Released on 23 December 2011, Farhan Akhtar's action crime drama Don 2 picks up five years after Don: The Chase Begins Again ends:
Having conquered the Asian underworld, Don now has his sights set on European domination. In his way are the bosses of the existing European underworld and all law enforcement agencies. The action shifts from Kuala Lumpur to Berlin as Don must avoid assassination or arrest, whichever comes first, in order for his plan to succeed.
The film starred Shah Rukh Khan reprising the title role, but this time with even more cunning and class. Several previous characters from the first Don also came along for the ride, including Vardhaan (Boman Irani), Roma (Priyanka Chopra), and Inspector Malik (Om Puri)
Thanx Farhan Ritesh PC Lara, Nawab & my man Boman...one of the finest film making fun I ever had. Hope we all make 10 sequels to Don!
— SHAH RUKH KHAN (@iamsrk) December 23, 2013
Germany is the warmest... In Nov & Dec & the whole year round....the people there r the sweetest & lovingest. I miss Germany & Berlin.
— SHAH RUKH KHAN (@iamsrk) December 23, 2013
Doesn't get more special than this one..magical Berlin.. #2yearsOfDon2 thank u all @iamsrk @FarOutAkhtar @ritesh_sid @LaraDutta @bomanirani
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) December 23, 2013
The music of Don 2 was composed by the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the musical themes stride through the film with a swagger commensurate with Don's hubris.
One of these songs - "Hai Ye Maya" - stands out because of its placement in the film, its melodic progression, and the unique voice of its singer, Usha Uthup.
The song is used as the background score as Don's team - which includes old rival Vardhaan (Boman Irani) - makes the necessary preparations for a complex heist.
The heist target is the euro-printing DZB (Deutsche Zentral Bank) currency centre, which has state-of-the-art security. In order to pull of the scheme, the team needs to trick their way into the internal corridors of the bank.
The song "Hai Ye Maya" reminds us that all the preparatory work done by Don's team is necessary to pull off the ruse. The lyrics of this number can be translated as:
There's no night here,
Nor is there day,
Is this some darkness,
Or is this just smoke?
Eyes are betrayed, who knows about this
what is here and what is not...
This is all an illusion...Those which look like diamonds,
May actually be fireballs,
those which look like sparks,
May actually be stars...
Eyes are betrayed, who knows about this
what is here and what is not...
This is all an illusion...All the faces are the same,
How would you recognize,
Whether it's a friend or foe,
How would you know...
Eyes are betrayed, who knows about this
what is here and what is not...
This is all an illusion...
The song also implies that Don may have a thing or two up his sleeve ...
The song "Hai Ye Maya" was initially voiced by a male singer. But this didn't really work for the film.
Usha Uthup was approached. This popular Indian jazz singer never had any formal musical training but pursued the profession because she loved to sing. She got her start in the 70s at night clubs singing covers of popular songs. Despite her success, she never got a chance to sing in Hindi films early in her career because her rich alto voice wasn't easily picturized on film heroines of the day.
But she had the right voice for this song. Despite being choosy when it comes to selecting what songs to sing, this musical icon and stage performer agreed to sing for Don 2. Farhan Akhtar was very impressed with the tone she brought to the film, tweeting:
Recorded a song with Usha Uthup for Don 2. What a voice and what amazing energy and attitude... a rockstar in a kanjivaram saree!
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) September 28, 2011
In the "Making Of" video, Farhan Akhtar explains:
"Her voice belongs here, you know, in this world of the slightly Bond-esque ..."
At INK2013, Usha Uthup highlights her Bond connection:
".. everybody who ever heard me before would know that some of my biggest songs were the James Bond movie songs. And I've done each and every one, recorded all of them ..."
The following playlist includes the short "Hay Ye Maya" official song promo followed by the INK2013 talk given by Usha Uthup where she briefly talks about her life and love of music and sings the song "Skyfall" from the 2012 James Bond film.
If you like this, please visit our other Music Monday or Don series posts.