Dostana (2008)

Dostana (2008)

Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Scenario: Anvita Dutt Guptan, Tarun Mansukhani
Genre: Comedy
Country: India, USA
Year: 2008
Duration: 145 min
Rating: 6.3/10

Actors: John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Bobby Deol, Monika Gaba, Kiron Kher, Sushmita Mukherjee, Shilpa Shetty

Večeras san sa uživanjem pogledao ovaj indijski fim iako sam bio prilično skeptičan sobzirom da se radi o Indijskoj produkciji o kojoj da budm iskren i neznam baš mnogo!
Kao i obično upao sam u zamku da osudim nešto što i ne poznajem dobro! Srećom uvijek tražim potvrdu mog mišljenja, al u ovom filmu je nisam našao.

Dostana je odlično urađena komedija sa elementima mjuzikla i definitivno se nećete pokajati ako je pogledate u cilju da se malo nasmijete i zabavite! Uz to su i glavni glumci izuzetno zgodni. U filmu igraju dva str8 momka koji glume gay par.

Podsjetili su me na dane kada sam živio sa cimerom. Jednom prilikom kada smo se vratili iz grada, istuširali se i onako omotani peškirima sjedali u stanu, on kroz neku zezanciju skoči na mene i počne da glumata jebanje. Ja uzdišem i vičem to jače manijače , on se zapjenio i pomalo zanio. U jednom momentu skoči sa mene i kaže: "Uh da smo nastavili još malo ko zna šta bi bilo, počeo je da mi se diže. " Ja se samo nasmijao i rekao: " da smo pederi bili bi naluđi par na svjetu". Treba li vam napomenuti da je on totalno str8 momak!

Nego da se vratim filmu. Neki bi rekli kako ovo i nije gay tematski film, al po meni definitivno jeste. Ne samo zbog priče u kojoj se strejteri pretvaraju da su pederi, nego i zbog svega drugog, ponajprije po načinu na koji je napravljen film, scenama izazovnih muškaraca, gay partijima, i nadasve bojama. Tako koloritan film može da napravi samo Pedro Almodovar. Svaka scena je kao fotografija za fototapet.
Muzika je vrlo interesantna. Na momente me podsjetila na neki turbo folk uvijen u indijski celofan. U suštini muzika je kao sa nekog indijskog brodwaya , tipična za mjuzikle. Uostalom pogledajte ove isječke koje sam ubacio u blog.

Film se bazira na početnoj teoriji da curama najbolji prijatelj može bite samo peder. Ima u tome istine jer peder će se uvijek zadržati samo na prijateljstvu. Ali u ovoj priči se ipak radi o strejterima koji samo glume pederski par. Dakle po prirodi stvari zagledaju se u svoju cimerku i zaljube. Kako se sve to završava pogledajte samo. Nije fer da vam sve sada otkrijem!

Toplo vam preporučujem da pogledate ovaj film. Brzo će vam proći tih naizgled predugačkih 145 minuta koliko traje film snimljen na dva CD-a. E da titl na našem jeziku ne postojji tako da ga mogu pogledati samo oni koji znaju engleski jezik! Linkove za subtitle sam takođe stavio na sajtu!

Description:
Recall the “Kantaben” episode in “Kal ho na ho”. Now concoct a whole film around it, and Voila ! You have “Dostana”, a film about two men pretending to be gay. And because it would be mightily inconvenient to situate such a story in good old, traditional India (some “patriotic” group or other “guardians” of our culture might take offence), the story is set in Miami. Also throw in a nicely proportioned, peppy lass and you now have a full-on Masala film !

The two men in question are Kunal (Abraham) and Sameer - or Sam (Bachchan). One’s a photographer and the other’s a nurse, and they both are inevitable skirt-chasers. Having their fill of women (women seem to fall all over themselves for these two) but lacking housing, both end up trying to rent rooms in an apartment belonging to single, Sindhi lady Neha Melwani (Chopra). However, Ms Melwani and her aunt (Sushmita Mukherjee) will have no men in the apartment, and Kunal and Sam then pretend to be a gay couple to gain admittance.

The three roomies then proceed to become best buddies, with the two men falling in love with Neha. She of course treats them as friends only, and falls in love with her boss Abhimanyu Singh (Deol). So there’s one girl, and three men who want her - and it takes the entire second half for one to win.

“Dostana” opens with a song, featuring some of the fittest bodies in Bollywood. There’s John Abraham, resplendent in bright yellow swim shorts. There’s Shilpa Shetty, she of the well-toned body and long, long legs. Abhishek is left (a little too) hirsute and clothed, which is how we like him. And there’s a bevy of bikini-clad beach beauties, vying for attention. Bright colors, blue skies, and the sea complete the slick, well-glamorized shot.

This opening sort of sets the tone of the film; it does not lack item numbers, or skimpy clothing, and it‘s about happening, hot young things sorting out their life and loves in a happening, hot, young world. Gay desis abound, and are amazingly, out of the closet. Desi folk are chic, work in non-engineering careers, and dress to kill. If you have it, you must flaunt it. Priyanka romps around in short shorts and bikini tops, and looks good doing it. And John Abraham, in one scene, wears only the bare essentials.

The men are into wine and women, but they also, this being Bollywood and all, possess hearts of gold. While I must give the film credit for even raising the notion of gay partnership as a possible relationship, for the desi public, I am also a little perturbed that when it suits it, the characters in this film seem to ooze what can only be described as homophobia. And while desi male sexuality is all out on display - Kunal and Sam sleep around and indulge in one night-stands (and they can still apparently morph into paragons of morality when confronted with true love), the desi woman, Neha, still remains prim, proper, and pristine (and asexual ?), unwilling to even share an apartment with a man.

This film is directed by Mansukhani, but has Karan Johar’s stamp all over it. It is thoroughly glam-med up, vibrant and slick, with well-choreographed numbers. Adequate direction, a shallow but entertaining script, and reasonable acting make this a mucho-masala film. The first half of the film is a breeze; funny, with lots of little well-timed gags. In the second half the film drags a bit, because of predictability - I knew exactly how it was going to end, and it isn’t that hard to guess. No real twists and turns here, except for the completely unexpected man-on-man kiss !

John and Abhishek, display real chemistry, playing off well against each other , and Priyanka does adequately. Kirron Kher hams it up as Sam’s typically Punjabi Mom, who has a hard time accepting her son’s alternative sexuality. Boman Irani is Neha’s out-and-about gay boss, and Bobby Deol, as the straight man in her life, is the third contender for Neha’s love.

“Dostana” is a decent watch. Yes, you do have to accept that in desi filmdom, there is only one kind of sexuality that is accepted, and it’s straight and male. The others (female, gay, lesbian etc. ) might exist but are never quite willingly acknowledged in the desi spectrum, although we might nod our heads and mumble soothing words, when asked, because we are oh-so-broadminded and believe in true love (wherever it might be found).

Soundtrack: