FILM · 2006 · INDIA
Don
139 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (139)
- #001
Don contains five clues that Vijay, who has taken Don's place, is actually Don: 1. Don-Vijay-Don is shown watching Tom and Jerry cartoons while calling D'Silva to say the time has come for his memory to return. 2. Don-Vijay-Don uses the word "Please" when speaking to the security guards on the plane. 3. Don-Vijay-Don does not recognize Deepu; Deepu recognizes him instead. 4. Don-Vijay-Don continues to wear his ties knotted around his neck and tucked inside his shirt rather than tied normally at the collar, a detail Vijay could not have known. 5. It comes too late to be of any use, but Don-Vijay-Don keeps up his habit of answering a stupid question with a stupid answer. (When TJ asks whether there is cocaine in the box, Don says, "No, I came to give you my birthday card." To Narang's "What is this?" Don replies, "Your wedding DVD." When D'Silva says, "You have the disc?", "Vijay" answers, "No, it was my love for you that dragged me here.") 6. In the aforementioned plane scene, "Vijay" threatens Don's teammates and mocks one of them for his facial features. Moreover, when a teammate attacks him during the escape, "Vijay" boldly opens the plane door, pulls himself and the teammate outside, follows him and opens the single parachute they were both fighting over, killing him and causing the teammate to fall. 7) Not related to "Vijay", but during the interval "DCP D'Silva" reveals himself as the mysterious Vardhaan (a gift held back until the climax of the original 1978 version). This hints to the audience that an even bigger turning point awaits at the end. 8) When "Don" dies in the hospital, his eyes hold an expression of shock and fear. This contradicts Don's behavior in the earlier scene where, gravely wounded, he tells D'Silva, "If he wants to shoot me, let him go ahead. But don't make the mistake of arresting me." (This scene also gives clues about "D'Silva"'s identity, because if he were the real D'Silva, Don would have been arrested then and there and would not have been knocked out by him unless he had a hidden agenda.)
- #002
Hrithik Roshan was considered for the lead role, but after completing the script Farhan Akhtar realized a more mature actor was needed, so Shah Rukh Khan took the role.
- #003
During the shoot, Shah Rukh Khan's wedding ring slipped off his finger. Khan had everyone on set search for it, with the absurd excuse that if they could not find it he would have to remarry in order to get a new ring. Needless to say, they found it fairly quickly.
- #004
The password Joshi's character first mistakenly enters into the computer (during Jasjit's return) is "F09AK74", a code based on Farhan Akhtar's birthday.
- #005
Apparently, Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had previously refused to let even Hollywood films shoot at the Petronas Towers, allowed the crew to film in his personal office in the Towers.
- #006
In one scene, when Don goes to the safe to lock up his DVD, Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" is visible in the background (implying he may have been involved in its 2004 theft from the Munch Museum). However, by the film's premiere the painting had been recovered. The producers used this in the film's UK promotion, suggesting that the recovered painting was a fake and that the painting in Don's safe was the original.
- #007
Don's disc is actually a PSP UMD.
- #008
While working on the script, Farhan Akhtar preserved the original Don (1978) screenplay written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar as it was, but rewrote the opening and closing scenes himself. He did this to give the Don (1978) version originality. Thus Don survives and ultimately escapes to live on for a sequel.
- #009
Most of the cars used in the chase scenes are made by Hyundai. Shah Rukh Khan became a brand ambassador for Hyundai.
- #010
A fight scene between Don and DCP DeSilva was being shot in Langkawi. Unfortunately the fight choreographer was making a mess of things, and Boman Irani had to catch a plane for a shoot in Goa. With time running short for Irani, Shah Rukh Khan choreographed the scene himself. Khan explained the scenes to Irani, when to enter the frame and so on. After a few takes the sequence was finally executed, and Irani caught his flight just in time.
- #011
Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Arjun Rampal underwent a special martial arts training program under the guidance of Shaolin Temple experts for their roles in the film.
- #012
In the final scene, Don says he is the baadshah of the underworld and that he is king. Shah Rukh Khan, who plays Don in the film, is commonly referred to as the 'baadshah' of the Indian film industry and also as King Khan.
- #013
Akhtar found the original film to be slightly ahead of its time.
- #014
In the club scene where Kamini (Kareena Kapoor) dances seductively trying to catch Don's attention, the music playing in the club again samples the melody of "Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe" from 'Dil Chahta Hai', also directed by Farhan Akhtar.
