As the sinister laugh of the sadistic Don hit the surround sound at Inox multiplex theatre in Bombay last Friday night, at the end of 17 reels of high octane adventure, the casual disdain in that majestic, cocky mocking laugh carried the sarcastic twinge which only an imperial monarch can naturally summon. Farhan Akhtar's remake of the Amitabh Bachchan popular entertainer of the late 70s (I refuse to call it a classic and all the other exaggerated eulogies) is pure undiluted entertainment, a modern-day rehash in a contemporary format of the yesteryear thriller. It also marks the fire-cracker coronation of perhaps Indian cinema's last true-blue superstar, Shah Rukh Khan.

The film reviews have been expectedly unkind; after all it is politically correct to state that the original is sacrosanct, and diplomatically appropriate to state that Amitabh Bachchan is simply incomparable. On both counts, however, the new avatar strikes a deadly blow; while still retaining the core flavour, it completely alters the formula-like familiar storyline with a dramatic last-minute twist . Compare the almost ridiculous climax of the Bachchan film ( it was even juvenile for 1978 cinema standards ) where the coveted cassette containing incriminating material was tossed around like a tennis ball even as a bunch of bumbling buffoons battled for it . In Akhtar's version, the dangerous Don gets the ultimate tribute; he smartly outwits the camouflaged double-crossers, literally having the last laugh in the climactic shot. And Shah Rukh Khan packs such manic energy and robust ruthlessness in his role with his trademark panache, that the audience completely forgets

the poor innocent lovable country bumpkin Vijay (SRK's look-alike in a brief, endearing cameo) who has been quietly vanquished .To me, that is where Farhan scores a brilliant hat-trick, by upstaging the original script with a daring about-turn, and making the whole comparison debate virtually redundant . The evil incarnate is resurrected here, and he looks even more menacing post-his dare-devil revival. In the old Don, simple Simon Vijay replaced the international criminal Don; in the re-made version the cold-blooded irrepressible maverick substitutes the innocuous yokel. Even Stevens. A sequel looks inevitable.

Frankly speaking, Kareena Kapoor sizzles in a seductive dance number, oozing sufficient oomph to momentarily derail the suave Don himself. Give me KK over Helen Ji, any day. Priyanka Chopra sports a lissome sensuous body, emerging like a visual fantasy from the blue waters, her chocolate colored skin like a luminous afterglow. Subtle sexuality, captured with a lazy camera reluctant to shift focus - well Done, Farhan, Boman Irani, Isha Kopikkar, Arjun Ramphal, Om Puri and the rest of the pack play their individual odd bits with the required passionate relish, irrespective of screen time. Clearly, the Don crew was having an enthusiastic blast.

But finally, Farhan Akhtar's real genius lies in making a critical differentiator. In the 1978 version Amitabh Bachchan was remembered as Vijay, the good hearted bloke who took a big-time risk for two orphaned kids. In fact, that film could even have been re-christened Vijay, for all it mattered. SRK's Don is a landmark effort because he delivers a knock-out solo performance as an anti-hero, making the anti-thesis the protagonist, the villainous, selfish, unforgiving self-obsessed global crook, the true hero. The film and the hero give the ultimate tribute to the title of the film itself, Don.

Shah Rukh Khan is not Amitabh Bachchan. He is the Don.