Don 2

<p>Five years after the events of , Don now plans to take over the European drug trade next. The European drug cartel bosses meet to discuss about killing Don as he is jeopardizing their business by undercutting their prices. Living in for the last five years, Don goes to a remote settlement to pick up a shipment of cocaine. Don gets cornered by his own associates, who reveal that they were offered a deal by the Europeans to have their cocaine from Asia open for sale in Europe. Don makes his way out by killing the men and destroying the entire settlement. Don returns to and surrenders to Detective Malik and Roma, who has now joined , where he is sentenced to death, sent to prison and soon meets his old rival Vardhaan. Vardhaan tries to exact revenge on Don for having him imprisoned but agrees to work together when Don offers him an opportunity to escape. Don and Vardhaan eventually break out by poisoning the other inmates. Don meets his trusted companion Ayesha and they retrieve a tape from a secret locker in whose key was under Vardhaan’s possession. It shows J. K. Diwan, vice president of the -printing , paying Singhania to kill James Werden, the original choice for the bank’s president, so that Diwan’s superior Fabian Kohl would get the post. Singhania was killed by Vardhaan five years earlier. Don blackmails Diwan into giving him the discs containing the bank’s blueprints so that he can steal the printing plates. Diwan gives him blank discs and hires Abdul Jabbar, a deadly hit man. Don escapes and bribes Jabbar to work for him instead. With no other choice, Diwan gives him the real discs. Roma and Malik arrive in and unsuccessfully interrogate Diwan, while Don and his team execute a bank robbery. After stealing the printing plates, Don is betrayed by Vardhaan and Jabbar, but Don, having anticipated this, escapes from the bank. Don’s team member Sameer, whom Don met earlier to discuss his plans, calls the police on Don, who ends up being arrested. However, Don blackmails Diwan into giving him German in exchange for erasing the evidence of him being involved in James Warden’s death. Don negotiates with the and Interpol over surrendering the plates and a disc, which contains the details of the European underworld, in exchange for the safety of the hostages and defusing the bombs in the bank. Don and Roma reach Vardhaan after a bloody combat with his thugs and find themselves in a standoff. Though ordered by Vardhaan and Jabbar – and Don – Roma is unable to kill Don and is shot by Jabbar in response; she still has feelings for him, but does not want to kill him illegally. Despite the setback, Don subdues Vardhaan and kills Jabbar. Following Vardhaan’s arrest, Don obtains his immunity papers and surrenders the plates and the disc as agreed, while also getting Roma to an ambulance. Later, Don detonates a bomb planted in Diwan’s car, killing Diwan and seemingly destroying the plates he had taken. It is later revealed that Don still has the real currency plates as the ones that were destroyed in the car explosion were fake. It also turns out that Sameer was actually still loyal to Don and informing the police was part of Don’s plan. The disc actually contains the names of the European cartel bosses, who conspired to finish Don. As a result, Kohl and the European cartel bosses end up being arrested and sent to prison, alongside Vardhaan. Having succeeded in taking down Vardhaan and the European bosses, Don becomes the king of both the Asian and European underworlds with Sameer and Ayesha by his side. A sequel was announced in 2007, a year after the release of (2006) by . However, the film got delayed due to ‘s shoulder surgery. The original cast reprised their roles except for and ; and were cast in new roles. Akhtar said that he decided to make a sequel to his 2006 film because it “gave him a lot of freedom to explore the character”. Khan copyrighted a tattoo of “D” on his arm and grew his hair long for the film. Khan exercised extensively for the role and performed almost all the stunts by himself. marked Khan’s return to playing villains after earlier films such as and . Chopra learned martial arts and trained for over two months. lost 12 kg for the role and grew a beard to make his character look “cold, cunning and deceitful”; he felt that playing a villain was “a big stretch” for him as an actor. Dutta was cast after Koppikar, who played the role in , dropped out of the film. She was recommended to Akhtar by Khan, who had worked with her on in 2009. However, her role was changed after her casting, and turned out to be a different character than Koppikar’s. In an interview with , Dutta said that it was exciting to play a new character, since there would be no predecessor to live up to. The principal photography of began in October 2010 in , becoming the first Hindi film to be shot there. The decision to shoot in the city was made after Khan attended the for its screening of and realised that the city provided the required realistic backdrop for the film. Before shooting began the German government announced the film on its website, promising support and co-operation during filming. A 70-member Indian crew travelled to the city for two weeks of preparation for shooting. Scenes were filmed at the , the , the and the . The German government provided €3 million in incentives to the film’s producers, since it was shot in Berlin. The shoot cost €6.8 million. Khan experimented with several looks and performed his own stunts in the film. In Berlin, he performed a 300-foot jump for a scene. A car-chase scene using 67 cars closed main thoroughfares (including the Brandenburg Gate) for three weeks. Each day, alternate routes were provided around roads cordoned off for filming. The shooting schedule also included a special appearance by , whose presence was kept under wraps by filmmakers. In December 2010, the Berlin schedule ended. In February 2011, the actors flew to , where several scenes were shot in Malacca Prison with prisoners as extras. A section of the prison block was made available for filming, with special T-shirts distinguishing crew members from prisoners in the high-security zone. Khan trained with Hollywood stunt and fight director Wolfgang Stegemann, who also played Karl in the film. In September 2011, filming resumed on a song featuring the two leads. Another song was shot with Khan in Goa in late November, only a month before the film’s release. The song was shot as an action sequence, but did not appear in the film. In August 2011, the producers said they will release in . The idea of occurred to Akhtar while shooting; after tests in , it was decided to convert the entire film. The director of photography had used special lenses, which made conversion easier. Sidhwani said that the idea of converting the film into 3D came to him after seeing . Chuck Comisky, a veteran S-3D innovator who supervised 3D stereo and visual effects for and , was given the job. Anand Subaya was the editor and Jason West served as the director of photography. The and VFX of were by Pixion Studios, and the 3D conversion by . The soundtrack was composed by , with lyrics penned by . The album contains nine compositions: four original songs, two instrumentals, a dialogue snippet, and two remix out of four original songs. The vocals were performed by , , , , , and . It was released on 16 November 2011 by . The distributors, , bought the rights to from Excel Entertainment for (US$10 million) and spent another (US$2.6 million) on prints and marketing. acquired the satellite rights for (US$4.4 million). Distribution rights in Tamil Nadu and Kerala were bought by Sudha Screen’s Sreeraj for an undisclosed price. Don 2 music rights were sold to T-Series for (US$1.2 million). The theatrical trailer and poster for were released with . A second trailer was released online on 24 October 2011. The film previewed at the . The producers collaborated with and in 20 cities to provide free Internet access with Wi-Fi in their stores so that viewers could watch songs in 3D on their computers. The producers decided to publicize the dialogue from by releasing 10 lines delivered by Don as “Don Says…”: one line each Friday from 15 October until the film’s release on 23 December. The lines were released simultaneously across all media platforms: television, print, radio, Internet and mobile. The filmmakers also released a limited-edition toy version. The toy, dressed as Don, is the first of a Bollywood star. The cast, director and producers embarked on a multi-city tour across India (including ) to promote the film. Interrupted by security problems, the tour resumed from to , and other cities. In October 2011 a comic book based on , , was published that was about Don’s past. collaborated with India’s largest video-game company, Gameshastra, on a console game. The firm developed a third-person action-adventure console game in which the player performs actions similar to Don’s in the film. A social game, (developed by Mango Games), was launched on Facebook. It is available on Android and PSN for platforms. Sidhwani said, “This is the first time a game is based on an Indian film that will be launched on four platforms. For an iconic character like Don, I think this was the best way to keep the hysteria going amongst his fans.” A game, , was released in India in February 2013 to tie in with the film, also serving as the final game for the console. were also Fugu Mobile and included (a ) and and . was released worldwide 23 December 2011 on 3,105 screens in the domestic market, including 500 prints in , and on 650 screens in 40 countries. The dubbed versions in and were released with the Hindi version. The second phase of the film’s international release began in January 2012 in 84 countries. From 9 February 2012 to 19 February 2012, was screened at the World Premiere Cinema theatre during the 62nd . obtained a ” ” order from the allowing it to serve cease-and-desist notices on film pirates. A month before s release, Nariman Films, producers of , sent a legal notice to and about the sequel. According to the notice, Nariman had given the rights to Excel Entertainment in perpetuity for alone. On 19 December, a week before s release, the refused to stay the film’s release; the court’s ruling considered the film’s scheduled release on 21 December overseas and 23 December in India, for which many theaters had been booked. The smoking scenes in the film came with a disclaimer per ‘s advice to the producers. The DVD was released on 7 February 2012 with two different versions, Blu-ray and a special feature releasing on 10 April and 24 May. received positive reviews from critics, receiving praise for its story, cinematography, production design, soundtrack, background score, action sequences and performances of the cast.. As of June 2020 , the film holds a 69% approval rating on site , based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.68 out of 10. of rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and called it “a classic action/crime thriller that doesn’t let go, even for a moment. More importantly, the plot has been finely crafted, with every twist and turn falling into place like a complicated albeit neat little jigsaw.” Rachit Gupta of also rated the film 4 stars out of 5, and praised the performances by Khan, Chopra and Irani, remarking “They carry the film through its flat moments. It’s not very taut, but serves up enough thrills in the finale and that alone makes it worth a watch.” Priya Joshi of gave the film 4 out of 5, praising its dramatic conclusion which she thought was brilliantly executed, and wrote that it “is a thoroughly exhilarating action-fest, fashioned in a Bollywood-style – and a shot of adrenaline amidst the usual elf-inspired festive film fare.” A review carried by called the film “a visual masterpiece”, adding that “it sets a very