Given that his strict father (Samuthirakani), or as he describes him, the "sirappana tharamana villain" in his life wants him to study hard, Chakaravarthi (Sivakarthikeyan), the protagonist of Don, decides that he'd rather make a name for himself without really studying. The film is all about whether this young man manages to figure out what he wants to do in life while being in a soul-sucking environmental - an engineering college. Adding to his misfortune is Boominathan (SJ Suryah), a faculty member in the college, who is even more of a disciplinarian than his dad! With this Santhosh Subramaniam-meets-Nanban set-up, debutant director Cibi Chakaravarthi makes it possible for him to play to both the younger and older crowd. He smartly divides the film into two halves - the first-half for the youth, the second-half for the family audience. Yes, we see how calculated this approach is, which makes Don less of a coming-of-age story and more of a commercial entertainer, but the director manages to succeed. For the most parts, the film is built around the conflict between Chakaravarthi, the college's Don, and Boomi, and Sivakarthikeyan and SJ Suryah's lively performances make these portions come alive. The moves and counter-moves that the two come up with to bring down the other results in quite a few fun moments, like the episode when Boomi arranges a parent-teacher meeting with Don's father or when Don manages to put the teachers in the students' shoes. This battle of wits is interspersed with a few moments of romance between Don and Angayarkanni (Priyankaa Mohan), which is sometimes cute and at times cringy. Things veer into the sentimental territory in the final portions and do get dangerously close to treacly melodrama, which is tonally off from the light-hearted tone we get until then, but thankfully, it doesn't derail the film. That said, the emotions it makes us feel in these scenes don't feel well-earned as it tries to pass of toxic parenting as a form of 'untold love'. While the line about parents figuring out raising their child by trial and error rings true, it is hard to buy the film's attempts to turn Don's father into an endearing figure, given the way the character treats his son until then. Nevertheless, Cibi Chakaravarthi's conviction carries the film over the finishing line and ensures that despite his some what formulaic treatment of this material, the film remains largely entertaining.Read more

Sivakrthikeyan’s Don, helmed by debutant director Cibi Chakravarthi, is a film with many interesting ideas. And that’s the best part. The film is a perfect cocktail of fun, emotions and great songs Don follows the story of Chakravarthi (Sivakarthikeyan), who hails from an economically backward family. A typical middle-class dad (Samuthirkani) forces his son to take up engineering so he can succeed in life. Any amount of opposition won’t work with his dad because he’s strict. He doesn’t want his son to take any risks. When he joins an engineering college, he just wants to have fun. And he finds different ways to do that. In his college, he meets professor Boominathan (SJ Suryah), head of the Discipline Committee. He imposes archaic rule in the name of discipline and earns the wrath of Chakravarthi and other students. He comes up with a plan to teach Boominathan a lesson. In the process, he finds his calling and what he wants to do in life. Cibi Chakravarthi shows a lot of promise in his first film, Don. He knows how to elevate a simple story and does it effortlessly with interesting ideas. By recreating iconic scenes from Vaali and Baasha, Don takes everyone on a nostalgic ride. And that’s why the film works to a great extent. The film, which is set in an engineering college, taps into realism and you are reminded of your professors. Yes, all kinds of them. The nostalgic factor works to a great extent, especially, when the lecturer yells, ‘is this a class or a fish market?’ There are many such instances which take us back to college. Another major advantage of Don is that it is self-aware. It does not appropriate the exertive behaviour of the parents. The film also has a scene where Sivakarthikeyan says it’s not right to stalk or follow a girl once she says no. Finally! Where the film falters is during the final act. When Don takes itself seriously, the emotional stretches do not work as much as they should. At one point, it appears as if Sivakarthikeyan’s Chakravarthi is taking lessons about familial values. The range that Sivakarthikeyan has shown as an actor is commendable. He scores in emotional scenes, especially in the final stretch. The film also belongs to SJ Suryah as much as it does to Sivakarthikeyan. With every film, SJ Suryah is proving that he is one of the best performers we have today. Priyanka Arul Mohan and Samuthirkani reprise roles that they have done in the past. Bala Saravanan and Mirchi Vijay’s comedy works, while Sivaangi oversells her performance. Composer Anirudh Ravichander’s songs and background music have enhanced Don to a great extent. So did cinematography by KM Bhaskaran and editing by Nagooran Ramachandran. Don is a mindless entertainer with a moving message. With brilliant comedy sequences and pulsating songs, Don is strictly a theatre watch.Read more