- #015
If you pay attention, the song "Aaj Ki Raat", which comes near the film's climax (just before the police raid on the criminals' group), cleverly gives away the film's final twist that the man named Vijay who replaced Don is actually Don. This becomes clear from the song's lyrics, which go "Jo hamesha tha mera phir mera hoga" (Anita (Isha Koppikar) says that the one who was always mine will come back to me again — thus showing that she knows Vijay's true identity, namely Don). More explicitly, the change emerges in the title track "Mujhko pehchaan lo main hoon don" (that is, Recognize me, I'm Don), but the lyrics go unnoticed because a song with similar phrasing also exists in the original Don (1978), where it acts as a kind of red herring in the new film's story.
- #016
Don wears a Tag Heuer watch throughout the entire film. Despite all the action scenes, the journeys and even death, the watch stays intact on Don.
- #017
Composers Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendosa claim they based their music on the scores of 1970s films, particularly Shaft (1971).
- #018
Billa itself was a remake of Don 1978.
- #019
During the shooting of "Lakshya", Farhan was listening to the CD of the album "Bombay The Hard Way - Guns Cars Sitars". This album contains the title music of "Don". Listening to it reminded him how much he loved the original as a child. The idea of remaking the film later came to his mind.
- #020
Akhtar kept the basic plot but made some changes, including an international setting and a different ending.
- #021
Don was the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2006.
- #022
The song "Aaj Ki Raat" features prominently at the climax of Slumdog Millionaire, where gangsters and crime boss Javed dance to the melody while "Aaj Ki Raat" plays on a television, though it shows the music video of "Fanaa" from Rahman's film Yuva (2004) being played.
- #023
Both Don (2006) and Don 2 (2011) include scenes in which Don is seen watching Tom and Jerry cartoons for entertainment.
- #024
The song "Aaj Ki Raat" sampled Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" and 2:48 of Lipps Inc.'s "Rock It".
- #025
Khan said he always wanted to appear in his films the way Amitabh Bachchan did, but that he added his own interpretation to the role.
- #026
Farhan initially wanted to cast Sushmita Sen as Roma. The role was later played by Priyanka Chopra.
- #027
While remaking the film from a new perspective, Farhan Akhtar wanted to give the original a contemporary style and approach and to make a film that he believed would fit perfectly with modern times.
- #028
80% of the film was shot in Malaysia.
- #029
Don was a major commercial success, grossing over 1.06 billion INR in ticket revenue.
- #030
The film premiered on 20 October 2006, coinciding with the Diwali holiday season.
- #031
Master choreographer Saroj Khan agreed to choreograph a new version of the popular song "Khaike Paan Banaras Waala", which her mentor P. L. Raj had choreographed in the original film.
- #032
For the action scenes, Hollywood technician Angelo Sahin, the special effects supervisor behind Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), and aerial stunt coordinator Joe Jennings, known for his work on films such as Charlie's Angels (2000), were hired.
- #033
The song "Aaj Ki Raat" was used by A. R. Rahman in the Grammy and Academy Award-winning soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
- #034
When Don is seriously injured after the car chase and crawls into the forest to hide before being caught by DCP De Silva/Vardhan, he slyly smiles and laughs at the latter even while held at gunpoint. This may mean that Don, as mentioned at the beginning of the film, remembers that De Silva is Vardhan, his former partner, from when he worked for Boris alongside Singhania. Don's capture would also have consequences for Vardhan, since evidence of Don's true identity could certainly be found and thus form the basis of his elaborate plan.
- #035
As of 2024, many of the real-life locations where the film was shot no longer exist. The café in Paris where the opening scene was filmed closed due to financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Belle studio from the opening sequence has also closed. The Andaman resort in Langkawi where several scenes were shot was engulfed by fire in 2021 and damaged beyond repair.
- #036
Akshay Kumar was initially offered the role of Jasjit but turned it down.
- #037
The film was also nominated for nine awards at the 52nd Filmfare Awards, including Best Film and a Best Actor nomination for Khan.
- #038
Kareena Kapoor was heavily criticised for her figure in the song "Ye Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Dewaana"; according to many critics, it should have been performed by someone with a toned body (a slim figure). Kareena took the criticism both positively and seriously and drastically reduced her body to the popular zero figure (see her appearance in Tashan, released almost 18 months after Shah Rukh's Don).
- #039
The lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar.
- #040
Don won the Best Asian Film award at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.
- #041
Farhan Akhtar came up with the idea of remaking the iconic 1978 film of the same name after listening to a remixed version of one of its songs.
- #042
Akhtar believed Khan was the most suitable person for the role and said, "He has the personality, the style, the talent, the larger-than-life persona, the sense of humour and the sheer charisma that this character demands."
