Crew

Farhan Akhtar - Director

It is not a common occurrence that a person gets a shot at re-creating a piece of work that he has for so long admired. By remaking Don, I consider myself one of the fortunate few to have been given the chance to do just that.

Don is a film that takes me back to one of my first memories of Indian film. It released in 1978, when I was 4 years old and although I don’t remember too vividly what I was up to back then (don’t know if I’d be shocked or excited if I did), the image of Amit uncle as Don is something I can never forget. I remember being really scared of the guy but at the same time totally mesmerized by him. Was there anybody cooler? The answer is no. And don’t waste your time in trying to find someone who may have been. He doesn’t exist. It is with this passion for the character and the film that I set out to recreate his persona for the movie viewer today. What I realized as I met actors and technicians is that almost all of them shared my love for the movie. Everybody has had a Don moment. From Shah Rukh confessing to me that it has been a fantasy for him to mouth the lines “Don ka intezaar toh gyaara mulkon ki police kar rahi hai par ek baat samajhlo...Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin namumkin hai!”, to Saroj Khan revealing that it was watching khaike paan banaraswala, 3 shows a day at a theatre in Dubai that made her decide she had to be a choreographer. And the list goes on.

We finally got down to shooting the film on the 29th of January and over a schedule that included locations in Mumbai, Malaysia and Paris, we finished 116 shooting days later on the 30th of July.

The making of the film was an experience that I will always remember, if for nothing else than for the generosity shown by all involved in it’s making. I know that the cast and crew gave me a lot more than i could have asked for. Maybe they understood that there is a lot of pressure when you set out to remake a cult film or maybe they too felt that there was something special happening here. I believe there was.

The crew has been welcomed with open arms and by warm hearts wherever it has been. Be it the people of Malaysia or of Paris, we were looked after to the point where we felt our mothers had something to do with it. And now as the film nears completion, I think back through all the days spent in it’s making and there is not one single thing that I wish had happened differently. (Mohanan, the director of photography may disagree...the poor man was so traumatized by the weather in Langkawi, Malaysia that I swear he has fewer hairs in his beard than he did when he first got there.)

I want to take this moment to thank the people responsible for the original movie. I thank my partner Ritesh for his unwavering support and unparalleled talent as producer. I thank my family for putting up with my absence and still refusing to stop loving me. I thank my cast and crew. And I thank Shah Rukh for having one of the biggest hearts that I have ever seen. You are the Don!

Ritesh Sidhwani - Producer

Don was a film I grew up loving as a teenager. But now,20 years down the line, when Farhan confided that he wanted to remake it, a frisson of nervous excitement ran through me. Knowing what a passionate director my partner is, this task wouldn’t be easy, it didn’t sound impossible either. I was confident that Farhan while re writing and directing Don would maintain the delicate balance between what retain and what to add. I was sure that our Don would be contemporary, but still retain the magical flavor of the 70’s original. At the same time I was aware of the comparisons and expectations that a remake of such a hugely popular film would bring on.

Farhan on his part, was so fired up by Don, that he’d wake up in the middle of the night and write a scene and call me early in the morning to discuss it. As his narrations grew, so did the intense desire in me to make sure that I’d get whatever it took, to fulfill the demands of the script. When you make any film, it always requires careful planning. When you remake a classic, the planning assumes critical importance.

Being a huge fan of Amit uncle and Don, was the most exciting part of being associated in the remaking of Don. But this also brought us to the big question-who would be our new Don? He had to be cool, suave, swanky and sexy. Only one name came to mind. Shah Rukh Khan!

After working with him. all I can say is that besides being the most fabulous Don, he is a man of the finest qualities. One of the most gentle, loving and generous persons, I have ever met and worked with.

Our Don is ready. And we are completely satisfied with the way it has turned out. We have thoroughly enjoyed making it, hope you enjoy watching it.

Mohanan - Camera

I have never been a big bollywood follower but nevertheless wasn’t ignorant enough to not have seen Don. Farhan called me and we talked about it at length, we discussed the story, the mood, and the feel and soon we realized we both were on the same page.

...and that’s the first thing I look for. It is very important for me to see eye to eye with the director. We both looked at it as a modern piece. And with all the due respect we decided to forget the old Don and to start all over again. Approach it as a new script, a new idea.

In all honesty, that was the only way we could have come close to the old Don. We all have worked hard but I am too close to this project to say anything objective about it. Now all I wonder sitting here in the grading room is if I had wanted some things, here and there, to be a little different? Maybe? But who said the world was perfect.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy - Music

We remember sitting for Lakshya’s song recording and Farhan mentioned that he would like to remake Don and then slowly it all faded away until one fine day we got a call that it was really happening.

Initially we thought being a remake we’ll be redoing all the songs from the original but Farhan had decided to retain only two songs and create new tracks for the rest of the situations.

What excited us was not only the idea of creating new songs but bringing back the old classics in a new contemporary way. Obviously, the credit goes to the original composers Kalyanji – Anandji but we tried modifying and giving it a new texture to fit into the world of Farhan’s new Don.

But then sometimes we wonder what if we have to give it a genre? I guess we’ll call it “Retro techno cutting edge bijii.”

Javed Akhtar - Lyrics

Surprised, amused and flattered... Is how i felt, when I heard Farhan’s plan to remake Don. And then I thought it’s actually a good choice for a remake. The script was good, the characters were iconic and maybe now the time is right to take such a script and make it at a much larger scale.

To my astonishment, Farhan has not only been successful in retaining the essence of the original but has given the story new turns and twists. And sincerely what’s the point to remake a movie exactly the same way? But on the other hand if it’s totally different then why call it a “remake”?

So it is very important for the remake to have certain commonality and some individually and Farhan has managed to achieve the paradox. I wish and believe instead of comparing the new to the original people will adore them both.

Credit List
Excel entertainment presents

Shah Rukh Khan as Don, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar, Om Puri, Bomani Irani, Pavan Mallohtra, Rajesh Khattar, Tanay Chheda

Special Appearance - Kareena Kappor

Casting Director - Nandini Shrikent

Choreography - Saroj Khan, Farah Khan, Ganesh Hegde, Rajeev Surti

Gaffer - Mulchand Dedhia

Key Grip - Sanjay Sami

Hair Design - Adhuna Bhabani-Akhtar

Make up for Priyanka & Isha Mickey Contractor for Mac

Costume Design - Aki Narula

Publicity Design - Himanshu Nanda, Rahul Nanda

Film processed at Prasad Film Labs (Mumbai) PVT.LTD

Visual Effects - Red Chilles VFX

Visual Effects Supervisors - Arjun Mitra, Harry Hingorani, Keitan Yadav

Stills - Abheet Gidwani Editor - Anand Subaya, Neil Sadwelkar

And Unit/Action Director - Angelo Sahin

Sound FX & Mix - Team Sound Firm Australia

Sound Design - Andrew Belletty

Executive Producer - Miriam Joesph

Genre - Thriller/Action

Shooting Locations - Paris, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur

Shooting Studios - Yash Raj Studios, Filmcity

Singers - Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shankar Mahadevan, Udit Narayan, Shah Rukh Khan, Alisha Chinoy, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Sonu Nigam, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca, Midival Punditz

Production Controller - Shamira Karim

Music - Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Lyrics - Javed Akhtar (Ye Mera Dil – Indeevar, Khaike Paan Banaraswala - Anjaan)

CDs and Cassettes - T-Series

Production Design - Aradhana Seth

Director of Photography - Mohanan

Adapted from the original screenplay by Salim Javed

Produced - Ritesh Sidhwani

Written & Directed - Farhan Akhtar



Source: Official Don website