And we thought “Jokes are not meant to be taken seriously”!! It all started with a ludicrous “KantaBen” chapter of 2003’s biggest money-grosser Kal Ho Na Ho; followed up with couple of memorable acts by two Khans in the Award functions and then dozens of other bollywood flicks took the cue and cracked jokes on them. Yes I’m talking about the G-Word making its prominence in Bollywood loud and clear. But it needed a valiant effort to actually devote a full-fledged movie on the homo-sexuality and none other than Karan Johar took the bait. At the outset, let me clarify that through Dostana he doesn’t stands as a
gay-rights activist. On the contrary, the flick makes the mockery of such
attempts, if any.
Shrewdly enough, Dharma Productions
have not left any stone unturned to churn out a perfect entertainer. There is
John in his new Sallu-Avtaar, who has shown his detest for shirts and love for
shorts through-out the movie. There is Priyanka Chopra who has raised the oomph
factor by quite a few notches without being vulgar. Whether she is in hot-pants
OR in short-skirts OR in sensuous-Saree OR in golden-bikini she keeps the
mercury raising high and higher. Then there is Abhishek, who deciphers the
cool-dude-code to the tee. If that’s not all, there is Shilpa Shetty
kick-starting the flick with her moves-n-grooves in skimpy tiny attires. Apart
from all these embellishments, what works in favor of the movie is the
continuous underline-humor that flows throughout the 14 reels. Always expect an
unexpected surprise whenever you felt that “Ahh….here comes Johar’s
typical-stupid EQ”. Agreed, few of the gay-scenes are witnessed in umpteen
flicks and also the humor goes overboard sometimes that result into eschewal moments
for the audiences. While first half juggernauts at the rate of knots, second
half is painfully slow; thankfully K-Jo’s melodrama was kept under wraps by the
debutante-director Tarun Mansukhani which in turn keeps the yawn-n-frown away.
The camaraderie and chemistry (err… biology
as well) of the gays-to-be AB’s baby and Bips-Beau works big time and their
crush-in-landlady Piggy-Chops looks gorgeous to say the least. Abhishek leads
the pack by huge margin as he carries the embarrassing act of self-proclaimed
gay with élan. John was busy showing his artistically-chiseled body and
Priyanka wins the heart of millions with her beatific smile and voluptuous
figure. Kirron Kher is at her hamming best; the mother-in-law act could have
been a bit subdued for audience sake. Boman Irani’s you-blink-n-miss appearance
is highly dispensable. Bobby Deol in his extended-Guest appearance does nothing
other than smiling and scowling at different frames here-n-there.
The music always has been the selling
point of Dharma Productions, and Dostana is no exception. Jaane Kyun amalgamates
well within the movie, ShutUp-n-Bounce is made treat to
watch by the sexy-siren Shilpa. Maa-da-Ladla has both Punjabi fervor
and situational comic timing that makes it sure shot hit. Shaan rendered his mellifluous
voice in Kuch Kumthat fills the void of a pure sentimental song. **Desi
Girl** is the best song of the album and will feature in all the pubs and
discos in coming few days. But the surprise package of the album is the soulful
composition by Vishal-Shekhar Khabar Nahi which is still alien to
the promos and it’s sung by Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa’s talented finalists Raja Hassan and
Amanat Ali. Watch Out for my money!!!! The Choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant is
just above average; though Farah takes the cake for her groovy dance steps in **Desi
Girl**.
Harjeet’s Verdict: If you
don’t want to crackle your funny-bones; If you have an uncanny knack of harping
for the logic; If you don’t have a sweet tooth for bitter comic entertainer-
then KINDLY EXCUSE!!! For others: Keep your Family-Filter OFF, enjoy and
cherish DOSTANA and Stay in Peace forever…..n ever.
P.S: out of 5 for K-Jo’s brave attempt of coming out of
his comfort-zone.
