Dost- mat aana!
a boring flick which conjures cheap thrills from homosexuality
Dostana (2008)
Priyanka Chopra is just there as a glamour doll in Miami. She greets the supposedly gay couple (a put up act by Sam and Kunal to get the house) with causal flair of a friendly love. The aunty act is not at all funny. Infact, the director needs to get a lesson or two about what comic relief actually is. There are a series of wasted reels where Sam and Kunal are shown cuddling like gays and while narrating the story, Sam even has a girl like running act. All this in one word is “horrendous”.
Also, this movie is another example (of the many) of how intolerant and un-accepting our society is about gay relationships. What with a beautiful Kiron Kher singing “Ma da laadla bigad gaya” just because his son’s love interest is in a man. The entire gay act is a put up one, and this is very evident too. None of the actors, except Abhishek in some traces manage to conjure up the enthusiasm of the moment. His screen space is noticeable and also he takes away the show from the rest two.
I’d have one question for the director of the movie. Do fashion editors always dress up with a size zero tight fitting costume like that of Priyanka to her workplace? The instance where she invites her current editor-in-chief to her house to meet her “gay best friends” because even he is gay is a disaster not even one bit close to comedy. Priyanka manages to look very good, thanks to Mickey Contracter. The entry of Bobby Deol in her life is rather quick and there is hardly any chemistry between them.
Bobby Deol leaves his newfound love interest in a huff because his small son disapproves of the same. The 5 year old son is influenced by Sam and Kunal. Reason? Folks, beat that…it’s a love triangle without any proper structures! The plot is weak; the cinematography is excellent with Miami locales being beautifully portrayed.
The love triangle then complicates (rather streches) to Priyanka thinking that Sam and Kunal is interested in her boss Abhimanyu (Bobby Deol)!
The director does deserve credit for handling this complex issue of homosexuality, but it required to be done a little more aesthetically for him to win more brownie points. Priyanka Chopra’s acting skills for sure have improved and John needs a lesson or two in acting. Here, it is Abhishek who wins hands down, what with his screen presence and amazing dialogue delivery. The director for sure has talent, however, he needs to work a little more hard on the way he goes about the plot of his story.
To sum it all up, go watch Dostana if you want a good day out, the music rocks (numbers like Desi Girl, Shut up and Bounce) and is here to remain in the chartbusters. The locales are a treat for your eyes too. All in all, I’d not say it’s a must watch, but go see it if you get a reasonably priced ticket!
Oh, butt of course; the much hyped scene of John’s butt isn’t necessarily what it was made to be. He has worked extremely hard on his body and it shows, but John, keep it hard for some action flick as one cannot in the genre of romantic comedy just get past with your toned body!
The last scene is a so called surprise (and do not harm me for letting it out) the so called kiss between the male protagonists does not happen and is carefully tricked by the camera. This is how the editor in chief (Bobby Deol) would accept Neha’s proposal! The comedy is hardly there, and the effort made to actually lay emphasis on it is very evident.
So dosto, aana ho agar…I’ll be awaiting your expressions outside the movie hall!
My Rating: 
Your Rating
(5 votes, average: 3.8 out of 5)
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It’s a free country and everyone is free to have their opinion. So I dont want to comment about the review but would just like to point out that the sequence where Abhishek n John wake up in the same house is not about both being roomies as the writer of this review has seemed to have understood but they have hooked up with some girls who live in that house. I thought it was made pretty clear by the director by showing Abhishek searching through that unfamiliar house.
I havent seen the film as yet and after reading your review I dont intend to see it all the more. First, I was put off with it’s cheap publicity and pre-release promotion of the film. I knew it would be a scrap movie. But let’s accept this. Our society is not so open to accept gay relationship. So howmuch ever we try to portray that - gays should be trated with respect. It sounds fine in reel but in real we ourself distance from them. Isnt this ture? Movies on these issues will surely raise some eyebrows.
I think it deserve one more star…its not that bad. It is an entertaining film and will do well
It’s a slightly confusing review, pretty contradicting and neither here nor there (it’s like “yeah, I didn’t like it but then it has some nice things in it but then… so what… go watch…)
… the movie has more irony; it’s not pretending to be a Happy Together or a Strawberry and Chocolate… it’s zingy; it’s got people talking about homosexuality which a non-mainstream film wouldn’t have… it’s not great cinema; no one expected it to be…
as for distancing oneself from homosexuals as Harry says, I don’t think people are that homophobic… I, for one, have not faced too many raised eyebrows or people distancing themselves for ‘a mere’ sexuality… if you think of sexuality as a mere idea, yes it can be a problem; if you know real people, then it’s just another person who has a different take on life and love. Big deal!…
Hi Arri, nice to see you here. How have you been?
