Don came in 1978. It is still remembered as being one of the biggest blockbusters of the 1970s. I was speaking to Mr. Bachchan about the success of Don and he described it as a “freak” hit.
That, it was. Don was made back then at a budget of 84 lakh rupee only. It has accrued nearly Rs. 500 crores worldwide to date. Don was a script that had been rejected by Dharmendra and Dev Anand. Writers Salim-Javed offered it to director Chandra Barot, who was at that time assisting Manoj Kumar.
During the making of Manoj Kumar’s Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Chandra Barot (who incidentally is the younger brother of singer Kamal Barot, who sang the evergreen Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra with Lata Mangeshkar) became friendly with Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman, who were a part of the cast in Roti Kapada Aur Makaan.
AB, ZA, and Barot decided to make a film together. That’s how Don was born. Interestingly, the film’s biggest USP, the song Khaike Paan Banaras Wala, was originally composed by Kalyanji-Anandji for the Dev Anand starrer Banarsi Babu. But Dev, with his urban image, didn’t feel comfortable doing the earthy rustic rhythms of Khaike Paan Banaras Wala.
Can one imagine the original Don without Khaike Paan Banaras Wala? It would be like paan without choona, paan intended.
Farhan recalls Chandra Barot with reverence. “I’ve heard stories from Dad about how much financial compromises the director of Don had to make. Given that the director Chandra Barot and producer Nariman Irani, who also photographed the film, had so little resources, I think the film achieved a lot in terms of shot takings, etc. I think it was very cool for its times and budget. I tried to do something that’s equally cool for our times.”
Chandra Barot’s fame rested solely on Don. Prior to that, he had assisted Manoj Kumar on three of his films. After Don, Chandra Barot directed one feature film, Ashrita, which was a hit.
