The novel, conceived and scripted by director Farhan Akhtar of ‘Don’ (2006) and its sequel ‘Don 2′ which is set to release on Friday, has been published by Om Books.

The bilingual graphic books coinciding with the release of ‘Don 2′ — a dark crime thriller with Shah Rukh as the anti-hero — was unveiled by the cast and crew of the movie in the capital this week.

“A lot of people like reading comics during short breaks and in their cars. This (‘Don: The Origin’) is the first one in a series of comics that will narrate the making of popular and new movies. We will extend the series,” Ajay Mago, the publisher of Om Books, told IANS.

“The graphic books were Farhan’s idea and he approached us with it, followed by the Excel (Excel Entertainment) guys later. We had earlier published Shah Rukh’s biography,” Mago said.

The publisher said he was in touch with various filmmakers for more “film-related graphic novel projects”.
The slim volume begins with the origin of Don in present-day Sicily. Don’s “mentor” tries to blow up his car – but Don survives and returns to gun down his mentor… and don his boots. It is the beginning of Don’s journey into the heart of the underworld.

For Farhan, who has loved comic books all his life, “it is a dream come true”.

“… To think that a character that I have loved so much has been made into a comic,” he said.
Mago said he was inspired to create the series by the comic books about the making of “Mission: Impossible” in the US and on the movie “Inception” (in 2010).

As a prequel to the movie “Inception”, Warner Bros released a 35-page comic book, “Inception: The Cobol Job”, about the movie by Jordan Goldberg.
“We had brought 60 copies of the “Mission: Impossible” book – an animation series about the day-to-day shoot of the movie – and they were sold out in three days,” Mago said.
The “Mission: Impossible” graphic novel generated readers’ interest in India because of the movie “Mission Impossible 4″ starring Tom Cruise which was released recently, the publisher of Om Books said.
In 1996, Paramount Comics, a former comic book imprint of Marvel Comics, bagged the rights to publish comic books on “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek”. Paramount Comics published a prequel to the first “Mission: Impossible” movie.

It was the second comic book version of the “Mission: Impossible”.

The first comic book series in five volumes based on the original American television series “Mission: Impossible”, starring Peter Graves in the 1960s, was published by Dell Books.

A pitch made for a comic book on “Sholay” failed to take off this year while Satyajit Ray’s “Feluda” detective novels – which were adapted into movies – were made into a series of graphic novels by Penguin India in the last two years.

“In the US, the movie comic book is very common,” Mago said.

On the other hand, the list of movies inspired by popular comic book is long. They include iconic superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Dracula, X-Men and more recently, the animation movie, “Tintin and the Secrets of the Unicorn” by Steven Spielberg.

HarikaC: My #Don2 verdict: absolutely fabulous, clever script, slick production, brill acting & outstanding dialogues 9.5/10

jaymamtora: #Don2 rocked – totally loved it wasn’t bored at all! Hope it does well! Gripping film!

prawalaashish: @iamsrkp #Don2 another blockbuster from the badshah of Bollywood….

jaymamtora: #Don2 totally kicks ass! What a film great action, suspense, coherent plot, interesting characterisations… Very Hollywood! The characters were very grey nobody was black or white! They should definitely have a third part #Don2

rumanalondon Watched first day first show. ‘AWESOME MOVIE’ as it was expected:) Congratulations! DON2 team.”

prawalaashish: Watched #don2…..@iamsrk at his best…scintillating action movie with beautifully penned script…way better than don…4 stars out of 5..

_Mannish: Unanimous positive verdict for Don2 in UK. Its a superhit. Am so glad people are appreciating

HarikaC: #Bollywood signs off 2011 spectacularly with #Don2. It exceeded my expectations by far, and I had very high expectations to start with!

DeepikaKathrani: @FarOutAkhtar Don2 is wicked! U absolutely smashed it. Excellent visuals n plot, had me on the edge of my seat! Congratulations to Don2 team

JayJay_Ahmed: #Don2 absoultly amazing!! OMG!! @iamsrk you’ve done it again!! Amazing!! Just Amazing!!!
JavedKana: #Don2 2nd half is evn better! Its one film of 2011 that I can watch more than once. Rating 4/5 stars. Dont miss it!

kiluminatilohar: Srk is genuinely in a league of his own #don2

peterscullen: Just watched #don2 with my indian buddies, it was an experience of a lifetime. I will start watching more bollywood soon.

sandy91335: #don2 very well crafted movie n technically superb @FarOutAkhtar n team made a super sequel must watch movie.

