DON

If Zanjeer completed 49 Years .

Don completes 44 Years Today.(12th)

Don was launched in December 1974 but was for over 3 years in the making.

Launched my Nariman Irani under the Salim Javed Umbrella to recover the losses of his earlier film and the team formed was from the RKM team with Pran added ( Again the highest paid actor but less than the Salim Javed Duo)

The germ of Don was laid in the final schedule of Roti Kapda aur Makaan and was released on 12 th May 1978 a week after Trishul.

This crime-thriller begins with an explosive scene of introduction of Don followed by the beginning titles, a montage on picture negative accompanied by some awesome background score…from then on it’s a roller coaster ride lasting the whole of 175 minutes.

Don's arrogance is made clear, as he utters the film's famous line, Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin - namumkin hai..( an iconic dialogue even 43 Years later )

Police Officer DSP D’Silva (Iftekhar) tracks him down and in an attempt to catch him, ends up killing him. But Don’s death is only known to D’Silva. So, he tracks down a lookalike of Don named Vijay. Vijay impersonates Don to take down the rest of Don’s gang while D’Silva promises him that he will provide for a proper education to Vijay’s wards by sending them to a public school. The kids, Deepu and Munni are actually the lost children of Jasjit (Pran), an ex-trapeze artiste who has lost his family and career and gets imprisoned for a robbery. He held D’Silva responsible for it and seeks vengeance. Roma (Zeenat Aman) joins the gang in order to take revenge from Don as Don is the killer of Ramesh, Roma’s brother.

Jasjit comes out of prison after serving his jail term, only to find D’Silva having a red diary that would show Vijay’s true identity. D’Silva is killed by Malik  the real king of the underworld. It’s now a race to retrieve the diary in which the D’Silva has documented the substitution of the real Don with the innocent Vijay and all the information regarding other gangsters.

Don is a thoroughly fun ride the kind of escapist fantasy that Bollywood excels at, especially in that era, and Amitabh has plenty of irresistable charm to make up where required.  And it's all in good fun - with its tightrope escapes from tall buildings, improbable urban car-chases, and exploding suitcases, Don never takes itself too seriously.   

Don's soundtrack by Kalyanji Anandji is packed with great tunes and classic pictureisation, like "Khaike paan banaraswala," in which Vijay, exhausted from playing Don and then trying to clear his name, finally gets to cut loose in his own element.  Zeenat struts in "Jiska mujhe tha intezaar," Roma's declaration of vengeful intent.  I love Kishore Kumar's triumphant vocals on the energetic "Main hoon Don," the melody of which provides the film's pulsating theme.  And, like all great films of the era, there is even a Helens Yeh Mera Dil ( which was the first sequence and song to be shot for the film ).

Amitabh has a challenge here, playing not just two roles but three:  suave and menacing as Don, goofy and energetic as Vijay, and something more complex as Vijay-playing-Don.  

He is ably supported by Zeenat Aman , Pran , Shetty, Om Shivpuri, Kamal Kapoor and Iftekhar.

A low key affair Don ended a blockbuster winning 3 Filmfare awards after being nominated for three.. Amitabh Bachchan winning his second on the trot after Amar Akbar Anthony ( He was nominated for 3 films , Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar being the other two).

Over four decades have passed since Don hit the theatres and the mystique around the film is still present. It has been ranked among Amitabh’s finest performances and is a big draw on the home video circuit. Fans have confessed to watching it each time it is shown on satellite television and are often mouthing Salim–Javed’s immortal one-liners with the hero.

Lots of Trivia remains but some other time.

#Repost