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{{short description|1978 Indian film directed by Chandra Barot}}
{{short description|1978 Indian film directed by Chandra Barot}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
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| editing = Waman Rao
| editing = Waman Rao
| distributor =
| distributor =
| released = {{start date|1978|05|12|df=y}}
| released = {{Film date|1978|05|12|df=yes}}
| studio = Nariman Films
| studio = Nariman Films
| runtime = 166 minutes
| runtime = 166 minutes
| country = [[India]]
| country = India
| language = [[Hindi]]
| language = Hindi
| budget = {{estimation}} {{INR|7 [[million]]}}<ref name="budget">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=2642|title=Excel Entertainment - Raees After 15 Years Of DCH Cinema - Box Office India|website=www.boxofficeindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Don|url=http://ibosnetwork.com/asp/filmbodetails.asp?id=Don|publisher=Ibosnetwork.com|access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref>
| budget = {{estimation}} {{INR|7 [[million]]}}<ref name="budget">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=2642|title=Excel Entertainment - Raees After 15 Years Of DCH Cinema - Box Office India|website=www.boxofficeindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Don|url=http://ibosnetwork.com/asp/filmbodetails.asp?id=Don|publisher=Ibosnetwork.com|access-date=18 June 2011|archive-date=12 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712130438/http://ibosnetwork.com/asp/filmbodetails.asp?id=Don|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| gross = {{estimation}} {{INR|70 [[million]]}}<ref name="boxoffice">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=184&catName=MTk3OA==|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020102521/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=184&catName=MTk3OA==|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2013|title=Box Office 1978|website=[[Box Office India]]|date=20 October 2013}}</ref>
| gross = {{estimation}} {{INR|70 [[million]]}}<ref name="boxoffice">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=184&catName=MTk3OA==|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020102521/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=184&catName=MTk3OA==|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2013|title=Box Office 1978|website=[[Box Office India]]|date=20 October 2013}}</ref>
}}
}}


'''''Don''''' is a 1978 Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[crime action]] [[thriller film]] directed by [[Chandra Barot]], starring [[Amitabh Bachchan]], [[Zeenat Aman]] and [[Pran (actor)|Pran]]. Written by [[Salim–Javed]], and produced by [[Nariman Irani]], the film also features [[Iftekhar]], [[Om Shivpuri]], and [[Satyen Kappu]] in pivotal roles. Bachchan played [[Double role|dual roles]], as [[Don (character)|the titular character]] and his lookalike simpleton. The plot revolves around Vijay, a [[Bombay]] slum-dweller who resembles the powerful criminal Don, being asked by Police Superintendent D'Silva to masquerade as Don after the latter's death in order to act as an informant for the police and track down the root of the criminal organization. The film features music by [[Kalyanji–Anandji]], with lyrics by [[Anjaan (lyricist)|Anjaan]] and [[Indeevar]].
'''''Don''''' is a 1978 Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[action thriller film]] directed by [[Chandra Barot]] from a story written by [[Salim–Javed]] and produced by [[Nariman Irani]]. The film stars [[Amitabh Bachchan]] in dual role, alongside [[Zeenat Aman]], [[Pran (actor)|Pran]], [[Iftekhar]], [[Om Shivpuri]] and [[Satyen Kappu]] in supporting roles. The music was composed by [[Kalyanji–Anandji]] with lyrics written by [[Anjaan (lyricist)|Anjaan]] and [[Indeevar]].


It was the third [[List of highest-grossing Indian films|highest-grossing Indian film]] of 1978, and was classified a [[golden jubilee]] by [[Box Office India]].<ref name="boxoffice" /><ref name="don2">{{cite web|title=Farhan's next Don to go on floors in October|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/farhan-s-next-don-to-go-on-floors-in-october-news-bollywood-kkfqQ5hjbgi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119201407/http://sify.com/movies/farhan-s-next-don-to-go-on-floors-in-october-news-bollywood-kkfqQ5hjbgi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 November 2010 |website=[[Sify]] |access-date=10 September 2011 |agency=IANS|date=22 February 2010}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2022}}
''Don'' was the third [[List of highest-grossing Indian films|highest-grossing Indian film]] of 1978 and was classified a [[golden jubilee]] by [[Box Office India]].<ref name="boxoffice" /><ref name="don2">{{cite web|title=Farhan's next Don to go on floors in October|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/farhan-s-next-don-to-go-on-floors-in-october-news-bollywood-kkfqQ5hjbgi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119201407/http://sify.com/movies/farhan-s-next-don-to-go-on-floors-in-october-news-bollywood-kkfqQ5hjbgi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 November 2010 |website=[[Sify]] |access-date=10 September 2011 |agency=IANS|date=22 February 2010}}</ref> The film spawned the [[Don (franchise)|''Don'' franchise]]; Javed Akhtar's son [[Farhan Akhtar]] created a remake ''[[Don: The Chase Begins Again]]'' (2006) and its sequel ''[[Don 2]]'' (2011), both starring [[Shah Rukh Khan]]. It also inspired several [[South Indian]] remakes, including the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] film ''[[Yugandhar]]'' (1979) and the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] film ''[[Billa (1980 film)|Billa]]'' (1980).<ref name="expressindia"/> ''Don'' is also known for its theme music, which was used in the ''[[American Dad!]]'' episode "[[Tearjerker (American Dad!)|Tearjerker]]" (2008). The intro "Yeh Mera Dil" was [[sample (music)|sampled]] by the [[Black Eyed Peas]] for the song "[[Don't Phunk with My Heart]]" (2005).<ref name=IANS/>


