Starring
The story
Don is a slick 1978 action thriller built on one of Hindi cinema's most durable hooks: what if a hunted crime lord had a penniless double? Amitabh Bachchan plays both men. As Don, he is the untouchable boss of a Bombay smuggling ring whom eleven countries' police forces cannot lay a hand on. As Vijay, he is a good-natured street simpleton scraping by in the city while looking after two orphaned children.
When Don is fatally wounded during a police chase and dies quietly, DSP D'Silva (Iftekhar) keeps the death a secret and plants the lookalike Vijay inside the gang to bring it down from within. The catch: the only officer who knew the truth is soon gone, and Vijay is left stranded as a 'Don' with no way to prove he is a plant. Zeenat Aman plays Roma, who has infiltrated the gang for her own reasons of revenge, and Pran is Jasjit, a wronged man drawn into the web. Salim-Javed's screenplay keeps the double-identity engine humming without leaning on the viewer's patience.
Making of the film
Don was the directorial debut of Chandra Barot, a former assistant to Manoj Kumar, and it remains the film he is remembered by. It grew out of an act of solidarity. Producer and cinematographer Nariman Irani had been left roughly Rs 12 lakh in debt after his 1972 production Zindagi Zindagi flopped, and colleagues he had worked with on Roti Kapada Aur Makaan rallied to help him mount a film that might clear it.
The production stretched across several years on a modest budget of around Rs 70 lakh, and its story carries a genuine tragedy: Irani was killed in a studio accident in November 1977, when a wall collapsed during a cloudburst, months before Don reached theatres. He never saw it become a hit. When the profits came, they went to his widow to settle the debts the film had been made to erase.
Music and the song that saved it
The score is by the Kalyanji-Anandji duo, with lyrics by Anjaan and Indeevar, and it is inseparable from the film's identity. 'Main Hoon Don' gave Bachchan his swagger, Asha Bhosle's 'Yeh Mera Dil' became a smouldering cabaret standard, and Kishore Kumar's playful 'Khaike Paan Banaras Wala' turned into a national earworm.
That last song has a famous backstory. It was reportedly added late, at Manoj Kumar's suggestion that the action-heavy film needed a lighter interlude, and industry lore holds it had first been intended for an earlier Dev Anand project. Whatever its origins, it worked: a film that opened slowly is widely said to have caught fire on the strength of the paan song, word of mouth carrying it from a shaky start to a blockbuster.
Legacy
Don was one of 1978's biggest earners, a golden-jubilee success reported to have grossed around Rs 3.5 crore, and it hardened into a genuine cult classic. Its most quoted line - the taunt that catching Don is not just difficult but impossible - became shorthand for untouchable villainy, and Bachchan's cool, dangerous star turn is a landmark of his run as the era's biggest name.
The property has proven remarkably fertile. It was remade and reimagined across languages, most visibly as Farhan Akhtar's slicker 2006 Don with Shah Rukh Khan, which spawned its own 2011 sequel, and it fed the Tamil and Telugu Billa remakes. Even its music travelled: 'Yeh Mera Dil' was famously interpolated into a global pop hit decades later. For Mumbai's film memory, Don sits comfortably in the shortlist of Amitabh Bachchan pictures that defined what a Bombay masala thriller could be.
Key details
| Release year | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Language | Hindi |
| Director | Chandra Barot |
| Genre | Action Thriller |
| Starring | Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran |
Did you know?
- The film marked the directorial debut of Chandra Barot, and Don remained by far the best-known film of his career.
- Producer-cinematographer Nariman Irani died in a studio accident in November 1977, before the film's release; the profits reportedly went to his widow to clear the very debts the film had been made to pay off.
- The hit song 'Khaike Paan Banaras Wala' was reportedly a late addition at Manoj Kumar's suggestion and is said to have originally been intended for an earlier Dev Anand film.
- Amitabh Bachchan plays a double role - the menacing crime boss Don and his simple-hearted lookalike Vijay.
- The famous warning that 'catching Don is not merely difficult, it is impossible' became one of Hindi cinema's most quoted dialogues.
- Don has been remade and adapted across languages, inspiring the Shah Rukh Khan-led 2006 reboot and its sequel, plus the Tamil and Telugu Billa films.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed the 1978 film Don?
Don was directed by Chandra Barot, for whom it was a directorial debut. It was written by the legendary screenwriting duo Salim-Javed and produced by cinematographer Nariman Irani. The film has since become the work Barot is most remembered for.
Does Amitabh Bachchan play a double role in Don?
Yes, Amitabh Bachchan plays two characters who look identical. One is Don, the ruthless and elusive crime boss, and the other is Vijay, a poor, good-natured street performer who is recruited by the police to impersonate the dead Don. The double role is central to the film's plot.
Who composed the music for Don (1978)?
The music was composed by the duo Kalyanji-Anandji, with lyrics by Anjaan and Indeevar. The soundtrack produced enduring hits including 'Khaike Paan Banaras Wala' and 'Main Hoon Don' sung by Kishore Kumar, and 'Yeh Mera Dil' sung by Asha Bhosle. The songs are widely credited with driving the film's success.
What is the famous dialogue from Don?
The film's most iconic line is the warning that catching Don is not just difficult but impossible - 'Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai.' It captured the character's untouchable menace and became one of the most quoted dialogues in Hindi cinema. It was later echoed in the 2006 remake.
Is the 2006 Don a remake of the 1978 film?
Yes, Farhan Akhtar's 2006 film Don: The Chase Begins Again is a modern reimagining of the 1978 original, with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. It updated the story and setting while keeping the core double-identity premise, and it went on to spawn a 2011 sequel, Don 2.
Was Don a box office success in 1978?
Yes. Although it reportedly opened slowly, Don became one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 1978 and was classified a golden jubilee hit. Its fortunes are widely said to have turned on the popularity of the song 'Khaike Paan Banaras Wala' and strong word of mouth.
Reference: Wikipedia
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