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The Making of Don
When Chandra Barot set out to make Don, it was not with the idea of giving birth to one of India's most iconic thrillers but to make a good film for a good cause. No one involved with the making of the film foresaw the kind of overarching impact it would have, not only in terms of its success at the box office but in spawning a cult phenomenon that would stay strong more than three decades later with its slick theme, fantastic music and unforgettable dialogues. The journey of Don was not an easy one. Shot over four years, it faced several hurdles before making it to the theatres. While the casting and music of Don have now acquired legendary status, there were some close shaves before it all came together: Iftekhar's role of the cop was eyed by a big star of the 1960s, getting Kalyanji-Anandji to compose the score called for a delicate balancing act, it was only thanks to the shrewd advice of a mentor that the super-successful Khai ke paan Banaras wala was included at the very last minute. And, wonder of wonders, it was not Amitabh Bachchan who was paid the most for the film. Through a fast-paced narrative born out of interviews with the cast and crew and supplemented with rare photographs from the directors archives, The Making of Dontells a tale that is as compelling as the one that finally made it to the big screen. Engaging and captivating, this is the story of one of Bollywoods most memorable classic.
- GenresNonfictionMedia Tie In
172 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 21, 2018
I know the author, but had put off reading the book all these years. My loss entirely and I've been kicking myself for having missed it because I'm otherwise a crazy 70s Hindi film watcher. As it turns out, Amazon had a good deal on this last week and I downloaded it.
Let's just say that I'm eagerly looking forward to watching the movie again knowing so much that went behind the scenes, from the choice of locations to little things like the ingenious way by which Chandra Barot incorporated a missing actor into a song. It's written with great affection and nostalgia, without straying into gushing fan mode.
If you love Hindi cinema of the 1970s and believe Don was a turning point, read this self-effacing little book.
Let's just say that I'm eagerly looking forward to watching the movie again knowing so much that went behind the scenes, from the choice of locations to little things like the ingenious way by which Chandra Barot incorporated a missing actor into a song. It's written with great affection and nostalgia, without straying into gushing fan mode.
If you love Hindi cinema of the 1970s and believe Don was a turning point, read this self-effacing little book.
November 15, 2015
Reading 'The Making of Don' is like watching a thriller. There are lots of twist and turns. There is drama, emotions and of course suspense. So enjoy.
June 5, 2020
It Is Indeed Hard To Tell Which Would Actually Provide More Pleasure First Reading Making Of Don And Then Watching The Now Cult Film That Don Has Blossomed Into Or Seeing The Movie First And Then Doing A Recap By Once Again Going Down Memory Lane?
Having Been Lucky To Have Been Around When Don Had It’s First Theatrical Release I Can Say That Had This Book Been Penned While It Was Having It’s Maiden Box-Office Run This Could Well Have Turned Into A BestSeller Back In The Late ‘70’s As It Would Have Easily Served As A Director’s Cut Limited Edition Issue For Fans Of Zeenat Aman & Amitabh Bachchan In & As Don.
Back Then In Those Days Apart From A Handfull Of Magazines The Only Source Of Information And Entertainment Was The Loyal Transistor And The Radio Programmes That All Film Lovers Craved For To Get Infotainment Inputs About A New Release Or Their Favourite Stars.
Quite Unlike Present Times Where So Many Sources Clamour To Provide Entertainment And Fabricated Information That It Doesn’t Take Long For The Biggest Of Films To Get Stale As 95% Films These Days Have No Repeat Value...Unlike The Good Old Days When Almost Every Third Film Drew In Repeat Audiences.
Speaking For Myself Alone Back Then When Don Was First Released In Dehra-Dun At Chayadeep.Being In College Actually Say This Movie Half A Dozen Times In The Same Theater Alone.
The Making Of Don By Krishna Gopalan
May Have Come Several Decades Too Late But None The Less It Is A Virtual Treasure Trove As Some Real Exciting Nuggets Are Revealed To The Readers & Film Buffs Alike Many Of Whom Were Perhaps Not Even Born When The Film Had It’s First All India Theatrical Release.
How Many Of You Would Possibly Know That Pran Actually Had A Female Body Double And Zeenat Aman A Male Do Her Stunts Or That Chandra Barot The Energetic Director Of Don Could Never Repeat Even A Fraction Of The Success He Reaped With His Debut Film Don?