⚫
==Plot==
The film spawned the [[Don (franchise)|''Don'' franchise]]; Javed Akhtar's son [[Farhan Akhtar]] created a remake ''[[Don: The Chase Begins Again]]'' (2006) and its sequel ''[[Don 2]]'' (2011), both starring [[Shah Rukh Khan]]. It also inspired several [[South Indian]] remakes, including the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] film ''[[Yugandhar]]'' (1979) and the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] film ''[[Billa (1980 film)|Billa]]'' (1980), a breakthrough film for [[Rajinikanth]].<ref name="expressindia"/> ''Don'' is also known for its theme music, which was used in the ''[[American Dad!]]'' episode "[[Tearjerker (American Dad!)|Tearjerker]]" (2008). The intro to "Yeh Mera Dil" was [[sample (music)|sampled]] by the [[Black Eyed Peas]] for the song "[[Don't Phunk with My Heart]]" (2005).<ref name=IANS/>
Don is a notorious crime boss in [[Mumbai]] who always eludes the authorities despite being wanted in eleven countries. [[Deputy Superintendent of Police|DSP]] D'Silva, [[Inspector]] Verma and [[Interpol]] officer R. K. Malik have spent the last few years in capturing Don, but to no avail. During a chase with the police, Don is severely wounded after an accident and dies in front of D'Silva, who holds a burial of Don without anyone's knowledge. D'Silva keeps Don's death as a secret even from his fellow officers, and tracks down a look-alike called Vijay, a street performer. D'Silva asks Vijay to infiltrate Don's gang by pretending to be Don. In return, D'Silva will make sure that the children Vijay adopted, Deepu and Munni, get a proper education.


D'Silva trains Vijay and sends him back to Don's gang, disguised as an [[amnesia]]c Don, who had been hiding at an [[apartment complex]] due to his injuries. Slowly, Vijay starts to learn about Don's gang. Vijay provides a diary with the secret information of the crime network to D'Silva, but he is about to be killed by Roma because her brother Ramesh as well as his fiancée Kamini were killed by Don earlier. At this juncture, D'Silva arrives and tells her that he is Vijay and not Don. Later before a party, Don secretly provides information to D'Silva about a meeting of Don's network. A shootout occurs at the party and D'Silva is killed in a crossfire. Vijay finds D'Silva dead and is taken into the custody of the police team, now headed by Malik.
⚫
== Plot ==


⚫
Vijay argues to Malik that he is not Don and mentions a piece of evidence – the diary, which may prove his innocence, but the diary is nowhere to be found. Unable to prove his innocence, Vijay escapes from a police van and joins Roma, where he learns that the diary is stolen by a person named Jasjit in order to track down his children Deepu and Munni. Jasjit meets Vijay and Roma and joins them. However, the trio learns that Malik is actually Vardhaan who captured the real Malik and posed as the latter to cover his crime and that Vardhaan was the one who had murdered D'Silva during the party and had already exposed Roma's identity to the gang members before having them kidnap Deepu and Munni so that the trio can surrender themselves and the diary to Vardhaan.
The film begins with Don ([[Amitabh Bachchan]]) as one of the most powerful criminals in [[Mumbai]] who always eludes the authorities despite being wanted in eleven countries. Led by DSP D'Silva ([[Iftekhar]]) and Inspector Verma ([[Satyen Kappu]]), the police department is working with [[Interpol]] officer R.K. Malik ([[Om Shivpuri]]) in their attempts to nab Don. Along with the police, Don makes a few other enemies through his merciless approach to running his organization. At this point, one of his henchmen Ramesh (Sharad Kumar) fearfully decides to leave the business of crime and escape from India. However, Don learns about Ramesh's decision and gets hold of him during his attempt of elopement, killing him. This introduces Don to his two new enemies; Kamini ([[Helen (actress)|Helen]]), Ramesh's fiancée, and Roma ([[Zeenat Aman]]), Ramesh's sister. Kamini seduces Don in an attempt to have the police arrest him, but her plan backfires as Don outsmarts her and the police in his escape. In the process, Don kills Kamini, too. A shattered Roma swears to seek revenge from Don for her brother and sister-in-law's deaths. She gets her hair cut short, trains herself in [[judo]] and [[karate]], and enters Don's gang after deceiving the members into believing that she too is on the wrong side of the law. Without suspecting any ulterior motive, Don is impressed with her fighting skills and allows her to work for them all.


