After a string of Bollywood rom-coms over the past decade, Shahrukh Khan returns to form as a ruthless underworld kingpin in Don 2. Khan's rise to the pinnacle of fame in films where be took the role of villainous anti-heros, film producer Ritesh Sidhwani said.
"We remember him as the bad guy in Darr [Fear]," Sidhwani said by phone from Dubai, where he will attend the emirate's premiere. "He was so thrilling to watch. When we started making the movie, we needed someone who had endless charisma on screen - because we wanted the audience to not repel against a lead protagonist who is essentially bad, he kills people, blows up buildings.
"Who else but Shahrukh Khan to play a role that winks at the audience with a 'you know I'm bad, but you still love me' vibe?"
Who indeed. With inspiration from a series of action flicks, and an international crew, location and massive budget, Don 2 is mercifully short. The leads don't break into a jig at the drop of a hat.
"If we made the lead gangster turn good in this movie - like a Robin Hood character that does bad, but for the good of mankind - then, the film doesn't work," Sidhwani said. "We don't explain why this character is bad. He just is."
The film opens simultaneously this week in Hong Kong, India, the United States, Britain and other countries. "We've found distributors from around the world approaching us, as there's a fascination with Indian cinema that's been on a slow but constant rise," Sidhwani said.
Don 2, in Hindi with English subtitles, opens tomorrow at Kowloon's Golden Gateway and GH Whampoa cinemas.
December 21, 2011
Byline: P. Ramakrishnan
E-mail: ramakrishnanp@hotmail.com
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