Don: To like or not to like?

I must admit - the idea of Shah Rukh Khan reinterpreting "Khaike Paan Benares wala" was what pulled me into the theatre. Could the undisputed star of today stand his own against the legend of yesterday?

And here, unfortunately, the movie disappoints. Shah Rukh is a great actor, but he rarely deigns to display his talent. Instead, he usually gives us the same simpering, dimpled, larger than life star that is Shah Rukh Khan. Don is no exception, and Shah Rukh hams his way through the movie - whether it's the deadly don on screen, or the naive dancer; what we see is only Shah Rukh Khan. I'm sorry, but not a candle can he hold to the original superstar. Don - 1, Don - 0.

As for the rest, Farhan Akhtar's intention was clearly to bring Don into the 21st century, a la Hollywood. Over the top action sequences, choreographed with today's fashionable disregard for physics, are sprinkled throughout the movie. As are all varieties of high tech gizmos, and the mandatory hot lady in the tight jumpsuit. Too often, all this slickness hinders the tale rather than helping it.

Fortunately, Farhan Akhtar also presents us with that rarest of rarities in hindi movies - a coherent, plausible plot, with almost no holes. The movie is a classic template for how remakes should be made. It updates the setting, making it relevant to today's world. It harkens back to the most loved parts of the original, keeping key dialogues and songs, infusing the movie with an aura of nostalgia. And just when you think you know what's coming next, it deviates from the original, and a new twist throws you off balance. Thus it always maintains its own personality and stands as an entertaining movie in its own right.

The original movie had a simple enough plot. There is the brilliant, sophisticated, ruthless mafia leader who knows no mercy. Then one day, the don meets his maker, but only one police officer knows of his death. So the police officer recruits a lookalike to take his place, a naive, unsophisticated, illiterate street performer. The police officer trains the street performer to shed his rude, illiterate ways, and act with the cool sophistication of the don. The street performer then takes the don's old place in the gang, risking his life to ferret out their secrets. But just at the moment of his triumph, when the police have arrested the whole gang on his tip-off, the one person who knows his true identity is killed. And the poor man is trapped in a nightmare, on the run from the police who don't believe his story and the criminals who do.
That was the USP of the original plot - an ordinary man in over his head, transported to a world far from his humble origins, and then trapped by a cruel twist of fate. The poignancy and drama of his situation, captured in that iconic song "Khaike Paan Benares wala".

Farhan Akhtar's Don wisely does not rely on twists copied from the original movie. It maintains plot fidelity for the most part. Kareena Kapoor sizzles through "Yeh mera dil" as she tries to avenge the death of her fiance, and Shah Rukh Khan sizes her up as he tells her - "You know the gun has no bullets, and I know the gun has no bullets, but the police don't know". Priyanka Chopra then takes on the role of avenger, in an Angelina Jolie-esque tough girl character. Shah Rukh Khan chooses to reprise his Baazigar crazy-dual personality as the don, while making little attempt to flesh out the good guy role. The first half sometimes feels like a recap, characters are brought in without proper introduction, events unfold rather hurriedly, without much background. The emphasis is on technical slickness and eye candy. But right before the intermission is a deviation from the story, the first hint that this is not just a slicked up carbon copy. The second half pays much more attention to plot. For once, main characters show street smarts when dealing with the villains, and get even rather than getting mad. If you can look past the ridiculously over-the-top rescue sequence, matched only by the suicidal escape, the second half plays out quite well. It builds up through a series of exciting stand-offs to a dramatic ending, that totally vindicates the movie.

In short, when the director is not trying to prove his Hollywood smarts with imaginative action sequences, sci-fic gadgetry and novel camerawork, it is actually quite a good movie.

I could write about the global significance of terrorism, but I cannot get my mind to step back and take the dispassionate bird's eye view this requires. Why? Because I am angry, I am furious - and my anger is aimed at the "government" of India. The terrorists are the enemy, these actions are what we expect of them. But the ones who let us down today are the same ones who let us down each time - those who are supposed to protect us. Let me tell you quite honestly, I am sick of hearing about the "spirit of Mumbai" and the "resilience of Mumbaikars". Those threadbare platitudes have worn thin.

The first time I heard these phrases was 13 years ago, when Dawood's henchmen set off serial bomb blasts at various sites of economic and symbolic significance in Mumbai. There were images of stockbrokers pulling bodies out of the Bombay stock exchange; commandeering private vehicles to take the injured to hospitals; working tirelessly and willingly to help their colleagues and business rivals. The next time I visited Bombay, I saw a billboard that said : March 12, 1993 : serial bomb blasts rock Bombay. March 13, 1993 : 99% attendance in offices. Salaam Bombay! That brought tears to my eyes. There was no questioning the strong, resilient spirit of Bombay.

Last year, Bombay suffered through an unprecedented torrent of rain - 37 inches in 24 hours. More than a thousand people died. Millions, literally millions, were stranded - in offices, on train stations, on the road, in buses. I anxiously followed the story over that modern marvel, the internet. The horror stories poured in, but they were drowned out by the inspiring stories that came out. The whole city came together in this moment of crisis, and formed one gigantic volunteer organization. Everybody from slum dwellers in rags to middle class moms lined the roads to help stranded travellers trekking home through miles of flooded streets. Some brought food and water to the exhausted travellers, others pointed out dangerous patches in the road and recommended safer paths. Many helped trapped passengers escape from buses and cars, some even opened their homes so the commuters could rest and freshen up before continuing the long journey. Web sites created impromptu information centers; message boards on which people posted and sought information; contacted concerned family members, I even remember a news site organizing a citizen rescue operation after they got a desperate call for help from a stranded passenger on a double decker bus. Truly, the "spirit of Mumbai" was in full force, it was an awe inspiring display of comradeship and humanity.

So then what am I complaining about? Let me tell you.. the reports today said that upto 30 mins after the bomb blasts, no police were on the scene. Passengers on the trains, volunteers, were dragging bodies out of the wreckage, were bundling injured people off to hospitals in rickshaws. It is wonderful that they did it - but it is atrocious that they had to! Ofcourse I understand that such a situation would overwhelm any city's infrastructure, nor do I blame the police or firemen. They have the same "spirit" as everyone else in Bombay and they did the best they could with the tools they have. But their best is just not good enough. When will we wake up and smell the sewage? Roads riddled with potholes, dams bursting, emergency services that take half an hour to respond to an emergency (not to mention a "disaster relief agency" that couldnt convene because of the disaster)? And this is the most modern, richest city in India! So much for India Shining.

The wonderful Mumbaikars come together in extraordinary displays of courage and selflessness because they know they have to. They know the system can't be relied on, they know the disaster relief is a joke. They know if they don't step up and help, no one will. And so they take on all those roles the government has abdicated - rescue workers, emergency services, ambulance drivers. Then they pick up the pieces and go home - and watch the politicians praise their "resilience" on TV. Enough resilience, enough going on with life as usual. How about some outrage? How about stopping and saying that things are different, life isnt the same? The crux of a democracy is accountability - if we let the politicians act like nothing's happened, they will. We have to put our collective foot down and demand action. Two hundred of us were killed - in a cowardly act of terrorism. We want the culprits brought to justice, the real culprits, not some low level stool pigeons. Stop taking things lying down - enough is enough. Say that Mumbai is done tolerating - it wants justice!