This Mind You Is Just A Brief Outline Of All That Is Neatly Tucked Into This Exciting Read On The Making Of Don..Only Wish Somebody Could Throw Light On What Has Become Of Chandra Barot And Why He Was Destined To Fade Into Oblivion Living On Cherished Memories Of Don.
An Absolute Must Read For Not Just Fans Of The Original Don-Amitabh Bachchan But Film Buffs Too..Am Already Tempted Watch This Cult Film On Netflix Again Now That I Have So Much Inside Information Directly From The Director Chandra Barot No Less.
My Only Grouse Is That Surely Such A Cult Film Like Don Could Have Had Far Better Stills Splashed Than The Micro-Mini Stamp Pics That Seem To Have Been Added As An Afterthought That Too In A Wasted Haste!!!
Having Been Lucky To Have Been Around When Don Had It’s First Theatrical Release I Can Say That Had This Book Been Penned While It Was Having It’s Maiden Box-Office Run This Could Well Have Turned Into A BestSeller Back In The Late ‘70’s As It Would Have Easily Served As A Director’s Cut Limited Edition Issue For Fans Of Zeenat Aman & Amitabh Bachchan In & As Don.
Back Then In Those Days Apart From A Handfull Of Magazines The Only Source Of Information And Entertainment Was The Loyal Transistor And The Radio Programmes That All Film Lovers Craved For To Get Infotainment Inputs About A New Release Or Their Favourite Stars.
Quite Unlike Present Times Where So Many Sources Clamour To Provide Entertainment And Fabricated Information That It Doesn’t Take Long For The Biggest Of Films To Get Stale As 95% Films These Days Have No Repeat Value...Unlike The Good Old Days When Almost Every Third Film Drew In Repeat Audiences.
Speaking For Myself Alone Back Then When Don Was First Released In Dehra-Dun At Chayadeep.Being In College Actually Say This Movie Half A Dozen Times In The Same Theater Alone.
The Making Of Don By Krishna Gopalan
May Have Come Several Decades Too Late But None The Less It Is A Virtual Treasure Trove As Some Real Exciting Nuggets Are Revealed To The Readers & Film Buffs Alike Many Of Whom Were Perhaps Not Even Born When The Film Had It’s First All India Theatrical Release.
How Many Of You Would Possibly Know That Pran Actually Had A Female Body Double And Zeenat Aman A Male Do Her Stunts Or That Chandra Barot The Energetic Director Of Don Could Never Repeat Even A Fraction Of The Success He Reaped With His Debut Film Don?
This Mind You Is Just A Brief Outline Of All That Is Neatly Tucked Into This Exciting Read On The Making Of Don..Only Wish Somebody Could Throw Light On What Has Become Of Chandra Barot And Why He Was Destined To Fade Into Oblivion Living On Cherished Memories Of Don.
An Absolute Must Read For Not Just Fans Of The Original Don-Amitabh Bachchan But Film Buffs Too..Am Already Tempted Watch This Cult Film On Netflix Again Now That I Have So Much Inside Information Directly From The Director Chandra Barot No Less.
My Only Grouse Is That Surely Such A Cult Film Like Don Could Have Had Far Better Stills Splashed Than The Micro-Mini Stamp Pics That Seem To Have Been Added As An Afterthought That Too In A Wasted Haste!!!
February 2, 2021
This book should be named making of Chandra and not making of Don. Every second sentence had Chandra Barot's name. So much so that it became disconcerting. There is some interesting trivia but mainly it is an eulogy to Barot.
It seems to be financed by Barot. Read for some information but mainly for Barot praise.
"To say that there were constraints during the filming of Don would merely be stating the obvious. It was critical for Chandra to get past all of this. He wanted an international touch to the film but he had to make do with little money and, hence, look for locations in and around the city. If they looked international enough, it was great. If they did not, he just had to make do with what was available. In his mind, he knew one thing: film se location banti hai (the location is made by a film) and certainly not the other way round.