Do share your reviews here if u already watched it.

The first film, Don: The Chase Begins Again, starring Shahrukh Khan was a remake of the Don (1978) starring Amitabh Bachchan. It was the fifth highest grossing film of 2006 in India, grossing over Rs. 104 crores worldwide. Don 2: The King is Back is now the next successive story with Shahrukh Khan once again, playing Don.

Directed by Farhan Akhtar, produced by Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani and Shahrukh Khan, music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, this sequel is set to impress audiences worldwide. Especially as it also being released in 3D.

Chuck Comisky, a veteran S-3D innovator who supervised the 3D stereo and visual effects on Hollywood films Avatar and Sanctum, was roped in for the film.

Alongside Sharukh Khan playing Don and Priyanka Chopra playing Roma; Om Puri appears as Malik, Lara Dutta as Ayesha, Boman Irani as Vardhaan and Kunal Kapoor as Sameer Ali, in this action packed thriller.

Don 2 is ready for a bigger game of cat-and-mouse, and Shahrukh looks every inch the Don, all set for European domination and a big Christmas treat for SRK fans.

Sequences for the film were shot in Berlin in Germany making SRK the Indian actor to have successfully shot a film sequence in Germany, a country that is infamous for denying requests of international film shoots. “He is so famous in Germany and that made a great difference to shoot Don 2 there,” said producer Ritesh Sidhwani.

The film has it all, high speed car chases, big special effects and mind blowing stunts. Shahrukh did some of the key stunts himself, including jumping off a a 300-foot building in Berlin. When asked about the stunt SRK said:

“Honestly yes, it was very scary and any normal person would get jitters. We all had body double but Farhan wanted me to do this specific fall myself. I had to jump from a building and when I was standing on the edge I had only two thoughts that crossed my mind.”

Priyanka Chopra plays Roma, the leading lady as a cop in the Don 2 and in the 2006 Don, the story showed Priyanka, falling in love with SRK. At the time she realised that he wasn’t really what he seemed and tables have pretty much turned for the lady who is now on a mission to destroy Don in the second instalment.

When asked about Roma’s character, Priyanka said: “When it comes to Don, there is this really interesting relationship between Roma and him. Her life’s mission is to catch him. Having said that, there is still something strange that draws her towards him. She is angry with him for what she has done to her but it is tough for her to hate him”

Here is the official Don 2 trailer:

International territories are eager to receive the biggest sequel in Bollywood and it’s anticipated to become a milestone heist at box office globally. The worldwide release of Don 2 by Reliance Entertainment will be across 41 countries and the UK release is two days before India, the major market for the movie.

In reaction to the world-wide release, Farhan Akhtar tweeted on 20th December 2011: “Learnt yesterday that Don 2 will release in 41 countries worldwide. Wow!! I guess that’s the number of countries now out to catch him!!”

Prakash Bakrania, Reliance Entertainment’s UK Head states “We’re very pleased with the way ‘Don 2’ is shaping up and believe in its potential to deliver what the audience expects from this much awaited sequel. With Farhan Akhtar directing and Shahrukh Khan leading the huge ensemble cast, the cherry on this cake is the 3D version which we’re also releasing. We’ve kept in mind the Festive Christmas mood, the holidays and Shahrukh Khan’s huge UK fan base as we gear up to open the film here from Wednesday 21st Dec 2011.”

Merchandising and promotion of the film has included the launch games on Facebook and board games, Don 2 character toys, web chats on Google+, songs from the movie on YouTube in 3D, a comic book based on the film called Don: The Origin, a console game produced by Gameshastra and huge promotions of Don dialogues on social media and press releases.

Shahrukh tweeted in anticipation of the release of Don 2 saying: “Greatest high of film making is the nervousness theteam shares before release.Nobody else understands the pain the stakes love & letting go”

From the trailers and hype around the movie, Don 2: The King is Back looks like it is going to be a Bollywood smash and it all depends on how many people get to ‘catch’ Don over the holiday period.

SRK famously runs according to his own schedule. Fellow journalists, hanging around the Dubai International Film Festival and waiting for the moment when he might have time for a five-minute chat, also bemoan the length of time one expects when speaking to Bollywood’s biggest name.

