On paper, ‘Stalin’ looks great, just like the way the protagonist draws the Mega idea to his friends. If only you could frame the paper, shoot and screen it in theaters. In reality, it needs more effort than that to project such an idea. It is in the execution, that the movie goes haywire, with almost every aspect of film making begging for more. A little here and a little there would have made a great difference. But ‘Stalin’ is out there and millions have already lapped up the film. What you are about to read is an analysis by an ardent admirer of Megastar and a regular cinegoer, who would have liked to see a better fare, as it comes only once in a year.

Before we discuss ‘Stalin’ further, let us look at the creative dilemma of the movie director when he handles a project with Megastar. It is like a dream and a nightmare, both rolled into an intricate package. A dream, as there is a huge captive audience all over the world who will devour the movie on the first day. A nightmare, as there is a huge expectation from this group, which only seem to go higher every year like the Khairtabad’s Ganesh idol. Now, if this was not enough, there are two other angles, which he needs to take care off. One that of the Megastar’s public profile as a social activist. Second that of the seemingly growing sentiment of everyone-wanting-him-to-be-in-politics. Hmm.. can a movie ever be made keeping in mind all of the above?

The producer Nagendrababu entrusts this impossible task to the Tamil director Murugadoss, who tries to pull it off and expectedly falls short. He comes up with a main theme that caters to his public profile, inserts political innuendos and then tries to add the rest to suit the Megastar’s image. The result is an incoherent screenplay, with several just-in-case scenes thrown in without adding to the overall effect. The screenplay tries to create two personas of the protagonist—an extraordinary man out to change the world, and an ordinary man who gets caught in a flurry of events. There is an inherent conflict in these two personas as one is proactive while the other is reactive. The script should have addressed this aspect with right characterization and accordingly drive the movie flow. But it doesn’t. Hence, as the movie unfolds, you begin to wonder if it were a double role with the two Chiranjeevis as different as chalk ‘n cheese. And every aspect of filmmaking tries very hard to ‘tell’ you he is one and the only Megastar, rather than ‘show’.

For some strange and inexplicable reason, the director along with the Paruchuri duo resorts to the stereotypical and melodramatic movie presentation. The treatment including special effects and pyrotechnics are a part of such presentation. But one can guess it coming, when in the introduction scene of Stalin the nature responds to his entry by falling trees and the goons reciprocate by flying all over. In the midst of all, you have an excellent close up of Megastar eyes and a heavy background score. Now when you have the tiger like eyes of Megastar displayed in 70mm splendor, do you still need underscoring? Isn’t there a danger of going overboard? Yes, it does after a while. By the time Megastar is engaged in his final fight, even his die-hard fans would be mindful about the excess factor.

Media these days is going wild about the message filled main theme as if acknowledging that the rest is not up to par. But the main theme is not without its shortcomings either. The biggest chink in its armor is the believability factor and the large acceptance thereof. In the movie, ‘Pay it forward’ the originator of a similar concept is a small kid in a small town, lending the color of a fairy tale. If you are sucked into the enthusiasm of the child you will believe it, otherwise you don’t. Either way the movie works without hinging on this believability factor. However, Stalin’s script is heavily dependent on the masses accepting the one-to-three formula and this necessitates accommodating ‘elevating’ scenes that would otherwise never have made their way into the film.

Let’s now look at the song-dance-drama-action quartet that forms the major chunk of Megastar’s image. Songs and dances are average and may be a tad below the expectations but they don’t hurt the movie much. It is the drama-action episodes that do, as they are removed from the main theme. Neither they play a role in the development of the extraordinary man’s persona nor come as impediments in achieving his mission. So, when Megastar fights several truckloads of baddies or delivers powerful retorts to home minister (Prakash Raj) and his cronies, the impact is less than desired. If only the baddies tried to stop him from achieving his mission and then Megastar got back in ‘Rough aadinchesta’ style?

Infact, Stalin leaves us with several such If only’s or What if’s in the end. For instance, what if CM comes to know that Stalin was the person responsible for the massive chain reaction in the last scene, when ‘Stalin’ matter-of-factly mentions it? What if the good chain reaction obviates some of the fight scenes and instead helps the hero to win some strategic battles rather than bloody-gore filled ones?

May be a VV Vinayak or SS Rajamouli would have conceived such scenes.

Speaking of them, one would wonder about the possible changes in the treatment if they handled the project.

Does it take a Telugu director to fully understand the grandeur of Megastar’s image and project it properly? Murugudoss should sure be credited for attempting a novel theme but is the execution better in the hands of our younger lot? Sure, these questions should linger in movie producer’s mind as they attempt a movie with the Megastar.

Coming to Nagendrababu, the producer…while commending his efforts to come up with a novel theme, one wonders if the societal angle is a must in a Megastar movie, a once-in-an-year-gala event. In this stress filled world, is a wholesome-family-entertainment not a message in itself? If entertainment leads to happiness and happiness begets happiness would it not spread into society? Megastar would continue to influence the society through his public life anyway. Why bring his public profile into movies? Is this a demand of cinegoers as well?

If we leave these questions aside, it sure would not hurt if there were a message, provided there was substance too. But, only message, and no substance make Megastar a dull boy. ‘Stalin’ proves just that.

Don.. Don.. Don.

This is what Shah Rukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar would be hoping to hear from the audience, when their film hits the theaters worldwide in the festival season of Diwali-Eid. Infact, the louder the cheers get, the better it augurs for the success of their film. Here’s why. In the original movie ‘Don’, the song in question, sets in almost after two hours of narration, in the third act, so to speak. So, if the new version stays any true to the original (which Mr. Akhtar says it will, in the script department), then the response sure indicates that the audience is still engaged and might continue to do so, till the end of the movie. If that does happen, it must bring in a huge sigh of relief for the entire team of ‘Don’, Farhan and Shah Rukh in particular.