⚫
After being captured by Vardhaan, Jasjit is reunited with Deepu and Munni and manages to escape the hideout with them, thanking Vijay for taking care of his children. Meeting up in the same graveyard where Don was buried, Vardhaan and his gang members who are holding Deepu and Munni hostages, have a long standoff with Vijay, Roma and Jasjit, resulting in Vardhaan grabbing the diary from Roma and throwing it in a fire. Eventually, Vardhaan calls Inspector Verma and the police to the scene to have the trio and the gang members arrested so that he can get away scot-free. However, anticipating the possibility that Vardhaan would try to escape, Vijay cleverly reveals that the diary that he had thrown in the fire was actually a blank one that he had switched just as he hands over the real diary to Verma, exposing Vardhaan's identity to the police. Vardhaan and the gang members are arrested, while Vijay, Roma, Jasjit, Deepu and Munni happily leave the police station.
After several years of unsuccessful attempts, the police finally succeed in nabbing Don who, however, tricks them all and flees from the spot. During a police chase, he is badly injured by a gunshot inflicted by the police which leads to his sudden disappearance. That night, DSP D'Silva individually encounters a wounded Don hiding in his car and decides to take him into custody alive, to extract the source of the crime organisation that he relies on. While on their way to the police station, Don succumbs to his serious injuries in the car, botching DSP D'Silva's plan.

Still wanting a chance to take down Don's gang, DSP D'Silva secretly gets Don's dead body buried in a graveyard while ensuring many people that he may still be alive. The only ones who are aware of Don's death are DSP D'Silva himself, the graveyard priest, and his followers. As luck would have it, D'Silva remembers his previous encounter with [[slum]]-dwelling simpleton and street performer Vijay (also [[Amitabh Bachchan]]), an exact [[doppelgänger]] of Don who is currently taking care of Deepu and Munni, two motherless children separated from their father. Meeting up with Vijay, DSP D'Silva reveals Don's death to him and hatches a plan to have Vijay impersonate Don, so that he can get the police to arrest the rest of the gang and find out the source of crime that they all rely on. As a startup, Vijay and DSP D'Silva stage an "accident" that lands Vijay in a hospital under police custody. This prompts Roma and Don's gang, currently led by Don's right-hand-man Narang ([[Kamal Kapoor]]) to kidnap Vijay from the hospital and take him to their hideout, allowing him to infiltrate the gang under the guise of having [[amnesia]].

Around the same time, a poor widower Jasjit ([[Pran (actor)|Pran]]) is released from prison after being arrested by DSP D'Silva few years ago for a past robbery he was involved in along with Narang. Jasjit took the job only with the intention of using the money to save his ill wife from death, but was caught by D'Silva in the act which resulted in his wife's death. He also intends to reunite with his children ,Deepu and Munni who are currently being taken care of by Vijay as they went missing after Jasjit's arrest.

As part of his mission, Vijay finds a red diary containing all the addresses and contacts of the criminals and even the evidences regarding their activities. He replaces the diary with a blank one and heads to DSP D'Silva's house to hand him over the real diary. While Vijay is climbing to D'Silva's apartment, Roma chases him and attacks him in an attempt to avenge both Ramesh and Kamini's deaths. Vijay survives the attack and tries to explain to Roma that he is not Don but she refuses to believe him. DSP D'Silva intervenes and confesses about Don's death to Roma, who apologises to Vijay and agrees to help him out in taking down the gang members. Using the diary, DSP D'Silva learns that all of the gang members are working for a notorious crime lord Vardhaan Makhija who is serving as the source of crime in Mumbai (even Don and Narang are nothing more than just middlemen reporting to Vardhaan). Despite this, there is no indication in finding out Vardhaan's identity, as it remains unknown. Meanwhile, Vijay announces to the gang members that he has regained his memory after learning more and more about Don's past through the diary.