I think it’s little unfair on Sneha’s part to expect more “sensitive” or “aesthetic” depiction of the gay world. The film is neither about gays, nor it attempts to be a serious discourse on gay rights etc.
However, the couple of gay characters that it portrays may be looked at seriously–not abhishek or john but Boman and the other fellow who played immigration officer.
Maybe, the act of pretending to be gay, could lead to an interesting discussion on some popular (yet questionable) notions about being gay or gay behavior and mannerism.
I had a good laugh throughout the film.
I’ve a feeling Sneha, you approached the film with very high expectation on “portrayal” and “message”, and missed the funny moments.
This is a copy of the mail I’ve sent to people who have commented/ found my review confusing… As suggested by a friend, I’m pasting the mail here so readers can have my take on the same…
Hi,
Thanks for commenting on my post !
I think I’ve got people not understanding the way I wrote the review.
A review as we all know, has always got people having a little bit of
their own personal element of opinion in the same. For instance, if
you were to read Karan Johar’s interview in a leading English daily,
he says that the gay moments were there to produce comic laughter /
fun.
All I said was for it to be done a little more gracefully. As far as
the view on my review being one confusing goes, I’d like to say that I
did not honestly expect any message from this movie, the track where
it goes to be a love triangle is in one word “expected”, a typical
need of the masala flick.
Also, Karan Johar has himself said that people have either loved the
movie or hated it. I’m afraid I’ve completely not liked it, but
keeping in mind the perspective of most people laughing on the scenes,
I’ve recommended it as a good watch. Hope its clear now !
This isn’t a defensive mail at all. Just thought I need to clarify
certain things.
Thank you.
Regards,
Sneha
Dahling… u obviously dont have much experience reviewing movies! John’s roomie doesnt randomly ask her to leave. she says that she’s now found someone who’ll pay. when ur reviewing a movie, plz do justice to it! plz focus on the movie and take in every minute detail. reviews make or break a film. plz do it responsibly. I thought priyanka’s wardrobe was quite tastefully done. if u ARE size zero, why would u wear anything else! and its a fashion mag for heavenssake. they get free clothes all the time! really, how much do you know about acting to trash john’s acting like u have done. before, reviewing a movie, please for heavessake do background reading and then venture out to criticize people? i have nothing to do with dostana or john or anyone related to the movie. i am just an ardent fan. i am surprised u didnt mention the subtle references from the movies LOTR and Devil wears prada. Lady, seriously! do some background reading before u do this stuff!
Even your clarification, doesn’t make it less random that John is thrown out of the house because “she’ has got someone who can “also” pay. John didn’t look that poor, he could have easily paid. And someone, who would allow him in her house without any payment, won’t even call him even once!
No doubt, Dostana, makes people laugh, you could also call it Paisa wasool, but when you use words like “subtle” for it–it really shows where u r coming from.
Cheers!
This is indeed a nice movie..infect again one of the great work by karan johar…A beautiful and hilarious story in the beautiful beaches of miami….I think reviewer of this movie above must be sleepy or something while watching this movie..thats only why there is such review which is full of confusions and doesnt clarify anything….If i can say something then that will be GO FOR IT..its a great fun film and it definately deserves 4 stars…
It was a fun film, though the gay-camp’s ire is fully justified. It is all the more unfair to say a film is about homosexuals (which is the layman’s understanding really, from the promos and all the talk) when that is precisely what it is not. In a society that is nowhere near ready to deal with homosexuality, a mainstream film that makes a mockery of it is rather below the belt. But all said and done, the humour was quite zingy, as someone commented earlier and if you go with a light enough frame of mind, you will come out with your sides aching pleasantly. An intelligent viewer should walk in with the right bit of knowledge, that it is NOT about gays or homosexuality and the reference to it is only for the confusion-value, to aid and abet the comedy of errors.
I also quite liked the movie..i tot it was really funny and not even once did i feel that it was insensitive towards the homosexuality issue. i tot priyanka looked really stunning in the movie, abhishek acted really well and jhon also did a decent job…i felt bobby looked more gay than either of them tho
Hi Sneha.
I saw this movie recently when I was holidaying in Florida. Unfortunately I have not had the time comment on this movie as I have just returned from my holiday and I am totally exhausted from jetlag. But would like to say that you mention that the opening shows an Island on which we see Shilpa Shetty singing. This is not an island but a beach near the city of Miami, which is in the state of Florida. But a good review.
If you remember “Kal Ho Na Ho” had a sort of “gay” theme - Saif and Shah Rukh in bed and the naukrani shaking with the tray in her hands whenever she sees them together. I think that Karan Johar has used this in a nice way to make it into a comedy. I just couldn’t stop laughing when Kirron Kher gets the note showing her son living with another man. Overall, I liked this movie.