Atlee heaps praise on Sivakarthikeyan and the entire team of Don

Sivakarthikeyan's Don, which hit the screens on May 13, opened to positive reviews. A Cibi Chakravarthi-directorial, the film, reportedly minted Rs 13 crore, at the box office, and went on to become the second-best collection on the first day of release, after the actor's action-drama, Seema Raja (2018).

Atlee congratulated team Don on Twitter. Notably, Cibi Chakravarthi has assisted the filmmaker on Vijay's Theri and Mersal. Naturally, the proud mentor in Atlee couldn't keep calm and showered praise on Cibi's work.

A fun entertainer with a message, Don also has Priyanka Mohan, SJ Suryah, Samuthirakani, Soori, Radha Ravi, Munishkanth, Sivaangi, Bala Saravanan and others, in important roles.

Don is produced by Lyca Productions, in association with Sivakarthikeyan Productions.

In an interview with Silverscreen, Cibi assured, "Don would be an entertaining and emotional coming-of-age drama." The director added, "It follows the life journey of a person named Chakravarthi (Sivakarthikeyan) from his youth up to his 30s. The film has many themes like adventure, love, friendship, teacher-student equations, and bonding with a father figure!"

Don’s antagonist will be the decisions that the lead character makes, according to Cibi Chakravarthi. “The title Don derives from a nickname that is playfully attributed to someone who is mischievous and thrives on light-hearted practical jokes," Cibi told Silverscreen. The filmmaker, who has also penned the script, drew from his background in engineering for the college portions of Don, using references from his own life and those of others around him.

Cibi told Silverscreen he wrote the lead role with Sivakarthikeyan in mind from the beginning as the actor’s real-life persona matches that of the character. “I had used the name Chakravarthi for the male lead on one of the film’s early drafts and it stuck.”

Cibi wrote the initial draft of Don in 2013 intending to make a feature film. But first, he helmed a pilot project named Bit, centred around a student-teacher bond taken from the story. Then, he went on to assist Atlee on Mersal. “I was determined to make my debut with Don. I kept working on it as and when I got the time, and eventually, the film took off in 2021," Cibi told Silverscreen.

From the pilot to the full-length feature, Cibi says he created over 20 versions of the script, experimenting with the screenplay, but keeping the core story intact.

On directing seasoned filmmakers like Samuthirakani, Suryah, and Gautham Menon (in a cameo) in Don, Cibi told Silverscreen that they were all “completely actors” on the sets. “Samuthirakani sir is a method actor and he always stays in character while on set. SJ Suryah sir would always be ready to go for an additional take if needed. All of them supported me as the director and delivered their performances efficiently.”

The shooting of Don began in February 2021 and was wrapped up this year, in January. The film was shot across several locations, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Pollachi and Kerala.