Don: The Chase Begins Again is a 2006 Indian action film directed by
Farhan AkhtarFarhan Akhtar is an Indian filmmaker, script writer, actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer in Hindi cinema and a television host.His directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi...
. It is a remake of the 1978 film
DonDon is a 1978 Indian action film, produced by Nariman Irani and directed by Chandra Barot, with music by Kalyanji Anandji and lyrics by Anjaan. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran, Iftekhar, Helen and Om Shivpuri, Satyen Kappu and Pinchoo Kapoor. It was the third-highest grossing...
. The film is produced by Farhan Akhtar and
Ritesh SidhwaniRitesh Sidhwani is a Bollywood film producer, who founded a film production house under the banner of Excel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd...
under their home banner
Excel EntertainmentExcel Entertainment is an Indian film studio based in Mumbai. It was created by Farhan Akhtar, and Ritesh Sidhwani in 1999. The two have gone on to create several films under Excel's banner.-Farhan Akhtar:...
. The film stars
Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
,
Priyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
,
Arjun RampalArjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
,
Ishaa KoppikarEesha Koppikhar , born Isha Koppikar, is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Koppikhar married her longtime boyfriend Rohit Narang on 29 November 2009.-Background:Koppikhar was born in Mumbai, India, hailing from the Konkani speaking Chitrapur...
,
Boman IraniBoman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2000 at the age of 44 with a role in Josh...
and
Kareena KapoorKareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
in a guest appearance. The film was selected to be screened at the Berlin Film Festival. and was released in India and internationally on 20 October 2006. The film was the fifth highest grossing film of 2006 in India, grossing over 104 crores worldwide.
Plot
In 2006, the drug trade is booming. The Malaysian Intelligence and Anti-Narcotic Department are called upon for assistance by their Indian counterparts. The Indian team is headed by DCP D'Silva (
Boman IraniBoman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2000 at the age of 44 with a role in Josh...
), who wants to break the drug operations of a drug lord named Singhania. Helping him along the way is Malik (
Om PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
). He believes that capturing Singania's most dangerous and elusive lieutenant, Don, (
Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
), will be the most effective way of accomplishing this. Don's gang consists of Anita (
Ishaa KoppikarEesha Koppikhar , born Isha Koppikar, is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Koppikhar married her longtime boyfriend Rohit Narang on 29 November 2009.-Background:Koppikhar was born in Mumbai, India, hailing from the Konkani speaking Chitrapur...
), his girlfriend, and Narang (Pawan Malhotra). Soon, Roma (
Priyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
) joins them, but she has other plans - kill Don; Don was responsible for killing her brother Ramesh, as well as his fiancee, Kamini (
Kareena KapoorKareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
in a special appearance).
During a police chase, Don is fatally injured and captured by D'Silva. D'Silva keeps it a secret that he has captured Don and proceeds to track down a Don look-alike, a singer named Vijay (also played by Shahrukh Khan). He asks Vijay to infiltrate Don's gang by pretending to be Don. In return, he will make sure that the child Vijay found and adopted, Deepu (
Tanay Chheda), gets a proper education. Meanwhile, Deepu's real father Jasjit (
Arjun RampalArjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
), who has just been released from prison, sets out in search for his son and to get his revenge on DCP D'Silva, who had arrested him and prevented him from rescuing his wife and child from blackmailers.
D'Silva trains Vijay and admits him to the same hospital Don is in, supposedly in a coma. He surgically gives Vijay all the scars and birthmarks the real Don has on his body. Don suddenly dies of heart failure in front of D'Silva and the doctors. While Vijay infiltrates Don's gang, D'Silva is killed in a fire blast. Vijay is forced to run from the police, and pursues a disc that is the last piece of evidence of Don's criminal activities, a disc which can get Vijay out of this mess and prove to the police that he is Don's lookalike, not Don himself.
Vijay convinces Roma that he is not Don and the two fall in love. Through various plot twists, Vijay recovers the disc. Eventually, it surfaces that D'Silva is alive and had staged his death. He is actually Vardhan, a notorious underground criminal with a grudge against Singhania, who he eventually ends up killing. Vijay then arranges a meeting with Vardhan and assists in his capture.
In a final twist, it emerges that the real Don is still alive, and was pretending to be Vijay. He had killed and replaced Vijay while in the hospital and took his place; it was actually Vijay who had died of heart failure in front of Vardhan (DCP D'Silva), not Don. He had also been acting out his "love" for Roma as Vijay, which Roma realizes too late. In the end, Don escapes with Anita, bewildering both police and Roma.
