Cheers for friendship. Review on Dostana

DOSTANA- Its Different.  On many accounts we have seen the boy-boy bonding, the gang of girls gelling, but this celebrates a boy girl relationship that does not harp only on the romantic angle; DOSTANA also, for the first time brings to light the word ‘GAY’ featuring a full length film around it.  The boys openly and proudly display that they are a couple; and the most droolicious of them all (till now, were the female bodies that were on display on screen) the hunk John Abraham with the sexy body and the lopsided smile that will flutter a heart (of the fairer and the not so fairer sex.)  Feast your eyes on the super sexy John Abraham, who in the first half goes around bare bodied displaying all that he has!

And as it has tow hunks and a pretty woman, obviously there is a love triangle.  But its different!

The media has been talking about the “GAY” angle since the time the promos hit the air, every time referring to the KANTABEN episode of KAL HO NAA HO.  Dostana, however, takes it further and to a new level, bringing on non-stop laughter as the film unspools.  The totally madcap comedy show-cases John Abraham as a fashion photographer who shoots his semi-clad models on the sun-kissed sands of Miami Beach, where skin show is at a premium.  The beaches sizzle with his act!

It has Abhishek Bachchan, a nurse, (not wearing a mini skirt though – he is fully clothed even on the beach), a Punjabi Munda whose mother would love to see him settle down with a Punjabi Kudi.  And it has Priyanka Chopra, the hot and sexy fashion editor of Verve, who eyes the seat of the Chief Editor, as the next stop.

Priyanka owns a swanky flat that she wants to share with a couple of people.  These two guys are on the lookout for a place to stay.  They team up, present themselves as a couple and enter Priyanka’s home.  A close bonding develops among them – obviously Priyanka is very open with them as she thinks they pose no harm to her.  But she is worng.  For the duo have now fallen in love with her, and try to upstage each other so that they can spend the maximum time with her.  But there is a twist in the tale.  Bobby Deol, Priyanka’s boss also has his eye on the pretty damsel – his married status not posing any hindrance to his not so-evil intentions.

So what do the boy friends do?  They go about systematically destroying the relationship that builds between Priyanka and Bobby Deol.

In this nutty gathering Kirron Kher as Abhishek’s mother and Boman Irani as Priyanka’s gay boss bring on the hoots.

And the first half is non-stop laughter.  The topic may be corny, the jokes aren’t.  There is a certain subtlety in the humor and cheapness is a word that you cannot associate with Dostana.

Tarun Mansukhani, the director, who has also written the sassy script, has done a great job with his debut.  It seems he just narrated the story to the guys and let them do their own thing.  Because on screen, everything looks so perfect, so normal not contrived.  Kudos to the courageous director for bringing a taboo topic out of the closet for one and all to see.  And providing only shock value (this is definitely not for Bachcha Log – so parents keep the kids at home or be nagged and non-plussed about the questions that will follow!) but ending on a note that will leave many surprised.

Abhishek bachchan is into his element and is great with comic timing.  In fact, of the duo, he is the ‘dominant’ partner, with a dominant role.  John Abraham fully supports Abhishek and they make such a cute couple.  (Watch Kirron Kher’s reaction!)

Not so long ago, B and even C grade artistes turned down character roles depicting ‘not normal’ relationships, as they did not want ‘this’ kind of label in their CV.

So these two top guys from the industry need to be lauded for not only agreeing to portray character that required them to be ‘gay’, but also for giving it their best shot and feeling gay – nay happy doing it.  Their intimacy and the ease with which they interact raises the movie to a new level.

Priyanka has a reason to flash those perfect pearlies.  FASHION and now DOSTANA.  She is simply superb.  Boman and Kirron Kher are a class apart and both bring the house down with their short and classy act.  Sushmita Mukherjee and bobby Deol are good too.  Vishal-Shekhar’s music rocks, technically it’s a brilliant and cinematography is first rate.

The only hitch is its length as the second half tends to drag a little and that it may not appeal to the older generation. A few eyebrows are bound to be raised. Barring a few loopholes in the script, the movie is heavy on the pluses.

DOSTANA rocks!