But, finally, when he does settle to tell The National about his latest movie Don 2: The Chase Continues, released in cinemas across the UAE today, SRK displays another hallmark of his off-screen character – amiable self-deprecation.

“It’s very strange – I never thought I’d be working for this many years,” says the 46-year-old actor, who’s so far appeared in more than 75 films and produced 13. “When I first came to Mumbai from Delhi, I was 25 and my parents had just died, so I thought I’d go for one year for a change of scene.

“When I started, most people didn’t think I had the right kind of face.”

That face, Khan continues, has been vital to lending him some distinction in the business. It’s what has allowed him to straddle the divide between being the traditional romantic protagonist of Hindi epics and a career as the industry’s go-to anti-hero.

The evolution of this anti-hero mantle, pioneered by veteran star Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood’s first “young angry man”, led to a remake of the 1978 Bachchan classic, Don, which kick-started the contemporary Don franchise.

In the initial 2006 remake, Don: The Chase Begins Again, Khan played the titular role – an enigmatic big wheel in the Malaysian wing of an international crime syndicate and the leader of a remarkably attractive group of fellow kingpins (including Priyanka Chopra).

Don is captured by Indian operatives, led by DCP D’Silva (Boman Irani) and Malik (Om Puri), who know that he holds the key to catching Singhania (Rajesh Khattar) at the head of the cartel. A famous singer who just happens to look like Don (also played by Khan) is drafted in to infiltrate the gang and pull things down from the inside. What follows is a torrent of explosions, impromptu musical interludes and scenes of Khan behaving like a more dastardly Bond.
Don 2: The Chase Continues picks up where the first left off. Still at large and with the Malaysian underworld at his feet, Don casts his eyes to European domination and makes Berlin the centre of operations. Irani and Puri return to put a stop to this, with the help of Germany’s security services, and the film makes full use of the city’s architectural collision of new and old.

“Technically speaking, and the precision with which they do stuff in Germany, was fantastic,” says Khan. “But I had this idea that the Germans would not be very forthcoming; I thought they’d be stern. The warmth of the people was a huge surprise.”

It’s no coincidence that the movie has been set in Berlin: Bollywood has gained a surprisingly robust following among Germans in recent years – so much so that fans kept a near-constant vigil outside the crew’s hotel throughout the 60 days of filming, and a German-language dub of the film is being released concurrently.

“I find it very strange that the Germans like my films – but they tell me: ‘We have a button for coffee, a button for driving, but we don’t have a button for crying. That’s what your films do.’”

Director Farhan Akhtar explains how Berlin provided the perfect backdrop for Don 2 after the polished futurism of Kuala Lumpur seen in the first movie: “I think the combination of modern and historical makes Berlin interesting. It’s somewhere that not a lot of Indians are familiar with and haven’t really seen in an Indian film before.

The Don films have gained a substantial following for their stunts, and the latest offering features SRK hurling himself off a 300-foot high building in downtown Berlin. With Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol getting its world premiere in the UAE only a couple of nights earlier, it seemed only right to ask Akhtar what his own movie can bring to the West’s stunt-obsessed action-movie genre. “Don is not a copy of these movies, but if I have to think of my influences, it started with Die Hard, which is still the best action movie,” he says.

“These American movies are very direct in their goal – moving from A to B, and all the action complements the story moving toward that. If there is any similarity, it’s the idea that this movie needs to have this single goal and focus.”

Don 2 was a long time coming, as SRK had to recuperate from a shoulder injury during the filming of a fight scene in Dulha Mil Gaya in 2008. “It felt nice getting back to it,” says the actor. “For the first eight months, everyone was extra careful on set, but I’m glad I pulled it off – 89 per cent of the stunts were done by me.”

In the interim, he played less physically demanding roles such as the lead in My Name Is Khan, portraying a man with Asperger’s syndrome who lives in the US, who goes in search of an audience with George W Bush after September 11 isolates his Muslim family from their increasingly paranoid American community.

Coming from an emotionally demanding role like that to Don – something “over the top”, says Khan – was a much-needed return to play the anti-hero.

“My Name Is Khan was quite intense. I always thought I’d play roles like that later when I had stopped having so much fun being myself,” he says.