Cast
- Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
as Don / Vijay
- Ishaa Koppikar
Eesha Koppikhar , born Isha Koppikar, is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Koppikhar married her longtime boyfriend Rohit Narang on 29 November 2009.-Background:Koppikhar was born in Mumbai, India, hailing from the Konkani speaking Chitrapur...
as Anita
- Boman Irani
Boman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2000 at the age of 44 with a role in Josh...
as DCP D'Silva / Vardhaan
- Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
as Roma
- Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal , born 26 November 1972, is an award-winning Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films, as well as a fashion model.- Film career :...
as Jasjit
- Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
as Malik
- Pawan Malhotra as Narang
- Diwakar Pundir as Ramesh
- Rajesh Khattar as Singhania
- Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
as Kamini
- Tanay Chheda as Dipu
- Sushma Reddy
Sushma Reddy is an Indian model, VJ, and scriptwriter.-Early life:Sushma Reddy graduated in Economics from Mithibai College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She has two sisters, Meghna Reddy and Sameera Reddy. She completed filmmaking course from NYFA in US....
as Geeta (Special appearance)
- Chunkey Pandey as Teja aka TJ (Special appearance)
Production
Eighty percent of the movie was shot in Malaysia, and was filmed around the tropical
LangkawiLangkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border...
island as well as the
Petronas Twin TowersThe Petronas Towers are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
and the Jalan Masjid India area, which is the "
little IndiaLittle India may refer to:* India Square, a neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey also called Little India or Little Bombay* Little India , an ethnic enclave of Indian expatriates.* Little India , periodical started in 1991...
" of
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
Akshay KumarAkshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
was offered the role of Jasjit but he rejected it saying he might have accepted if he had been offered the part of Don.
Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
and
Priyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
underwent special martial arts training for their roles in the movie.
Soundtrack
The music was released on 26 August 2006 by T-Series, at the Inorbit Mall, Malad, Mumbai. Over 30000 people attended the function.
The film has seven songs composed by
Shankar-Ehsaan-LoyShankar–Ehsaan–Loy are an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. Record producers, musicians and multi-instrumentalists, they have composed music for over fifty soundtrack across four languages...
. Two of the original songs, "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" and "Yeh Mera Dil" were remade for the movie.
The song "Aaj Ki Raat" was used in the 2008 film
Slumdog MillionaireSlumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
and is included in the
Slumdog Millionaire soundtrackSlumdog Millionaire: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album of the British drama film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle. The original score and songs were composed by A. R. Rahman, who planned the score in two months and completed it in two weeks, a far shorter time period...
.
Box office
Don: The Chase Begins Again was released worldwide on 20 October 2006. It became the fifth highest grossing film of 2006 in India, with revenues of 51 crores domestically. Box Office India declared it a hit. It also grossed $7 million in overseas territories and was declared a "blockbuster". The film grossed a total of 104 crores worldwide.
Critical reception
Reviews were generally positive.
Mumbai Mirror'sMumbai Mirror is a largest compact newspaper in the city of Mumbai with a daily circulation of over 600,000 copies. Its first issue was published on May 30, 2005 by the Times Group, the publishers of The Times of India newspaper....
Mayank Shekhar gave it a rating of 4 out of 5. He did criticize the treatment of certain scenes in comparison to the original, though.
The Times of India'sThe Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
Nikhat KazmiNikhat Kazmi is a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from India, who has been writing for The Times of India, since 1987.-Books:* If Shakespeare was a gun: a play. Writers Workshop, 1984....
gave it a rating of 3.5 out of 5. However, she did not like a few casting choices.
Khalid MohammedKhalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the Hindustan Times and was the lead editor for Filmfare magazine...
of the
Daily News and Analysis rated it 2 on a scale of 5.
Bollywood HungamaBollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
's
Taran AdarshTaran Adarsh is an Indian film critic, journalist, editor and film trade analyst. He is also a former producer and screenwriter. He is the son of film director and producer, B.K. Adarsh....
gave it 3 out of 5.
VarietyVariety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated that the film "could have been much better."
Awards
The film was nominated for the following awards:
2007
Filmfare AwardsThe Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
- Best Film
The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years...
- Best Actor
The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954....
- Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
- Best Music
The Filmfare Best Music Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad was the first recipient of this award for his song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"...
- Shankar MahadevanShankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
, Loy MendonsaLoy Mendonsa is part of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio which consist of himself, Shankar Mahadevan and Ehsaan Noorani. Before becoming a music composer, he was a keyboard musician for famous music composers such as A. R. Rahman and Nadeem-Shravan...
, Ehsaan NooraniEhsaan Noorani is the Ehsaan of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio which consist of Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa and himself. He is a famous music composer and a guitarist. He was the guitarist for many music directors before he started composing music. Ehsaan has also studied music with Mr...
2007
International Indian Film Academy AwardsThe International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as the IIFA Awards are presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry. Instituted in 2000, the ceremony is held in...
- Best Actor - Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
2007 Asian Film AwardsThe 1st Asian Film Awards were given on 20 March 2007 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, on the opening night of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival....
- Best Actor - Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
Sequel
The film's sequel
Don 2: The Chase Continues is set to release on December 23, 2011.
Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
and
Priyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
will reprise their roles as Don and Roma. It will also star
Lara DuttaLara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...
,
Boman IraniBoman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor and photographer. Irani began his acting career in theatre and moved to film in 2000 at the age of 44 with a role in Josh...
and
Om PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
.