However, things take a drastic turn when the police, acting upon Vijay's information, raid the hideout during the celebrations and DSP D'Silva, the only witness to Vijay's true identity, is shot in the crossfire while Vijay and the gang members are arrested as Inspector Verma and Malik mistake Vijay for Don. In the hospital, Vijay desperately tries to make a gravely injured DSP D'Silva confess that he is not Don. Unfortunately, DSP D'Silva dies from his serious injuries ,and Vijay is imprisoned. He is forced to escape from the police truck while on the way to a high-security jail, and the commotion causes Narang and the gang members to finally learn that Vijay is an imposter, just as they too escape from captivity, swearing to kill him.

⚫
Tangled in a web of confusion where the police refuse to believe he is Vijay while the gang members realise he is indeed not Don, Vijay learns that the diary (the sole evidence to prove his innocence) is stolen by Jasjit in order to track down Deepu and Munni. He meets Vijay and Roma who team up with him. However, the trio learn sthat Malik himself is actually Vardhaan who captured the real R.K. Malik ([[Pinchoo Kapoor]]) and posed as the latter to cover his crime, and that Vardhaan was the one who had murdered DSP D'Silva during the raid-up and had already exposed Roma's identity to the gang members, before having them kidnap Deepu and Munni so that the trio can surrender themselves and the diary to Vardhaan. After being captured by Vardhaan, Jasjit is reunited with Deepu and Munni and manages to escape the hideout with them, thanking Vijay for taking care of his children.

⚫
Meeting up in the same graveyard where Don was buried, Vardhaan and his gang members who are holding Deepu and Munni hostages, have a long standoff with Vijay, Roma and Jasjit, resulting in Vardhaan grabbing the diary from Roma and throwing it in a fire. Eventually, he calls Inspector Verma and the police to the scene to have the trio and the gang members arrested so that he can get away scot-free. However, anticipating the possibility that Vardhaan would try to escape, Vijay cleverly reveals that the diary that he had thrown in the fire was actually the blank one that he had switched, just as he hands over the real diary to Verma, exposing Vardhaan's identity and occupation to the police. Eventually, Vardhaan and the gang members are arrested and sent to prison for their crimes ,while all charges against Vijay are dropped. The film ends with Vijay, Roma, Jasjit, Deepu and Munni happily walking away from the police station, satisfied that they took down Vardhaan and his gang members for good.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
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* [[Om Shivpuri]] as Vardhaan / the fake R. K. Malik
* [[Om Shivpuri]] as Vardhaan / the fake R. K. Malik
* [[Satyen Kappu]] as Inspector Verma, DSP D'Silva's junior
* [[Satyen Kappu]] as Inspector Verma, DSP D'Silva's junior
* [[P. Jairaj]] as Dayal
* [[P. Jairaj]] as Dayal , Judo & Karate trainer
* [[Kamal Kapoor]] as Narang, Vardhaan's right-hand man
* [[Kamal Kapoor]] as Sham Narang, Vardhaan's right-hand man
* Arpana Choudhary as Anita, Don's girlfriend
* Arpana Choudhary as Anita, Don's girlfriend
* [[Helen (actress)|Helen]] as Kamini, Ramesh's fiancée
* [[Helen (actress)|Helen]] as Kamini, Ramesh's fiancée
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* Baby Bilkish as Munni, Jasjit's daughter
* Baby Bilkish as Munni, Jasjit's daughter
* Mastar Alankar as Dipak "Dipu", Jasjit's son
* Mastar Alankar as Dipak "Dipu", Jasjit's son
* Jagdish Raj (drama artist)
* Keshav Rana as Rana (fake police)
* M.A.Latif as father @ Church
* Rajan Haksar as Owner Bombay Circus


