for his Guru made him think about only archery. He wanted to master the art.

One day Kaurav and Paandav went on a picnic in a forest. They took a dog along with them. The dog entered the forest. He came upon a strange man who was wearing leopard skin, The dog took him as a leopard and started barking. Eklavya sealed his mouth with his seven arrows. Now the dog could not open his mouth. The dog ran away to the place from where he came.

So Drone and children saw a dog coming with his mouth full of arrows. Arjun saw the art of arrows and immediately spoke "Wonderful". Others also got surprised to see him like this. They all went in the direction from where he came. Drone found a boy practicing archery. He asked him - "Did you fill that dog's mouth with arrows?" "Yes" Drone asked him - "Who are you and where did you learn archery?" The boy replied - "My name is Eklavya and I am the son of Nishaad Raaj Hiranyadhanu (an army chief in Jaraasandh's army). Please accept my respects, Guru Dev."

Drone got surprised to hear this and said - "But I have never seen you, nor I have ever taught you." Eklavya said - "Yes, You have not given education to me but I have taken education from you only." And he took them where he had established his Guru's statue (Drone's statue). Drone had another surprise. Eklavya said - "I learn archery by greeting your feet. Whatever you taught to these princes, I used to see it standing in hiding and practicing it later."

Duryodhan asked - "Will you be my friend." Eklavya said - "If Magadh and Hastinaapur will be friends then I will surely be your friend."

Drone loved Arjun very much and he wanted him to be the best archer in the world. He saw another future better archer in Eklavya, so he said - "Do you know that when you learn something from the Guru, you will have to pay Guru Dakshinaa? Because without paying it the education is incomplete. Won't you give Guru Dakshinaa?" "Yes, Why not, please order me." Drone said - "Then give me your right hand thumb." All children stood stunned hearing such Guru Dakshinaa, but Eklavya immediately picked up a knife and cut his right hand thumb and offered it to Guru's feet without any hesitation. [Even today, the people from that tribe do not use their right hand thumb while using their bow and arrow.]

Do not think that the film has any historical relations to the Mahabarat.

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http://www.eklavyatheroyalguard.com/

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Jimmy Shergill goes negative in EKLAVYA

For all those who complained that Jimmy Shergill was always seen as Mr. Nice in each of his films, there is a reason to rejoice. This is because the young man has turned negative with vengeance in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's upcoming film 'Eklavya - The Royal Guard'.

Set in contemporary times, the film is about a King [Boman Irani] and his brother [Jackie Shroff]. While Jackie schemes for years to overthrow the King and take his place, Jimmy [Jackie's son] plays a violent man who supports his father in his endeavor.

In addition, he also jealous of Saif Ali Khan [Boman's son] and hates his own status as a minor role.

Looking forward to you in a different garb, Jimmy!

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SO FAR WE HAVE REVIEWS FOR:

1) KAABUL EXPRESS

2) BAABUL

3) DHOOM 2

4) GURU

5) SALAAMI ISHQ OPENS 01/25/07

6) LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI

7) EK LAVYA THE ROYAL GUARD

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Eklavya - The Royal Guard new promo

Exlavya - X-clusive trailer

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Eklavya - Full Length Teaser Trailer

Farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jayawardhan (Boman Irani), influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff), supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar (Sanjay Dutt), is called into investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the mayhem, the safety guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled.

WE ANXIOUSLY AWAIT THIS ONE WITH ITS NUMEROUS STAR CASTS:

NEXT WE LOOK AT DON 2 THE CHASE BEGINS:

BOLLYWOOD MOVIE REVIEWS:PAGE 6 DON THE CHASE BEGINS

Don - Khaike Paan

Don - Morya Re

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Don - Aaj Ki Raat

Don - Kareena in Yeh mera dil (High Quality)

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WE HAVE SERENADE YOU WITH THE NEW DON: NOW WE WILL FURTHER ENTERTAIN YOU WITH GEMS FROM THE OLD DON: ENJOY

Yeh mera Dil- Don [old]

Oh man, Helen was sizzling: great outfit, sexy but not nude:

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OLD DON: KI HAI BAMBAI NAGARIYA TU DEKH BABWA

MOVIE REVIEW: DON - THE CHASE BEGIN (2006)

Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani
Director: Farhan Akhtar
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Ishaa Koppikar, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Chunky Pandey (Special Appearance)
Music Director/s: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

A police officer (Shah Rukh Khan) is working undercover as a Don, trying valiantly to capture a gang of ruthless people. However, things go wrong and he is murdered. The police now have to maintain his cover, so they find a duplicate paan-eating street layabout (Shah Rukh Khan), and recruit him into the force. He is trained in all aspects of the law, by a renowned officer (Arjun Rampal), and soon finds himself undercover in the same gang as his predecessor.

His job is to bring down the gang and arrest or kill all its members. This plan is put in jeopardy, when his only child is kidnapped by a rival gang, and his senior officer is killed.

He is now on his own...

Talented director Farhan Akhtar churns out his third film, after the huge success of debut Dil Chahta Hai, and the critically acclaimed Lakshya. Farhan's films have always had a professional look and feel, one of the pivotal points of success for Dil Chahta Hai, which was appreciated by the mass of youths. Lakshya was creatively well made, and had a telling story, but it wasn't something that the audience wanted, therefore it sustained minimal success.