- #043
The title song "Main Hoon Don", which ventures into rave, techno and industrial styles, is sung by Shaan.
- #044
The choreography for the song "Aaj Ki Raat" was done by the experienced choreographer Saroj Khan.
- #045
Don is a remake of the 1978 film of the same name.
- #046
Principal photography began in Mumbai in February 2006 before moving to Malaysia.
- #047
The soundtrack was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
- #048
Yana Gupta was considered for the role of Kamini.
- #049
Farhan Akhtar wrote the screenplay together with his father Javed Akhtar, who had written the original screenplay with Salim Khan.
- #050
In July 2005, Priyanka Chopra was cast as Roma, a role originally played by Zeenat Aman.
- #051
In August 2005, it was confirmed that Kareena Kapoor would appear in the song "Yeh Mera Dil", which was originally voiced by Helen in the original film.
- #052
Chopra, who had seen the original film as a youngster, avoided watching it again because she did not want to imitate Zeenat Aman's portrayal of Roma.
- #053
After signing on for the film, Chopra was very excited, but a few days later she grew nervous, wondering whether she could do justice to the character.
- #054
After Chopra decided to do her own stunts, Akhtar said he was happy because it gave him the opportunity to shoot the fight scenes from different angles.
- #055
Boman Irani, who played DCP De Silva, a role portrayed by Iftekhar in the original film, stated that he played the role in keeping with the script but retained some of the film's dignity.
- #056
Aradhana Seth served as art director.
- #057
The costumes were designed by Aki Narula.
- #058
Akhtar chose K. U. Mohanan to handle the cinematography after being impressed by his work in documentaries and commercials.
- #059
Don was K. U. Mohanan's first Indian film as a cinematographer.
- #060
Filming in Malaysia took place over seventy days at 42 locations, including KLCC, Kampung Baru and Penchala Link, and involved more than a thousand extras who were chosen after auditions.
- #061
The song "Khaike Paan Banaras Waala" was shot with Khan and Chopra in Malaysia on 13 May 2006.
- #062
The soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics, who praised "Aaj Ki Raat" and called it "innovative" and the best song on the album.
- #063
The dances for the other songs were choreographed by Prabhu Deva, Ganesh Hegde and Rajeev Surti.
- #064
As a remake of an iconic film with a star-studded cast, it was one of the most anticipated films of the year.
- #065
The vocals were performed by Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shankar Mahadevan, Alisha Chinai, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Sonu Nigam and MIDIval Punditz.
- #066
After the poster was released, the theatrical trailer came out in mid-September.
- #067
The music topped the charts on many platforms in India.
- #068
A sequel titled Don 2, also directed by Akhtar, was released on 23 December 2011. Khan, Chopra, Irani and Puri reprise their roles as Don, Roma, De Silva alias Vardhan and Malik respectively.
- #069
Kareena Kapoor appeared in the film in a guest role.
- #070
The film also borrows elements from Face/Off and Con Air, both of which star Nicholas Cage.
- #071
The director later bought the rights and conceived his adaptation as a tribute to the original film, its cast and crew, and the 1970s era in general.
- #072
In early 2005, media reports began to appear that Akhtar was planning to remake the film, but instead of confirming the report, Akhtar stated that he had written the script inspired by the film and would make a final decision only after completing the script.
- #073
During his interrogation, Don, disguised as Vijay, tells Malik and Inspector Verma about Dr. Ashok Khilwani, who surgically gave Vijay the same wounds Don received after a gunfight with the police in India as part of DCP De Silva's plan. However, in the days following Don's return to his organisation, it is revealed that Khilwani and his assistant died in a mysterious car accident. Since De Silva is revealed to the audience as the wanted criminal Vardhan just before he meets Don (as Vijay) to collect the disc, it is quite likely that Vardhan killed Khilwani and his team to further eliminate Don's chance of escaping custody, because Vardhan mistakenly believed Don had died in the hospital and Vijay was only a way back to Singhania and his organisation.
- #074
It was made on a budget of 380 million INR.
- #075
A number of elements from the original were retained in the new film, particularly the background score, two songs, some dialogues and some situations; Akhtar believed all of them were good in the original and said it would be a crime not to include them.
- #076
After Akshay Kumar turned down the role because it was secondary, Rampal was cast as Jasjit, the role played by Pran in the original.
- #077
The lead cast trained in different martial arts.
- #078
Chopra made a conscious effort to give the character her own look and style.
- #079
This was Chopra's first action role, and the part excited him so much that he wanted to perform all the stunts himself.
- #080
Rampal, who played Jasjit, said he approached his character the way Pran did in the original, but with an emotional arc.
