He’s At It Again

“If I had my way,I would’ve fixed cameras on shoes and baseball caps and marketed the film through it ,” laughed Akhtar,as he introduced a first-of-its-kind Bollywood boardgame and puzzle based on the film and its characters. It has been developed by a team of 100,headed by award-winning Australian game creator,mathematician and physicist,Frank Dyksterhuis.

As the four — Khan,Chopra,producer Ritesh Sidhwani and director Akhtar — took a seat at PVR,Centra Mall,the obvious question was,why did it take five years to make a sequel? “When I made Don – The Chase Begins,I never thought of a sequel till people forced me to make one,” said Akhtar,adding how die-hard Don fans tried everything — from requesting him to threatening him to make the sequel.

Don 2 takes off from where the first one left,“and that’s the beauty of a sequel. I didn’t have to waste energy on character building,and focused on the plot instead,” added Akhtar,whose challenge this time was to build the curiosity,pump up the excitement and deliver the unexpected. “Because that’s who Don is — unpredictable. This is one thing that makes him an extremely interesting character,” said Akhtar.

But what makes the Don’s character appealing goes beyond the villainous,devious mind of a criminal and the grey shades it wears. “He is a hypnotic,attractive,stylised and mesmerising character,” said Khan,who looked every bit the Don,with his long locks intact. “Devils are fasinating. I am amused at the way devils are protrayed in our films — ugly,loud and in your face. But that’s not how the rich,the powerful or the strong are. A devil could look like the man-next-door — charming,gentle and in control,” added the actor,elaborating on his “meaner,faster,cooler and sexier role of a lifetime”.