==Production==
==Production==
Producer and cinematographer Nariman Irani was in a financial mess when his film ''[[Zindagi Zindagi]]'' (1972), starring [[Sunil Dutt]] flopped. He was in debt for Rs 1.2&nbsp;million and couldn't pay the money off on a cinematographer's salary. When he was doing the cinematography for [[Manoj Kumar]]'s major hit ''[[Roti Kapada Aur Makaan]]'' (1974), the film's cast ([[Amitabh Bachchan]], [[Zeenat Aman]], [[Pran (actor)|Pran]]) and crew (assistant director Chandra Barot) decided to help him out. They all recommended that he produce another film and that they would articipate in its production. They all approached scriptwriting duo [[Salim–Javed]] ([[Salim Khan]] and [[Javed Akhtar]]), who gave them an untitled script that had already been rejected by the entire industry. The cinematographer Nariman Irani, while working on ''[[Chhailla Babu]]'', decided to borrow most of the plot of ''Chhailla Babu'' and shared a modified story idea with Chandra Barot, who made the new modified story aintothe film ''Don'' (1978). The script had a character named [[Don (character)|Don]]. Bachchan would play Don, and Barot would direct the film. Aman and Pran would play key roles in the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=The original Don director speaks - Chandra Barot |url=http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/chandra-barot-181006.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710234532/http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/chandra-barot-181006.html |archive-date=10 July 2012 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
Producer and cinematographer Nariman Irani was in a financial mess when his film ''[[Zindagi Zindagi]]'' (1972), starring [[Sunil Dutt]] flopped. He was in debt for Rs 1.2&nbsp;million and couldn't pay the money off on a cinematographer's salary. When he was doing the cinematography for [[Manoj Kumar]]'s major hit ''[[Roti Kapada Aur Makaan]]'' (1974), the film's cast ([[Amitabh Bachchan]], [[Zeenat Aman]], [[Pran (actor)|Pran]]) and crew (assistant director Chandra Barot) decided to help him out. They all recommended that he produce another film and that they would anticipate in its production. They all approached scriptwriting duo [[Salim–Javed]] ([[Salim Khan]] and [[Javed Akhtar]]), who gave them an untitled script that had already been rejected by the entire industry. The cinematographer Nariman Irani, while working on ''[[Chhailla Babu]]'', decided to borrow most of the plot of ''Chhailla Babu'' and shared a modified story idea with Chandra Barot, who made the new modified story aintothe film ''Don'' (1978). The script had a character named [[Don (character)|Don]]. Bachchan would play Don, and Barot would direct the film. Aman and Pran would play key roles in the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=The original Don director speaks - Chandra Barot |url=http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/chandra-barot-181006.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710234532/http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/chandra-barot-181006.html |archive-date=10 July 2012 |access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>


The film took three-and-a-half years to complete.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/10/20/stories/2006102001510100.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106064309/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/10/20/stories/2006102001510100.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=6 November 2007 | location=Chennai, India | work=[[The Hindu]] | title=Don, down the decades | date=20 October 2006}}</ref> Before filming was completed, producer Irani died from an accident on the set of another film he was working on. Barot faced budget restraints but received aid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/16sld3.htm|title=rediff.com: An exclusive interview with Chandra Barot, who made the first Don|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> Barot showed the film to his mentor [[Manoj Kumar]], who felt that the film was too tight and needed a song in the midst of the action-filled film, and so "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" was addeinto the film. ''Don'' was released without any promotion on 12 May 1978 and was declared a flop the first week. Within a week after adding the song "Khaike Paan Banaraswala", the song by itself became a big hit, an''by'' y word of mouth spread, so by the second week, the film's fortunes were reversed, and the film was declared a blockbuster. The profits from the film were given to Irani's widow to settle her husband's debts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/16sld4.htm|title=rediff.com: An exclusive interview with Chandra Barot, who made the first Don|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
The film took three-and-a-half years to complete.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/10/20/stories/2006102001510100.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106064309/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/10/20/stories/2006102001510100.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=6 November 2007 | location=Chennai, India | work=[[The Hindu]] | title=Don, down the decades | date=20 October 2006}}</ref> Before filming was completed, producer Irani died from an accident on the set of another film he was working on. Barot faced budget restraints but received aid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/16sld3.htm|title=rediff.com: An exclusive interview with Chandra Barot, who made the first Don|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> Barot showed the film to his mentor [[Manoj Kumar]], who felt that the film was too tight and needed a song in the midst of the action-filled film, and so "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" was added into the film. ''Don'' was released without any promotion on 12 May 1978 and was declared a flop the first week. Within a week after adding the song "Khaike Paan Banaraswala", the song by itself became a big hit, and word of mouth spread, so by the second week, the film's fortunes were reversed, and the film was declared a blockbuster. The profits from the film were given to Irani's widow to settle her husband's debts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/16sld4.htm|title=rediff.com: An exclusive interview with Chandra Barot, who made the first Don|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>