But as Anil Kapoor breaks into Hollywood with MI4, and took the lead role in Slumdog Millionaire originally offered to Khan, SRK says he’s not gunning for a similar move. “Unless there was a Hollywood film about a 46-year-old guy who’s brown and an Indian, what would I do? I don’t dance better than John Travolta. I don’t look nicer than Tom Cruise. I don’t aspire to not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t.”

There are, however, rumours of the actor sharing the screen with Leonardo DiCaprio in Paul Schrader’s forthcoming Xtreme City, reportedly to be produced by Martin Scorsese, about Mumbai’s crime underbelly.

“I still have to read it,” says SRK. “It would require six to eight months of preparations and I have two more commitments that I have to complete.”

Keeping up such momentum requires not getting too wrapped up in reviews, he says. “The first 18 years of my career I was very result-orientated, but then you learn that there’s no way that every story you tell is going to be liked by everyone.”

SRK exhales a plume of smoke to the ceiling. “More often than not, that works.”

Don 2: The Chase Continues opens in cinemas today.

The new trailer lets you view the movie in 2D as well as 3D, when you click on the 3D button present next to the resolution selector. For those with a 3D display, the trailer is available in full colour at up to 1080p high definition in lmost all different 3D viewing formats including side-by-side, interleaved, etc. Those without a 2D display need not worry as you can still watch it in 3D using anaglyph (red and blue) glasses, albeit at the loss of some colour information.

The Producer Ritesh Sidhwani has roped in an S-3D expert with experience of working on Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Since the movie has not been shot using 3D cameras, you should not expect too much. Don 2 will be launched soon on 23 December, 2011. So grab your 3D gear and check out the trailer below to find out if the 3D is really worth the expense and effort.

“Atul Agnihotri, producer had given me the script and told me that I am playing an important part in the film. But after the accident, I with a very heavy heart had to return the script. But I don’t regret it. Maybe better and bigger things are in store for me. But I would have loved to work with Salman.”

In Don 2, Nawab too plays one of the baddies along with Shah Rukh.

“I have known Farhan Akhtar, director for a long time. I had a small part in Lakshya (2004) too. So, when he asked me to be a part of Don 2, I immediately said yes because my part is very interesting.

Also, it’s one of the most important characters in the film,” says Nawab.

Nanwab feels he is lucky to be part of such a huge franchise.

“Working with Shah Rukh was a wonderful experience because he is a superstar and a very nice human being. For me, Don 2 is an important point in my career because I have seen a lot of struggle in my life and career,” he says.

Don 2 is also important to the actor since it signifies his comeback after his serious car accident at the Jim Corbett National Park, in Uttaranchal, earlier this year.

Till date, Nanwab has worked in films like Lakshya besides playing Preity Zinta’s brother in Salman-Akshay Kumar film Jaan-e-Mann (2006). But now, he is waiting for the release of Don 2.

“I haven’t signed any new film at the moment. I am waiting for Don 2 to release. Then, I will take a call on other films,” he says.

Apart from making available the soundtrack of Don 2 for download, Hungama mobile has also created a voice game, Don Ka Gang, based on the movie. The game offers 10 players a chance to get lucky and meet Don Shah Rukh Khan himself.

Don Ka Gang hasa set of challenges that players have to overcome in order to finish each level and thus be included in the final 10. Each level gets even harder than the earlier one, but takes players closer to the reward.

Set in Germany, about an Indian mob boss taking over the European crime world, the film in question is Don 2: The King is Back, a sequel to Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006) by director Farhan Akhtar and starring Shahrukh “King of Bollyhood” Khan. This in turn, is a remake of the Indian cult film, Don (1978). And it’s a big enough deal that aside from Android, iOS, and Facebook, they’re also involving the PlayStation 3 in the mix.

India’s largest games services company, Gameshastra, is in charge of transforming the film into a third-person action adventure for the PS3, where the player gets to be Shahrukh Khan’s character. Mango Games in Bangalore, India will be developing the film’s Facebook game, called “Don – The Social Mobsters Game”. (There’s also even a board game, which is already out. But that one’s not making a blip on anyone’s radar.)

Details are few, but launch dates have been set, and while the console game will hit the PSN next March, the web and mobile games will be released the same day as the film, December 23. Film producer Ritesh Sidhwani believes that “This is the best way to keep the hysteria going among the fans.”