Farhan Akhtar has so far worked with industry's elite, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Amitabh Bachchan, to name a few. Now it's the turn of the biggest star of them all, Bollywood's King Khan, the versatile Shah Rukh Khan.

Shah Rukh Khan is himself hoping to continue his success in Bollywood, with imminent threat from Abhishek Bachchan, hovering on the horizon. He has been threatened before in his career, be it Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan or Hrithik Roshan, but prevailing always.

But the threat of Abhishek Bachchan is far more worrying, as Aby's Baby has father Amitabh Bachchan tendering a hand from behind. Taking on Indian cinema's legend is probably a little too much for Khan. So once again in his career, Shah Rukh Khan has to prove a point, and win the battle...

Priyanka Chopra is playing the leading lady for the first time opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The film also features Kareena Kapoor in a dance number and cameos from Chunky Pandey and Om Puri.

Musical trio Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy have recreated some of the magical tunes of the original, including the highly popular Khaike Paan Banaras Wala. Udit Narayan has vocalised with Shah Rukh Khan tendering a few lines.

The film's story is very similar to the original but it has been updated for the current era.

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Movie Review
Don - Worth a Chase

Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz

I don't think Remaking an iconic film is a good idea. For when the earlier film is so clearly etched in your mind, it gets difficult for the uber-cool-style-flick new version o erase the nostalgic quotient of the original.

That's exactly what happens with Farhan Akhtar's tribute to the original ˜Don' co-written by his dad Javed Akhtar along with Salim Khan a good silver jubilee years ago. Comparisons are inevitable. No, Shahrukh Khan doesn't match up to Amitabch Bachchan's versatile performance. But yes, it's great to see SRK enacting a negative character after a long time.

And trust me...He makes Bad look Cool...As for ˜Don' then it's most certainly not the best film made this year and yes it does have its high points, especially the climax. No baby, I can't reveal that! Also...get ready for the announcement of the sequel...Soon....

Mr Malik was the surprise packet in Chandra Barot's original while there's some other ˜insider' who completely zaps you this time around. I won't reveal it for it will spoil the fun. Jasjit's character had been immortalized by an old-n-haggard Pran sahib whereas here you have a younger Arjun Rampal doing the honors in a dignified manner.

Kareena Kapoor sizzles in the ˜Yeh Mera Dil' number in Helen's place. She looks gorgeous alright. Priyanka Chopra's Roma is a tough chick who would do anything to avenge her brother Ramesh's death from the evil Don. Chopra girl seems to have worked hard on learning the Charlie's Angels martial-arts-chops and the effect shows. When she is not hunting with the men, she takes time out to scorch the dance floors with her ˜Aaj Ki Raat' shake-a-leg number.

Boman Irani competently enters Iftiqar sahab's DCP Desilva shoes. In fact his role has more to it than you've geared up for. So, stay put for a surprise. Isha Koppikar as Anita is wasted.

It's left to Shahrukh Khan to drive the beauty cars, flirt with the damsels, kill as if he is poison, tinker with his designer watch to trigger a bomb somewhere and sound sinister when he is getting over confident. In the Vijay mould, he is good with his one-liners and then ˜Khaike Paan Banaraswala' in Malaysia is like ice-in-the-bhang. Of course he can never speak Avadhi like Big B. But then SRK has his own style that he puts in with 100% energy in everything that he does with a hell lot of conviction.

A lean-mean-and-gym-toned physique makes him look a hunky dude that you'd love to watch. In fact, I would love to watch him in this baddie avatar as compared with all the sugary-romances that he has been doing oh-so-repetitively.

Farhan Akhtar's direction carries a lot of polish. He is definitely one of the finest directors that we have today. His command over technique as well as storytelling is extremely-compelling. But where he flounders in ˜Don' is the pace of the film. A pacy thriller is something one was looking forward to. Instead, the three hour plus length of the film is a let down. It can be trimmed by at least half an hour. A few of the dialogues carry a lot of punch while there are still others that sound archaic. At several junctures the technical tomfoolery extinguishes plausibility. I for one fail to understand even in the original Don' as to why the boss has to personally go for a meager job as exchange of bags. Beats me!

Music by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy is praiseworthy for the retention of the retro feel on 1980s numbers in ˜Aaj Ki Raat' and ˜Main Hoon Don'. The remixes of ˜Khaike Paan Banaraswala' and ˜Yeh Mera Dil' don't really match the original although they are good attempts. The ˜Don' theme track by Medieval Punditz is the highlight of the hip-n-happening background music score. Cinematography by Mohanan is spectacular in every sense of the word while special effects at Red Chillies EFX is first rate. Fight sequences have been choreographed in a stylish manner. It can match the best in the world.

˜Don' is worth a watch for the younger remix-n-sms generation who love their bhelpuri with ice cream and who haven't seen Big B's original. You may not enjoy it in totality but still it's a fun-fare in more ways than one. It's not great cinema. And I guess Farhan never pretended that he had set out to make one. But coming from the maker of spectacular ˜Dil Chahta Hai' ˜Don' is a disappointment. Here's hoping to something original and refreshingly different the next time around.

Rating: ***

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