The hit-song "Khaike Pan Banaraswala" sung by [[Kishore Kumar]] was choreographed by [[P. L. Raj]].<ref name="hindu03">{{Cite web | title = PONYTAIL 'n' pop, but desi | url = http://www.hindu.com/mp/2003/09/29/stories/2003092902140200.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040708195206/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2003/09/29/stories/2003092902140200.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 8 July 2004 | date = 29 September 2003 | work = [[The Hindu]] | access-date = 29 June 2013 }}</ref>
The hit-song "Khaike Pan Banaraswala" sung by [[Kishore Kumar]] was choreographed by [[P. L. Raj]].<ref name="hindu03">{{Cite web | title = PONYTAIL 'n' pop, but desi | url = http://www.hindu.com/mp/2003/09/29/stories/2003092902140200.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040708195206/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2003/09/29/stories/2003092902140200.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 8 July 2004 | date = 29 September 2003 | work = [[The Hindu]] | access-date = 29 June 2013 }}</ref>
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| cover =
| cover =
| alt =
| alt =
| released = 1978
| released = {{Film date|1978}}
| recorded =
| recorded =
| venue =
| venue =
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The soundtrack of the film has been composed by the duo [[Kalyanji–Anandji]], while the lyrics were written by [[Anjaan (lyricist)|Anjaan]] and [[Indeevar]].
The soundtrack of the film has been composed by the duo [[Kalyanji–Anandji]], while the lyrics were written by [[Anjaan (lyricist)|Anjaan]] and [[Indeevar]].


According to film music expert Rajesh Subramanian, the song "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" was composed by Babla, the younger brother of a famous music director Kalyanji–Anandji.
According to film music expert Rajesh Subramanian, the song "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" was composed by Babla, the younger brother of a famous music director Kalyanji–Anandji.<ref>https://m.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/16sld4.htm {{bare URL inline|date=February 2024}}</ref>


[[Kishore Kumar]] and [[Asha Bhosle]] received accolades at filmfare for the tracks "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" and "Yeh Mera Dil" respectively, both of which have also been remixed in the remake.
[[Kishore Kumar]] and [[Asha Bhosle]] received accolades at filmfare for the tracks "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" and "Yeh Mera Dil" respectively, both of which have also been remixed in the remake.
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[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:1970s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:1970s Hindi-language films]]
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Latest revision as of 11:25, 24 September 2024

Don
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChandra Barot
Written bySalim–Javed
Produced byNariman Irani
StarringAmitabh Bachchan
Zeenat Aman
Pran
CinematographyNariman Irani
Edited byWaman Rao
Music byKalyanji–Anandji
Production
company
Nariman Films
Release date
  • 12 May 1978 (1978-05-12)
Running time
166 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budgetest. ₹7 million[1][2]
Box officeest. ₹70 million[3]

Don is a 1978 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Chandra Barot from a story written by Salim–Javed and produced by Nariman Irani. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan in dual role, alongside Zeenat Aman, Pran, Iftekhar, Om Shivpuri and Satyen Kappu in supporting roles. The music was composed by Kalyanji–Anandji with lyrics written by Anjaan and Indeevar.

Don was the third highest-grossing Indian film of 1978 and was classified a golden jubilee by Box Office India.[3][4] The film spawned the Don franchise; Javed Akhtar's son Farhan Akhtar created a remake Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006) and its sequel Don 2 (2011), both starring Shah Rukh Khan. It also inspired several South Indian remakes, including the Telugu film Yugandhar (1979) and the Tamil film Billa (1980).[5] Don is also known for its theme music, which was used in the American Dad! episode "Tearjerker" (2008). The intro "Yeh Mera Dil" was sampled by the Black Eyed Peas for the song "Don't Phunk with My Heart" (2005).[6]

Plot

[edit]

Don is a notorious crime boss in Mumbai who always eludes the authorities despite being wanted in eleven countries. DSP D'Silva, Inspector Verma and Interpol officer R. K. Malik have spent the last few years in capturing Don, but to no avail. During a chase with the police, Don is severely wounded after an accident and dies in front of D'Silva, who holds a burial of Don without anyone's knowledge. D'Silva keeps Don's death as a secret even from his fellow officers, and tracks down a look-alike called Vijay, a street performer. D'Silva asks Vijay to infiltrate Don's gang by pretending to be Don. In return, D'Silva will make sure that the children Vijay adopted, Deepu and Munni, get a proper education.