- #081
The film was also shot at Film City and Yash Raj Studios.
- #082
To give the film a distinctive look, scenes were shot on a closed set, in real locations, with real shalwars.
- #083
Additional shooting took place in Singapore.
- #084
Some filming was done in Paris in March 2006 as a three-day schedule.
- #085
In April 2006, shooting moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the majority of the film was shot.
- #086
Several real-life journalists from India and Malaysia were hired for a scene depicting a media ambush.
- #087
Farah Khan choreographed the song "Yeh Mera Dil".
- #088
Its premiere was held by T-Series on 26 August 2006.
- #089
The Don soundtrack album was the first Indian film soundtrack to be released on iTunes on the same day as its launch, or before physical copies were made available to the public.
- #090
Khan also sang part of the song "Khaike Paan Banaras Waala".
- #091
The second poster, which also revealed the film's premiere date, was released in late July 2006.
- #092
The re-creations of the songs "Ye Mera Dil" and "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" from the original film received mixed reviews.
- #093
Writing about the trailer, Bollywood Hungama found it promising, saying that "trendy accessories, fancy gadgets, glitzy locations, expensive wardrobe and deadly action sequences form the framework of the new Don".
- #094
The makers also released Don popcorn holders before the film hit theatres.
- #095
An 80-page comic book was published and distributed free as a multi-page insert along with the film's tickets.
- #096
The film opened to excellent to very good responses, with 90 percent occupancy in domestic ticket sales.
- #097
It was released worldwide on 20 October 2006, during the Diwali festival season, on 800 screens, clashing with another high-profile Bollywood film, Jaan-E-Mann.
- #098
To promote the film, the makers partnered with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment to launch a mobile game based on the film.
- #099
In its first week in the United Kingdom, Don grossed $1.1 million, while its first-week overseas earnings exceeded $4.1 million.
- #100
Distributed domestically by T-Series Home Entertainment and internationally by UTV, the film was released on DVD in all regions on 5 December 2006 in a two-disc Collector's Edition NTSC package featuring bonus content including the making of the film, bloopers, trailers, deleted scenes and an applause track.
- #101
It also grossed over $7.8 million in overseas territories and was declared a blockbuster.
- #102
In December 2005, UTV acquired the film's overseas rights.
- #103
The DVD also included a "Don Comic Book".
- #104
It also opened well in overseas markets, with an opening weekend of over $2.2 million.
- #105
A VCD version was released in January 2007.
- #106
A limited-edition steelbook DVD was released in January 2007 with the same bonus features.
- #107
In its second week the film drew very strong interest and performed extremely well, even outperforming that week's new releases, with collections rising at several centres and setting new second-week records.
- #108
A single-disc DVD package was released later.
- #109
The Blu-ray version was released on 27 April 2011.
- #110
The track "Don Revisited" was composed by MIDIval Punditz, and the title track was remixed by DJ Randolph.
- #111
More than 30,000 people attended the music launch event at Inorbit Mall in Malad, Mumbai.
- #112
The song "Aaj Ki Raat", sung by Alisha Chinai, Mahalakshmi Iyer and Sonu Nigam, has a 1980s fashion-club atmosphere.
- #113
The host of the music launch event was RJ Harsh from Radio Mirchi.
- #114
Ehsaan stated that the song was influenced by late-1970s and 1980s synthpop music, including musicians such as Ultravox and Cerrone.
- #115
The music launch began with Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy performing "Mourya Re", followed by a short introduction about the album.
- #116
Live drums were used for "Aaj Ki Raat", and Ehsaan experimented with thin guitar riffs to capture the liveliness of The Ventures and The Shadows.
- #117
Isha Koppikar performed on stage and later launched the music with Shahrukh Khan, as lead actress Priyanka Chopra was unable to attend the event.
- #118
For "Aaj Ki Raat", Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy worked with director Farhan Akhtar, himself a music enthusiast, to create the track incorporating elements of the music styles they listened to in the late 1970s and 1980s.
- #119
Shahrukh also performed the rap song of Khaike Paan Banaraswala and presented some dialogues from the film at the music launch.
- #120
Although it ranked among the top 5 highest-grossing films of 2006, the worldwide box office collections of the 1978 original, despite its limited overseas releases confined to the Soviet Union and at best the United Kingdom, still amount to twice those of this remake when adjusted for inflation. The film therefore made a record-breaking decision abroad, earning around 10 million US dollars thanks to Shahrukh Khan's fans in the Middle East, the UK, the US and Southeast Asia, while managing only an average performance domestically.
- #121
The café where the promotional scene was shot (Le Clos des Gourmets, Paris) closed permanently during the COVID period due to financial difficulties.
