Don

I've never reviewed this before so it will be fun. I think probably one of the most notable themes was revenge and redemption. Many characters in the film have their own vendettas against the main leading villain Don. Jasjit wants to save his kids and avenge the death of his wife and his arrest by the DSP D'Silva. He's a very interesting character and side character I thoroughly enjoyed his scenes. Also I'll mention more about this when I speak about Roma. But I really like this film, it is just so campy. And some of the plotlines are obviously unrealistic or seem dramatic but it really works actually. There's a sense of loyalty too in this. All of the corrupt people are loyal they won't fuck anyone over, even ironically this is. But Vijay will betray them. And like the sense of duality (which kind of pissed me off bc we study in this in Jekyll and Hyde) but I couldn't help notice this theme so much that it's like the difference between Don, a mastermind criminal, and his doppelganger Vijay is so interesting. Don is ruthless conniving, he will kill you if you betray him like Ramesh. But Vijay is humble, comical and has a heart. He takes in two young kids and it's very endearing too see. And omg can't leave this without mentioning the corruption in the power systems too, like that fucking plot twist always gets me. It's always the ones you least suspect. I think I'm gonna have to yap about Roma. Roma is significantly portrayed in the first half compared to the rest of the film which does kinda annoy me but oh well. Roma's journey by far strikes me the most, maybe it's just because she's fucking Zeenat Aman but Roma is actually iconic as hell. She is driven by revenge and it's just so powerful to see. Her brother is killed and she well wants vengeance and justice because she truly knows that due to the corrupt system justice will never be offered. Another aspect that Roma has is that her character arc is so interesting, she travels from being a fashionable vulnerable woman to a fierce independent woman who can beat up men equally. Roma is so interesting in the sense that she directly contrasts her female counterparts, there was no action heroine in Bollywood cinema in the 1970s, hell even Hollywood was long far. And it's so powerful to see her subvert the damsel in distress roles definitely popularised at this time. She's one of the strongest and probably my favourite female character in 1970s Bollywood cinema she's just so thrilling to see. Roma also definitely has moral ambiguity, she wants justice but at the hands of her own through murder. So while yes we sympathise with her she technically is still breaking the law even if she is doing it for a good cause which makes her very interesting in the time of black or white morals for women in Indian cinema. Okay now onto technical aspects. The whole cast just ate this sm. Iftekhar as the DSP D'Silva was fantastic. Pran is actually a great villainous character. He was fucking great in Madhumati and well he's surprisingly great but actually well he's not a villainous character so it's definitely against the norm for him. But he was insanely great and the evil disappears and there's a layer of goodness. Don would seriously be nothing without Amitabh Bachchan. His versatility aids him in this double role. Like you literally can see the difference even down to the mannerisms. The sheer toughness and actual terrifying feeling of Don compared to the go lucky and humble Vijay it's just so wonderful to see. Like he's great. You know who's even better, Zeenat fucking Aman. Zeenat Aman absolutely devoured her performance so much. It's just so camp and in a way comical but so badass and you just love her so much. I think she's awfully sexy too and beautiful. I love her fashion in this as well. Her short hair bob was great. And it's just like she's a very interesting actress for the types of roles she plays. There's always moral ambiguity or a sense of feminism that she's way ahead of her time and she definitely defined the 1970s Bollywood cinema, no one made such an impact and impression from that era (Rekha is great but she's stuck between 70s and 80s). Zeenat is great and I need to see more of her work.