But is there a likelihood that it might not happen? Yes, if the audience answers the question ‘Mein Hu Koun’ as

Amitabh.. Amitabh.. Amitabh.

Yes, Shah Rukh would be fighting a super persona also known as Amitabh when his ‘Don’ releases shortly.

Amitabh’s ‘Don’ released in the year 1978, became a blockbuster thanks to an unconventional script and a tight screenplay by Salim-Javed, pulsating music and racy background score by Kalyanji-Anandji, vocals by inimitable Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle, excellent cinematography by Nariman Irani and creditable performances from the lead cast. But it was Amitabh and his out-of-the-world portrayal that made this successful potboiler worth remembering decades after its first release and fetched an unprecedented re-run value at the box-office. The dream run simply carried forward to Television channels.

If you are a TV surfer, there is every chance that you crash into Amitabh’s ‘Don’, and get to hear some of the memorable dialogues of Salim-Javed. He grabs your attention with his dialogue delivery, at every stage, right from the seemingly innocuous question Kya tumhe maut se dar nahi lagta to a hint of swagger in Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, namumkin hain. It is these subtle shades of characterization that Amitabh used to a good effect to make a negative character loveable and entertaining.

Another brilliant aspect of Amitabh’s acting that comes to fore is the ease with which he played the role of the ‘Don’. There were no strange mannerisms to show cruelty or queer looks to bring out the cunningness. He played it as if ‘Don’ were a character of a next-door person. He brought in believability to the character of ‘Don’ and then, sort of over-played the second character Vijay. This brought in the stark contrast needed for a double-role. As the two characters do not come face to face at any time, there were no rude shocks when the ever-cool Don gave way to a pan chewing Vijay and vice-versa. As Amitabh had no predecessor against whom he would be compared with, he played it the way he wanted to and the way he perceived the characters to be.

Alas! Shah Rukh has no such luxury. He has to create a ‘method’ that is different and yet stands tall in comparison to Amitabh’s portrayal. Unfortunately, such an effort has every reason to go to hay wire. Not because of Mr. Khan’s acting talents. In the past, Shah Rukh delivered noteworthy performances as a bad guy and he redeem himself as an actor yet again. But the problem comes from the audiences and their contrasting reference points. While the die-hard fans of Amitabh would like to see how different or similar he is to their idol, aficionados of Shah Rukh would check if his usual springing self were still intact when he plays a negative character sans the usual courtship romantic musical stuff.

Shah Rukh first has to crack this puzzle, either by being a devoted clone (which he cannot) or carve a new path (that could prove very difficult owing to his romantic hero image). As the loyal fans of two generation superstars, form the target audience for the movie, Shah Rukh in an effort to win over both might deliver a half-baked performance. Just imagine Shah Rukh trying hard to bring in the romance angle into Don or Vijay’s character. Well, to some extent, in the case of Vijay, he might succeed. But what if he does that to real Don? Hope he remembers the dialogue from the old version-Mujhe ladkiyo ke dil se koyi dilchasbi nahin, isi liye to ab tak zinda hun. Hmm..Shah Rukh, appears to be on a sticky ground.

If you compare with Shah Rukh’s confusion, Farhan Akhtar’s job is well etched out. All he has to do is create contemporary worlds for the real Don and his look-alike. Though this is easier said than done, Farhan might just pull it off. His mastery over all the crafts of filmmaking will definitely hold him in good stead during the making of this new version. Supported by a talented crew, he might even succeed in creating a milieu that draws inspiration from an overlap of a ‘Mission Impossible’ with a ‘Don Brosco’. Plus, he has already proven his mettle with ‘Lakshya’ where he designed the world of a soldier to the letter.

Farhan has chipped in a lot of other attractions already, with a host of stars making an item or glorified guest appearances, and Kareena Kapoor doing a Helen act. You never know…he might even have an ace up his sleeve, like a very special appearance by the legendary Amitabh himself dancing to the title song or an Abhishek Bachchan crooning the words ‘Don.. Don.. Don’ for that matter. At the end of it, the overall result might even endear the film to a new set of audience other than the fans of Amitabh or Shah Rukh.

Though it is easy to get carried away by Farhan’s plans, let’s make no mistake. ‘Don’ is essentially a Shah Rukh film. The spotlight is on him for sure. It is only when he starts ruling their minds, that the audience would move on to savor the rest of Farhan’s assorted menu.

But, the movie is bound to generate great openings with the three sets of crowds flocking in-fans of Amitabh, fans of Shah Rukh and the regular moviegoers-as the movie offers something for all of them. The success and the range of it would though depend on the word of mouth and the acceptance of Shah Rukh in Amitabh’s shoes. So, the movie will ride heavily on the shoulders of the intended target audience.

Irrespective of the fate of the new ‘Don’ at the box-office, and the lingering ‘Mein Hu Koun’ question, one thing is for certain. More and more people would like to see the original, either before the movie or after its release. Marketing team at Sony Max, the channel that holds the telecast rights, would have already repackaged the old ‘Don’ and hiked the sponsor’s rates. Eagle, the company that holds the video rights should be thinking of a commemorative DVD, unless Farhan Akhtar’s contract bars them from doing so.

While wishing all the success to Shah Rukh and Farhan, here is the last word from a die-hard fan of Amitabh. When the dust has settled and the movie has had its run at the box-office, we might just end up having more number of people revisiting the old version and joining the chorus of ‘Amitabh.. Amitabh.. Amitabh’, albeit with the singer Shaan. Amen!