D'Silva trains Vijay and sends him back to Don's gang, disguised as an amnesiac Don, who had been hiding at an apartment complex due to his injuries. Slowly, Vijay starts to learn about Don's gang. Vijay provides a diary with the secret information of the crime network to D'Silva, but he is about to be killed by Roma because her brother Ramesh as well as his fiancée Kamini were killed by Don earlier. At this juncture, D'Silva arrives and tells her that he is Vijay and not Don. Later before a party, Don secretly provides information to D'Silva about a meeting of Don's network. A shootout occurs at the party and D'Silva is killed in a crossfire. Vijay finds D'Silva dead and is taken into the custody of the police team, now headed by Malik.

Vijay argues to Malik that he is not Don and mentions a piece of evidence – the diary, which may prove his innocence, but the diary is nowhere to be found. Unable to prove his innocence, Vijay escapes from a police van and joins Roma, where he learns that the diary is stolen by a person named Jasjit in order to track down his children Deepu and Munni. Jasjit meets Vijay and Roma and joins them. However, the trio learns that Malik is actually Vardhaan who captured the real Malik and posed as the latter to cover his crime and that Vardhaan was the one who had murdered D'Silva during the party and had already exposed Roma's identity to the gang members before having them kidnap Deepu and Munni so that the trio can surrender themselves and the diary to Vardhaan.

After being captured by Vardhaan, Jasjit is reunited with Deepu and Munni and manages to escape the hideout with them, thanking Vijay for taking care of his children. Meeting up in the same graveyard where Don was buried, Vardhaan and his gang members who are holding Deepu and Munni hostages, have a long standoff with Vijay, Roma and Jasjit, resulting in Vardhaan grabbing the diary from Roma and throwing it in a fire. Eventually, Vardhaan calls Inspector Verma and the police to the scene to have the trio and the gang members arrested so that he can get away scot-free. However, anticipating the possibility that Vardhaan would try to escape, Vijay cleverly reveals that the diary that he had thrown in the fire was actually a blank one that he had switched just as he hands over the real diary to Verma, exposing Vardhaan's identity to the police. Vardhaan and the gang members are arrested, while Vijay, Roma, Jasjit, Deepu and Munni happily leave the police station.

Cast

[edit]
  • Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay and Don (dual role)
  • Zeenat Aman as Roma
  • Pran as Jasjit ("JJ")
  • Iftekhar as DSP D'Silva
  • Om Shivpuri as Vardhaan / the fake R. K. Malik
  • Satyen Kappu as Inspector Verma, DSP D'Silva's junior
  • P. Jairaj as Dayal , Judo & Karate trainer
  • Kamal Kapoor as Sham Narang, Vardhaan's right-hand man
  • Arpana Choudhary as Anita, Don's girlfriend
  • Helen as Kamini, Ramesh's fiancée
  • Shetty as Shakaal, Don's gang member
  • Mac Mohan as Mac, Don's gang member
  • Yusuf Khan as Vikram, Don's gang member
  • Pinchoo Kapoor as the real R. K. Malik, Interpol officer
  • Sharad Kumar as Ramesh, Roma's brother
  • Baby Bilkish as Munni, Jasjit's daughter
  • Mastar Alankar as Dipak "Dipu", Jasjit's son
  • Jagdish Raj (drama artist)
  • Keshav Rana as Rana (fake police)
  • M.A.Latif as father @ Church
  • Rajan Haksar as Owner Bombay Circus

Production

[edit]

Producer and cinematographer Nariman Irani was in a financial mess when his film Zindagi Zindagi (1972), starring Sunil Dutt flopped. He was in debt for Rs 1.2 million and couldn't pay the money off on a cinematographer's salary. When he was doing the cinematography for Manoj Kumar's major hit Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), the film's cast (Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran) and crew (assistant director Chandra Barot) decided to help him out. They all recommended that he produce another film and that they would anticipate in its production. They all approached scriptwriting duo Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar), who gave them an untitled script that had already been rejected by the entire industry. The cinematographer Nariman Irani, while working on Chhailla Babu, decided to borrow most of the plot of Chhailla Babu and shared a modified story idea with Chandra Barot, who made the new modified story aintothe film Don (1978). The script had a character named Don. Bachchan would play Don, and Barot would direct the film. Aman and Pran would play key roles in the film.[7]

The film took three-and-a-half years to complete.[8] Before filming was completed, producer Irani died from an accident on the set of another film he was working on. Barot faced budget restraints but received aid.[9] Barot showed the film to his mentor Manoj Kumar, who felt that the film was too tight and needed a song in the midst of the action-filled film, and so "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" was added into the film. Don was released without any promotion on 12 May 1978 and was declared a flop the first week. Within a week after adding the song "Khaike Paan Banaraswala", the song by itself became a big hit, and word of mouth spread, so by the second week, the film's fortunes were reversed, and the film was declared a blockbuster. The profits from the film were given to Irani's widow to settle her husband's debts.[10]

