'DOSTANA' Reviewed

[Nitin Sen]

***/5

Named after the first film produced by ‘Dharma Productions’ (and hence considered ‘lucky’ enough to not have a name starting with ‘K’), the soul of film essentially copies the first (two men vying for the same girl) with the gay angle and the climax of ‘Deewana Mastana’ thrown in. And of course, the ‘Kanta ben’ gags of ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ provide due inspiration as well. For those who say the flick’s been inspired by “I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry’, that’s quite a stretch.

In case you didn’t get the story with all these clues, ‘Dostana’ is about the two dudes pretending to be gay so they can get two rooms in the flat of the owner, Priyanka Chopra. They both fall in love with her but are torn between having a roof on their heads versus a confession which could land them on the streets. There is also a third angle of Bobby Deol (and hence the reference to ‘Deewana Mastana’) who replaces Boman as Priyanka's boss and loves her as well.

Laughter emanates from the discomfort of John and AB Jr. at pretending to be gay (including people misinterpreting innocuous gestures and ‘positions’ as something else on this account), Boman Irani (Priyanka’s gay boss) hitting on them and the shock and awe of Kirron Kher, AB Jr’s conservative Punjabi mom who hams it to the hilt. The biggest laugh comes from her last scene when she accepts the putative relationship and blesses John saying, “I don’t know whether you are my bahu or damaad, but take care of my son” and “jug jug jiyo, phoolo phalo”..(reference to kids) and then realising the futility of such blessing, saying dismissively…”jaane do”! She’s made to disappear mysteriously from the going-ons which is a bit unfortunate.

The second-biggest laugh comes towards the end when the guys try to thwart Bobby Deol’s advances towards Priyanka. They listen to all that Priyanka likes about him (formal clothes, chest hair and chivalry) and then tell him to do just the opposite. So, Bobby shows up in psychedelic striped pants, with his chest shaved and lets Priyanka pay the bill and open her own doors. The dudes also indoctrinate Bobby's child (from his first marriage) and put the mortal fear into him of Priyanka being his step mummy. One hilarious shot opens with the three of them watching ‘Taare Zameen Par’ with the kid asking “kya mujhe sach much boarding school bhej denge?’ (after Bobby marries Priyanka). Karan Johar also makes fun of his earler ‘K’ films which is quite refreshing.

The music is top-notch but not groundbreaking and there are a few incongrous songs which seem forced on the narrative, particularly Kirron Kher’s number. The three leads look scrumptious (is that a gayish term?) although Priyanka still insists on playing the game of ‘guess what colour my skin really is’, as in her other movies. Also grating is the fictitious ‘love story’ of the couple which Abhishek spins to gain entry into the flat where he runs effeminately, blushing and biting his finger between his teeth, thereby reinforcing the gay stereotype and giving rise to the charge of poking fun at the community. Also, it is never quite clear as to who’s the dyke (the male equivalent thereof for I don’t know the word) in the relationship. From the made-up backstory, it appears to be John but the distinction is blurred throughout the movie.

Anyway, a light-hearted film does not deserve to be nitpicked on such grounds. It is is fascinating to see how Tarun Mansukhani generates humour without too much of sexual innuendoes, crass dialogue or loud and physical comedy.

With impeccable production standards of Dharma, and wisely keeping the film trimmed to two and a half hours, ‘Dostana’ is as good as it gets in these days when the industry is in a state of flux and trying to search for new formulae of making successful and iconic films.