`Dostana`gets into gay groove, entertains with aplomb (IANS Film Review)
Rating: **1/2
Get this straight. Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham are not
gay. They are just happy pretending to be bed partners. In the endeavour, they
pull out all stops and get into the gay zone with a gusto that stumps all
moralists.
There are butt-and-bum jokes galore, some even pointed at the leading lady. But
hold that frown. Chill...It`s all for fun.
The theme of heterosexual characters pretending to be gay to get a precious
abode in the bustle of the metropolis is pretty cool.
Abhishek and John, both in full form, get into the gay groove without going over
the top. They come out with flying colours through most of the material that`s
provided to them to sink their teeth into. While John combines terrific body
language with some great comic timing, Abhishek`s expressions are a scream in
their pitch-perfection.
One of the most brilliantly-written sequences orchestrates all the characters of
this gay-play in the same room. There`re the play-acting gay protagonists, a gay
magazine editor (Boman Irani), a gay marriage-bureau official and of course
Abhishek`s homophobic mother (Kirron Kher) who screams and rants and then
accepts her son`s apparent sexual preference.
You could simply marvel at the two principal actors giving so much of heart to
their parts.
After a point you`re tempted to stop counting the number of times the word `gay`
gets in the way of the narrative. From `Mera beta gay hai`, courtesy Kirron Kher,
to a `Han main gay hoon`, Dostana wins the
how-to-say-gay-in-every-which-way award of the year.
Sandwiched between the two brilliantly-poised heroes is Priyanka Chopra, glowing
like a 1,000-watt bulb in her immaculate wardrobe and beachwear.
So here`s the bottom line. Hindi cinema finally comes out of the closet.
The characters get ample chance to extend the parameters of conventional cinema
without toppling into the abyss of overstatement.
First-time writer-director Tarun Mansukhani has the zing thing in his vision.
Miami, shot with fetching gusto by Aynanka Bose, lifts the luscious locales to
more than a tourist paradise. The desi characters seem to belong to this
beachside paradise.
Well-toned bodies tanned to perfection, sinewy movements on the beach and on the
dance floor, songs, music and feverish fiesta of sexually-driven people who want
it all. And fast. Dostana is the ultimate hedonists` dream.
The narrative pace slackens considerably in the second-half, what with the
heroes expanding their homosexual hijinks into a triangle with Priyanka thrown
in for good measure. Then the triangle dilates into a quadrangle as Bobby Deol
makes a belated appearance as the boss who first intimidates and irritates the
working girl into a motion of anger and submission. And then sweeps her off her
feet.
Is this to keep the heterosexuals happy?
What keeps the narrative going is the sheer zest for life and the mood of
wackiness which Shilpa Shetty sets at the outset with her `ooh-la-la` item song.
The gags involve everyone from the caricatured and spinsterish landlady to an
incredibly clueless magazine editor (Bobby Deol), who agrees to behave like a
moron at our pseudo-gay heroes say-so.
It`s all in fun. Not to be taken seriously. Not even when Abhishek and John
lip-lock in mock-ecstasy for a farewell kiss that certainly leaves Priyanka
breathless.
Director Tarun Mansukhani has started writing his next, but has not revealed the genre of the film.
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Dostana Synopsis
It`s all happening in the Beach Party Capitol of the world…..Miami is the
setting for Dharma Productions latest offering Dostana - serving a
cocktail of all ingredients to do with Friendship, Fun, Frolic and that thing
called Love….but with a slight twist – there is a small case of pretending
to be Gay!!
When Sameer (Abhishek Bachchan) and Kunal (John Abraham) are turned down
for an apartment because the land lady doesn`t want 2 strapping young men to
corrupt her young sexy niece Neha (Priyanka Chopra), they go to plan
G – they pretend to be Gay to secure the apartment.
All is well till they meet the sexy siren Neha and thus begins a journey of
fun, frolic and a test of friendship like never before when Neha`s boss
Abhimanyu (Bobby Deol) enters the fray as the third contender for her
affections, it gets even hotter under everyone`s vests and bikini`s and the
boy`s get down and dirty, in sunny Miami.