The hit-song "Khaike Pan Banaraswala" sung by Kishore Kumar was choreographed by P. L. Raj.[11]

Don was produced on a budget of ₹70 lakh[1] ($860,000).[12] Adjusted for inflation, its budget is equivalent to $4 million (₹22 crore) in 2016.[13]

Soundtrack

[edit]
Don
Soundtrack album by
Kalyanji–Anandji
Released
  • 1978 (1978)
LabelEMI Records
ProducerKalyanji–Anandji

The soundtrack of the film has been composed by the duo Kalyanji–Anandji, while the lyrics were written by Anjaan and Indeevar.

According to film music expert Rajesh Subramanian, the song "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" was composed by Babla, the younger brother of a famous music director Kalyanji–Anandji.[14]

Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle received accolades at filmfare for the tracks "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" and "Yeh Mera Dil" respectively, both of which have also been remixed in the remake.

Song Singer
"Jiska Mujhe Tha Intezaar, Jiske Liye Dil Tha Bekaraar" Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
"Khaike Paan Banaraswala" Kishore Kumar
"Ee Hai Bambai Nagaria" Kishore Kumar
"Main Hoon Don" Kishore Kumar
"Yeh Mera Dil" Asha Bhosle

Box office

[edit]

At the Indian box office, the film grossed ₹7 crore[3] ($8.6 million).[12] Adjusted for inflation, its box office gross is equivalent to $28 million (₹186 crore) in 2016.[13]

Awards

[edit]
Award Category Recipients and Nominees Results
26th Filmfare Awards Best Actor Amitabh Bachchan Won
Best Male Playback Singer Kishore Kumar for "Khaike Paan Banaraswala"
Best Female Playback Singer Asha Bhosle for "Yeh Mera Dil"
Best Music Director Kalyanji–Anandji Nominated
Best Lyricist Anjaan for "Khaike Paan Banaraswala"

Legacy and influence

[edit]

Don series

[edit]
See also: Don (franchise)

The film was remade in 2006 as Don starring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role of Don and Vijay, Priyanka Chopra as Roma, Arjun Rampal as Jasjit, Boman Irani as D'Silva, and Om Puri as Malik. It was directed by Farhan Akhtar. With some changes in the script, the film proved to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year. A sequel to that film, Don 2, was released on 23 December 2011.[4]

Remakes in other languages

[edit]

Music

[edit]

A sample from the song "Yeh Mera Dil" was used by The Black Eyed Peas for their hit song "Don't Phunk with My Heart" in 2005. The song won the Black Eyed Peas their first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, while the composers for "Yeh Mera Dil", Kalyanji–Anandji, were awarded the BMI Award for being the originators of the melodies used in "Don't Phunk with My Heart."[6]

The third season American Dad! episode "Tearjerker" (2008) uses the 1978 Don theme music in its intro sequence.

The third episode of the Marvel Studios television series Ms. Marvel features "Yeh Mera Dil" in a wedding dance sequence.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Excel Entertainment - Raees After 15 Years Of DCH Cinema - Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com.
  2. ^ "Don". Ibosnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Box Office 1978". Box Office India. 20 October 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Farhan's next Don to go on floors in October". Sify. IANS. 22 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b Girija Jinnaa (15 June 2007). "'Yesterday I was a conductor, today I'm a star'". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 17 June 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Kalayanji, Anandji win BMI award". Indo-Asian News Service. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  7. ^ "The original Don director speaks - Chandra Barot". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Don, down the decades". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 October 2006. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007.
  9. ^ "rediff.com: An exclusive interview with Chandra Barot, who made the first Don". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  10. ^ "rediff.com: An exclusive interview with Chandra Barot, who made the first Don". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  11. ^ "PONYTAIL 'n' pop, but desi". The Hindu. 29 September 2003. Archived from the original on 8 July 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee (8.15 INR per USD)". Reserve Bank of India. 1978.
  13. ^ a b "Exchange Rates (68.3 INR per USD)". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2016. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  14. ^ https://m.rediff.com/movies/2006/oct/16sld4.htm [bare URL]
  15. ^ "Rajanikant: His name spells box-office magic in the south". India Today. 31 July 1988.
  16. ^ "Don but Notout". The Indian Express. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
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