high benchmark for future Indian action films.” of gave the film 3.5 out of 5, feeling that the second half took the film to another level, and wrote “Akhtar chooses an entirely new concept, garnishes it with classic action, stunning visuals, giving it an international look and feel”. Aniruddha Guha of gave 3 out of 5 complimenting Khan’s performance and action sequences, which he thought made the film work. gave it 2.5 out of 5, praising Khan’s performance and wrote “The film is slick, the cinematography is captivating but the racy, edge of the seat pace that you expect from an action thriller of this kind is sorely missing.” of termed the film as “a glossy, unashamed action offering polished within an inch of itself, visually coming together seamlessly and effectively.” Sen also added that “although the film has been impressively produced, it has been let down by the over-the-top acting by Khan, while other actors were underused and were given nothing much to do.” gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, calling it “spectacularly boring”, and wrote ” is nicely shot, and there are moments where Khan is riveting. But that’s not enough to hold your interest for well over two hours…even the actor’s most loyal fans will find themselves yawning.” Sonia Chopra of also gave 2.5 out of 5, feeling that the original film was better as compared to the sequel but praised the action sequences, writing “The car chases are superb and will have you at the edge of your seat. For the rest of the film though, you’ll be slouching on that very seat, waiting for the thrills that the series promises.” Writing for , was disappointed with the film, calling it “never ending” and criticized the stretched storyline. Sudhish Kamath of said “The editor wishes his studio exploded and didn’t have to put this together. But he’s getting a fat cheque. He does his job to the best of his ability and is almost done when he hears that line “Don Ko Pakadna Mushkil Hi Nahin…”” Among the overseas reviewers, Lisa Tsering of wrote: “Khan’s foray into bad-boy territory is all swagger with not much substance.” David DeWitt of called it the “slick cousin” of ” and “. was made with a production cost of (US$9.0 million) excluding SRK’s acting fee with shares in profits which is (US$7.7 million). On its first day, had 80-percent occupancy levels throughout India. In multiplexes its occupancy level was 75%-80% percent and 70–75 percent in single-screen theatres. The film grossed (US$1.7 million) from its Hindi version, in the process becoming the third- grossing Indian film (fourth-highest for the Hindi version) and the highest opening-day grossing film on a non-holiday Friday. The film increased its earnings by about 20–25 percent in high-end cinemas during its second and third days, aided by a sizeable increase in multiplex revenue. Over the weekend, grossed (US$5.6 million) from its Hindi version and another (US$180,000) from its Tamil and Telugu versions. It held well the following week, collecting a total of (US$8.3 million) by the end of its first week. During the film’s second weekend, grossed (US$1.7 million) from its Hindi version. The film held well during its second week, declining 62 percent and collecting (US$3.2 million) from its Hindi version and thus taking its two-week total to (US$11 million). The second-week total of was the second-highest of 2011, after . By the end of its theatrical run the version of grossed (US$13 million) in India and regional versions added a further 60 million for a grand total of (US$13 million) including Tamil and Telugu, making it the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2011. was released overseas in two phases, with most major markets covered in the first phase. The film set several records on its opening day. It grossed $550,000 from 164 theatres in the United States. In the United Kingdom, s revenue debuted in the top ten, earning $527,000 in three days from 76 theatres; in the Middle East, the film grossed $930,000 in two days. It broke the record for the highest single-day revenue in Australia ( 62,000), grossing $136,000 in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji during the first two days of its run. The film grossed (US$200,000) during its first week in Pakistan, breaking all previous records. grossed (US$4.4 million) over the weekend, and (US$6.0 million) during its first week. It set a record for the all-time biggest opening week for a Hindi film in North America, earning $2.64 million. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas in 2011. During the second phase of its release, which began in February 2012, earned $112,027 in Germany and $5,041 in Austria. It grossed $11.24 million on the overseas market and was the overseas at that time, after and . About a sequel, said: “It would be great to revisit after some time. I’ve told Farhan that we could take 60 days out of our schedule and make a . But we need a script first, one that could take the last 10 minutes of forward to another differently exciting thriller.” Farhan Akhtar also expressed a desire to take the story forward, and said he was fascinated by the character of Don. However, the filmmaker wanted to explore other genres without restriction and added that he was currently focusing on his acting career. In August 2014, it was reported that Farhan Akhtar planned to play a role in the film. In October 2015, Akhtar said that will go on floors by late 2016. However, the film is at the scripting stage. It has also been reported that will replace in the next installment. But the makers denied this, stating that the only constant in the third installment will be dependent on Don, the rest of the characters, and the script. In May 2023, news articles reported that was finishing the script for . The third installment, , was officially announced in August 2023 by Farhan Akhtar and Excel Entertainment, with succeeding Shah Rukh Khan in the role of Don.</p>