- #122
In January 2021 a fire broke out at the hotel where some scenes of the film were shot (The Andaman Langkawi). The hotel was heavily damaged and closed permanently.
- #123
This is Sushma Reddy's last film.
- #124
The idea of the medical team led by Bikramjit Kandpal being killed in a mysterious car accident was inspired by the first draft of John Woo's Hollywood blockbuster FACE/OFF (1997), in which CCH Pounder's character was written to die in a car accident arranged by Nicolas Cage after he takes on John Travolta's identity.
- #125
Chandra Barot said, "Let me clarify the situation. This is not the first time Don has been remade. The first instance was made by my friend Kawal Sharma. Years ago he made a film called Dav Pech with Jeetendra. He told me he would put the second half of my film into the first half of his film and vice versa. But somehow the film went unnoticed, so many people are not aware of it."
- #126
Chandra Barot said, "In all my interviews I never mentioned that there were flaws in the film. I always argued that Farhan is a young man, that he liked the script his father wrote and wanted to tell the story in his own way. But there are a few basic questions about the remake that nobody asked. In the remake the real Don does not die and continues to the end after killing the lookalike. My question is, if you are the real Don, how can you do this? Are you singing Khaike Paan Banaraswala? He grew up in a foreign country. And if he is not the lookalike singer Vijay, why is he romancing Priyanka Chopra? He has his own girl, Isha Koppikar. Farhan gave me great lines in his Don. Give your own son at least five new one-liners that people can remember. Can you remember a single new line from the remake? Come up with some real highlights that would make people forget the old Don. It has become a cocktail of the old and the new."
- #127
Shahrukh Khan's (as Don) love of the popular cartoon series TOM AND JERRY resembles his cat-and-mouse relationship with the police in the context of the chases and with Boman Irani (as Vardhan) in the context of rivalry (as hinted several times in the film, Don is aware of De Silva's true identity). Don, like Tom, enjoys tormenting the police by committing crimes ranging from smuggling to murder, and Vardhan repeatedly escapes him and carries on his business in the open despite being wanted by Interpol, showing that he is the "Big Cat". Vardhan, on the other hand, like Jerry, operates underground in the guise of a policeman, similar to mice hiding in holes. The only difference witnessed in the film is that in most episodes Jerry manages to set Tom up to take the fall, whereas in the film Tom, despite being chased by him, wins at "trapping" Jerry, and not the other way around.
- #128
Farhan Akhtar wanted Mallika Sherawat for the role of Helen. The problem was that she could not dance.
- #129
The film was released in cinemas in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- #130
Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi were inspired by Isha Koppikar's performance in the film D (2005) and suggested her name to Farhan Akhtar for this film.
- #131
The melody at 2:05 in "Aaj Ki Raat" (the vocal version) was sampled from the intro melody of Van Halen's Jump.
- #132
Yello's "Jungle Bill" music was the inspiration for "Main Hoon Don".
- #133
The Petronas Towers scene, in which Jasjit (Rampal) climbs onto the bridge between the two towers to escape Vardhaan's thugs along with Deepu, can be considered a direct homage to the scene in the 1978 original in which Jasjit (Pran) carries Deepu and Munni (removed in this version) on his shoulders and escapes with them from Vardhaan's hideout while balancing himself on a rope (a move he could perform flawlessly thanks to a circus background).
- #134
While shooting for the song Aaj Ki Raat, Shahrukh Khan told Priyanka Chopra and Isha Koppikar: "If you two ladies are dancing beside me, then who will watch me?"
- #135
Throughout the film the only person who actually focuses on Vardhan is Boman Irani; first at the beginning of the film, which explains Don's rise as far as Southeast Asia except for Vardhan's disappearance in the drug trade in the Indian subcontinent, and second after "Vijay" is brought back to the Malaysian post by Om Puri, when, regardless of the amnesia, he is asked which "enemy" wants to catch Don after the surgery. The following conversations may hint that the Iranian DCP De Silva character is a false identity and that he is in fact Vardhan, something revealed to the audience just before the Iranian interval, before he goes to take the disc from Don (disguised as Vijay).
- #136
During the car chase scene in Mumbai, Don's car was heavily damaged but the airbags did not deploy.
- #137
Koppikar was cast in a completely new role that was not in the original film.
- #138
Based on ticket revenue in India, the soundtrack sold 1.5 million copies, making it one of the best-selling Bollywood film soundtracks of the year.
- #139
The first-look poster was released in late April 2006 and, according to the media, offered a hint of what kind of adaptation the film would be.
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