"Don 2: The King Is Back" is a 2011 Indian action thriller film in Hindi, directed, co-produced, and written by Farhan Akhtar. It is the second installment in the Don reboot series. The film was jointly produced by Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment, and features Shah Rukh Khan as the titular anti-hero. The supporting cast includes Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Lara Dutta, Om Puri, Nawwab Shah, Alyy Khan, Sahil Shroff, and Kunal Kapoor. The plot follows Don (Khan), a powerful international drug lord, as he aims to take control of the European drug cartel five years after the events of the first film, while Roma (Chopra) joins Interpol to hunt him down.

The film's soundtrack was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Jason West handled cinematography, and Anand Subaya was the editor. After the success of the first film, Akhtar initially planned a sequel in 2010, but it didn't materialize immediately. The project was officially announced later that year, and principal photography took place extensively in Berlin.

"Don 2" was released on December 23, 2011, in both 2D and 3D formats, with dubbed versions available in Telugu and Tamil. The film received positive reviews, with praise for its story, cinematography, production design, soundtrack, background score, action sequences, and cast performances. It became a global box office hit, grossing over ₹202.81 crore (US$24 million), making it the third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2011 at the time of its release.

The film won several awards at various ceremonies in India. At the 57th Filmfare Awards, "Don 2" received five nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Farhan Akhtar), and Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan), and won two awards for Best Action and Best Sound Design.

Plot Summary:

Five years after the events of "Don," the European drug cartel bosses convene to discuss eliminating Don, who threatens their business by undercutting prices. Don, who has been living in Thailand, heads to a remote settlement to retrieve a shipment of cocaine. However, his own associates betray him in exchange for a deal with the Europeans. Don escapes by killing his men and destroying the settlement. He then returns to Malaysia, where he surrenders to Inspector Malik and Roma, who has joined Interpol. Don is sentenced to death and sent to prison, where he encounters his old rival, Vardhaan.

Despite their animosity, Don and Vardhaan agree to work together, eventually escaping by poisoning the other inmates. In Zurich, Don meets with his trusted associate Ayesha, and they retrieve a tape from a secret locker, which shows J.K. Diwan, the vice-president of the Euro-printing DZB (Deutsche Zentral Bank), bribing Singhania to assassinate James Werden, the original choice for the bank's president, so that Diwan's superior, Fabian Kohl, could take the position. Don blackmails Diwan into giving him the bank's blueprints to steal the printing plates. When Diwan tries to trick him with fake blueprints and hires a deadly assassin named Abdul Jabbar, Don outsmarts them, bribing Jabbar to work for him instead. Diwan is left with no choice but to provide the genuine blueprints.

In Berlin, Don and his team execute a bank heist, but Don is betrayed by Vardhaan and Jabbar. Anticipating the betrayal, Don escapes. He then coerces Diwan into securing German immunity for him in exchange for erasing evidence linking Diwan to Werden's murder. Don negotiates with the Berlin police and Interpol, offering the plates and a disc containing details of the European underworld in exchange for the safety of the hostages and defusing the bank's bombs.

Don and Roma confront Vardhaan in a final showdown. Although Vardhaan, Jabbar, and even Don himself provoke her to kill Don, Roma hesitates due to her unresolved feelings for him, even though he had killed her brother and his fiancée five years earlier. Jabbar shoots Roma, but Don overpowers Vardhaan and kills Jabbar. With Vardhaan arrested, Don receives his immunity papers and hands over the plates and disc as agreed, also ensuring Roma's transport to a hospital.

In the final twist, it is revealed that Don still possesses the real currency plates, as the ones destroyed in the car explosion were fake. It is also shown that Sameer was loyal to Don all along, and informing the police was part of Don's plan. The disc actually contains the names of the European cartel bosses who had plotted to kill Don. As a result, Kohl and the cartel bosses are arrested and imprisoned alongside Vardhaan. With his rivals out of the way, Don becomes the undisputed king of the European underworld, with Sameer and Ayesha by his side.

Cast:

• Shah Rukh Khan as Mark "Don" Donald
• Priyanka Chopra as Roma Bhagat
• Boman Irani as Vardhaan Makhija
• Kunal Kapoor as Sameer "Sam" Ali
• Om Puri as Inspector Vishal Malik
• Lara Dutta as Ayesha Kapoor
• Alyy Khan as J. K. Diwan
• Nawwab Shah as Abdul Jabbar
• Sahil Shroff as Arjun Shergill
• Wolfgang Stegemann as Karl Fetched (Jabbar's German assistant)
• Rike Schmid as Yana Ali, Sameer's wife
• Martin Goeres as Jabbar's Goon
• Timo Honsa as Jabbar's Goon
• Christian Maria Goebel as Fabian Kohl
• Günter Barton as James Werden
• Bianca Karsten as Sophie Kohl
• Hans-Eckart Eckhardt as Dr. Schneider
• Klaus Schindler as Commissioner Muller, Berlin Police
• Jason West as Jimmy Coogan
• Ridzuan Hashim as Jaruwan
• Adi Putra as Don's Malaysian lawyer
• Florian Lukas as Officer Jens Berkel
• Nicolas Walier as SEK officer
• Sten Jacobs as SEK officer
• Rajesh Khattar as Cartel boss Singhania (archive footage)
• Hrithik Roshan as Don (masked appearance; special cameo)