Unveiling the music launches exclusively on web and using new media as a main tool for promotion aren’t the type of marketing initiatives you would associate with Bollywood. But using technology to innovate movie marketing has gone unabashedly high with Don 2, which is co-produced by Excel Entertainment and Reliance Big Pictures.

The movie has tied up with Google and YouTube for its new media initiatives. According to the collaboration, viewers could watch a few songs from the movie in 3D on their computers using 3D glasses. The movie has also associated with McDonalds and Cafe Coffe Day in 20 cities to provide free internet access using Wi-fi in their outlets.

The movie also has a game titled “Don — The Social Mobsters Game’, which was launched on Facebook.

“Though ads have been booked in all leading publications, television and billboards, it is for the first time that the brand integration has focussed so much on online medium than traditional mass market mediums,” says Priti Shahani, chief strategy and marketing officer, Reliance Big Pictures.

Brand experts say social media has always been used in Bollywood films before. Pritie Jadhav, COO, P9 Integrated, says there have been stray movie promotions of this nature, but it is for the first time that a film has incorporated such a huge new media campaign for a movie.

According to Farhan Akthar, the idea was to innovate and not do traditional marketing which films do. “Don is an established brand and the brand itself should attract audience,” said Akthar.

The movie which is a sequel to Don: The Chase Begins, which was released in 2006, is a remake of the movie starring Amitabh Bachchan, released in 1978. The movie had a cult following and collected Rs 33.31 crore (adjusted after taking into account inflation; the collection in 1978 was Rs 3.39 crore). Riding on the brand, the 2006 version of Don, made at a budget of Rs 31 crore, collected Rs 49 crore.

Marketing officials and distributors also suggest that considering over exposure of Shah Rukh Khan during Ra.One, producers have kept the promotions very selective.

Set in the world of gangsters and the drug trade, Don2: The Chase Continues, takes off from where the original ends, with Don escaping the clutches of the police. This time around, Don, who is being chased by police for five years, decides to get braver and in an attempt to expand his network, he shifts focus to dominate the European drug market where he becomes more ruthless and cunning with a master plan. The action shifts from Malaysia to Berlin, and Don must avoid assassination or arrest so that his plan succeeds.

The movie is being released across 2800-3000 screens in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in 2D and 3D format in India. “The movie could have a good opening as it is releasing during Christmas weekend, which has traditionally done well for Bollywood with hits like Ghajini, 3 Idiots and Taare Zameen Par,” said Suniel Wadhwa, an independent film distributor.

Talking to PTI, Priyanka Chopra says, “Don 2 is a very fast paced movie and there is no place for songs. The ones that you even see in the film are those that are really required in the film. Farhan was sure that he didn’t want to move away from the essence of Don. It is easy to just go ahead and copy what has been made earlier but then Don 2 is not Don. This is a cool stylish action film and much more than just Aaj Ki Raat.”

When asked about pressure of Don 2, Priyanka Chopra says, “Of course it is scary but then it isn’t just for Don 2 though. I have the same feeling and stress for every film of mine. I always keep thinking whether people would like my film or not, whether I would impress them or not, etc. Still, I can definitely say though that if people liked Don, they would definitely love Don 2.”

“I will be really honest and I am not glorifying wickedness in real life and these are just films and stories, but as an actor it is one of the greatest highs to play a villain’s role,” states Khan at the launch of the video game based on Don 2, which is releasing on December 16.

The film, which is directed by Farhan Akhtar, also stars Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Lara Dutta, Om Puri and Kunal Kapoor.

“Farhan as a director-actor and Priyanka as an actor would agree that it’s a different kind of feeling for an actor to play a villain’s role,” says Khan.

The 46-year-old, who rose to fame by playing negative roles in superhit films Baazigar and Darr, believes in the existence of one central character that can be either good or bad.

“I started with theatre and there was nothing like a hero for me. There was a protagonist, a central character. I have been a bad guy on stage, I have been a good guy on stage,” says Khan. “I was thrilled that I got this opportunity and I did not think of typical hero type roles. Now that I am getting a chance to play a negative role in Don after so many years, there is no justification to it and being bad is also important to take the world forward.”

This year, Khan has acted in his mega-budget sci-fi film Ra.One and he also made cameo appearances in Always Kabhi Kabhi and Love Breakups Zindagi.