. Of course, he knew there was a little footage from the 1973 holiday in London which certainly could be used. He was waiting to surprise Nariman with that. The scene where the street singer is shown footage of his lookalike who is now dead was shot in Waheeda Rehman’s house. The lady was gracious enough to lend her living room for a day and, as the camera rolls, a smoking Iftekhar asks the street singer to take a good look at his more sophisticated lookalike. In Chandra’s mind, this was the perfect moment to bring in the London footage. A day before the shot was conceived, he went to Nariman with what he had filmed in London. ‘Bawa, take a look at this. I think you will like it,’ said Chandra quite earnestly. The pot-bellied cameraman was smitten by what he saw and took a moment to measure his words. ‘Bachu, there is only one issue. Every shot filmed overseas needs government approval and we do not have that,’ he said very calmly. A distraught Chandra knew there was no point arguing and did not manage to hide his disappointment. It was a lesson cruelly learnt for the young director that bureaucracy, more often than not, wins the day. The next time around, he would be a lot more cautious. Chandra still finds it hard to recollect where that footage of London lies. It would be worth a fortune in today’s context."
It seems to be financed by Barot. Read for some information but mainly for Barot praise.
"To say that there were constraints during the filming of Don would merely be stating the obvious. It was critical for Chandra to get past all of this. He wanted an international touch to the film but he had to make do with little money and, hence, look for locations in and around the city. If they looked international enough, it was great. If they did not, he just had to make do with what was available. In his mind, he knew one thing: film se location banti hai (the location is made by a film) and certainly not the other way round.
. Of course, he knew there was a little footage from the 1973 holiday in London which certainly could be used. He was waiting to surprise Nariman with that. The scene where the street singer is shown footage of his lookalike who is now dead was shot in Waheeda Rehman’s house. The lady was gracious enough to lend her living room for a day and, as the camera rolls, a smoking Iftekhar asks the street singer to take a good look at his more sophisticated lookalike. In Chandra’s mind, this was the perfect moment to bring in the London footage. A day before the shot was conceived, he went to Nariman with what he had filmed in London. ‘Bawa, take a look at this. I think you will like it,’ said Chandra quite earnestly. The pot-bellied cameraman was smitten by what he saw and took a moment to measure his words. ‘Bachu, there is only one issue. Every shot filmed overseas needs government approval and we do not have that,’ he said very calmly. A distraught Chandra knew there was no point arguing and did not manage to hide his disappointment. It was a lesson cruelly learnt for the young director that bureaucracy, more often than not, wins the day. The next time around, he would be a lot more cautious. Chandra still finds it hard to recollect where that footage of London lies. It would be worth a fortune in today’s context."
July 16, 2020
Don, a ruthless criminal, dies in a police chase. DSP D'Silva is the only one who knows about his death. To get hold of the gang, he trains Don lookalike Vijay. Things take a turn when DSP is killed. That’s a winning screenplay right there. Hats off to Salim-Javed!
Spunky dialogues, tight story, great tunes, greater cast. ‘Don’ had everything right going for it while balancing itself meekly on the shoulders of a 30 year old debut director - Chandra Barot.
Made as a kind gesture of friendship for the financially struggling producer Nariman, ‘Don’ changed the way action and class was potrayed on-screen and remains a testament for a big screen entertainer.
What’s disappointing is the lack of story telling power and spunk by Krishna Gopalan while taking us through the backwaters of one of greatest films in Bollywood. He fails to grab the attention of the reader consistently and this is only worsened by the disorganised story telling in the chapter arrangements in the book.
Spunky dialogues, tight story, great tunes, greater cast. ‘Don’ had everything right going for it while balancing itself meekly on the shoulders of a 30 year old debut director - Chandra Barot.
Made as a kind gesture of friendship for the financially struggling producer Nariman, ‘Don’ changed the way action and class was potrayed on-screen and remains a testament for a big screen entertainer.
What’s disappointing is the lack of story telling power and spunk by Krishna Gopalan while taking us through the backwaters of one of greatest films in Bollywood. He fails to grab the attention of the reader consistently and this is only worsened by the disorganised story telling in the chapter arrangements in the book.
October 6, 2019
About one of the most stylish movies of those times, this book is a quick and an enjoyable read. It starts off really well but somewhere along the way I felt that the author did not get much information on the movie. There isn’t much trivia about the movie nor many interesting bits here. Guess many might have been off the record.
