THE ORIGINAL DON (1978) WAS A BOLLYWOOD ACTION MOVIE INSPIRED BY JAMES BOND FLICKS. FOR THIS FLASHY NEW VERSION, JAVED AKTAR HAS UPDATED HIS OWN 30-YEAR-OLD SCRIPT ABOUT AN UNDERWORLD KINGPIN AND HIS HAPLESS DOUBLE, WITH CURRENT SUPERSTAR SHAH RUKH KHAN REPLACING AMITABH BACHCHAN IN THE LEADING ROLE, AND DIRECTING CHORES HANDLED BY AKTAR’S SON FARHAN.
When criminal mastermind Don (Khan) is seriously injured during a police chase, he’s hidden away by his superior and replaced by Vijay (also Khan), a local bumpkin who is his spitting image. But when the man shielding him dies, Vijay realises both the police and Don’s mafia enemies are out to nab him. As a cat and mouse trail ensues around Paris, Malaysia and India, it’s up to you to decipher how the fake Don can prove his innocence before avenging adversaries karate chop him to death.
Don uses the classic ‘masala’ formula, a term that describes an intentionally clashing mishmash of generic elements, including lavish musical numbers. There are numerous references to the old Don, but this version is also aimed at a new generation.