However this is a good book to read especially if you are a fan of this movie.
However this is a good book to read especially if you are a fan of this movie.
October 8, 2020
3.5/5 “The (local-train) passenger gripped Chandra’s hands and said he had watched Don five times in 1978.
‘You made a film not just for our generation, sir. My teenage son also loves it,’ he said. Not bad going at all for a film that was released over three decades ago.”
An interesting read on a cult film. It is largely based on interviews with the director “Chandra Barot”, a man who surprisingly hardly made any movies after this.
‘You made a film not just for our generation, sir. My teenage son also loves it,’ he said. Not bad going at all for a film that was released over three decades ago.”
An interesting read on a cult film. It is largely based on interviews with the director “Chandra Barot”, a man who surprisingly hardly made any movies after this.
May 10, 2017
Nice book gives us the insight and struggles during a flim making
Normally we tend to forget what goes behind filmmaking.this book captures in it all of it when Ur not from a big production house,the challenges and how all the unit including actors overcame it(even with a budget cut in their fees--something rarely done).a good read and nicely priced on kindle
Normally we tend to forget what goes behind filmmaking.this book captures in it all of it when Ur not from a big production house,the challenges and how all the unit including actors overcame it(even with a budget cut in their fees--something rarely done).a good read and nicely priced on kindle
May 12, 2018
Typically one who is a big fan of the movie will be interested in this book. Made me very nostalgic. Read it mainly for lots of surprising & interesting trivia and stories. Bought on kindle and can't click/zoom the photographs.
May 17, 2019
Don ke dushman ki sabse badi Galti ke Woh Don Ka dushman hai.. fantastic book this the making of don. What a period.. what an era..the seventies were mind-blowing.
September 19, 2019
Good read
Director's point of view. Lot of anecdotes are also there in the book. A must read for Don enthusiast. Well written book.
Director's point of view. Lot of anecdotes are also there in the book. A must read for Don enthusiast. Well written book.
December 1, 2022
Don ...the making of
Lovely read with so many anecdotes about the making of the movie Don. It is essentially for the fan of the 1978 movie.
Lovely read with so many anecdotes about the making of the movie Don. It is essentially for the fan of the 1978 movie.
October 12, 2024
5 stars for the trivia.
November 26, 2017
'The Making of Don' is a stop and start book - interesting in parts - but often repetitive and non-linear. Additionally, Gopalan has just the one source: Chandra Barot and the book relies heavily on Barot's reminiscences. I thought Gopalan might have been better served writing the story from Barot's perspective instead of as an author researching the book.
Even so, the kernel of the story is interesting enough - a movie made over several years, on a non-existent budget relying largely on goodwill and fortune to get made. It was the core story that kept me hooked even though Gopalan kept losing my attention.
Though short of the benchmark for movie-making books ("Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron", "Sholay-the Making of a Classic"), can be read as a one-off airport-read.
Even so, the kernel of the story is interesting enough - a movie made over several years, on a non-existent budget relying largely on goodwill and fortune to get made. It was the core story that kept me hooked even though Gopalan kept losing my attention.
Though short of the benchmark for movie-making books ("Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron", "Sholay-the Making of a Classic"), can be read as a one-off airport-read.
September 26, 2015
Don is one of the iconic films of Bollywood, which was inspired by an old Hindi film Chinatown. The author interviews Chandra Barot on making of Don, the book gives insights and trivia related to shooting of Don.
The problem with the book is none of the trivia are new or unknown to people who have followed Bollywood.
Strangely, the book does not interview Amitabh Bachchan the lead actor of the film. Even the screenplay writers Salim- Javed are not interviewed in this book. For those who are not familiar with The Making of Don, this is an interesting read, for those who are well versed with Bollywood, this will be a disappointment.
The problem with the book is none of the trivia are new or unknown to people who have followed Bollywood.
Strangely, the book does not interview Amitabh Bachchan the lead actor of the film. Even the screenplay writers Salim- Javed are not interviewed in this book. For those who are not familiar with The Making of Don, this is an interesting read, for those who are well versed with Bollywood, this will be a disappointment.
December 2, 2013
Very readable account of the making of a brilliant film
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews