Dostana Movie Review: Dostana extension of 'Kantaben'

Dostana is an extension of the 'Kantaben plot' of Kal Ho Na Ho. There is nothing really unique about Dostana(most scenes give you a scene of déjà vu) but nevertheless Dostana is intermittently funny without being offensive.


Story of Dostana: Sam(Abhishek Bachchan) and Kunal(John Abraham) are looking for an apartment and since the owner (Sushmita Mukherjee) hates giving the apartment to guys lest they could corrupt her niece Neha(Priyanka Chopra), the two pretend to be gays. Neha, Sam and Kunal become friends and the guys begin to fall madly in love with Neha. But Neha has already fallen for Abhimanyu(Bobby Deol), the boss of her company. Whether the two guys choose love or friendship is the crux of the story.

Plus points of Dostana:
Full credit to Karan Johar to have produced up a taboo topic and a round of applause to Tarun Mansukhani for directing Dostana as his debut film. Though one cannot say the same about the script writer who has just given the same old story with a gay finishing, Tarun has directed the film well. We can take our hats off to Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham to be sporting enough; not caring a fig about their image, and doing complete justice to their roles. And yes, Miami is HOT!

Minus points of Dostana:
1. Most scenes are not funny, just cliche. In how many movies, have you not seen actors, by mistakenly, doing something suggestive while the third person walks in and thinks there is something cooking between the two? You have seen it in Kal Ho Na Ho, Masti, Golmaal Returns, Hello etc. C’mon guys, it is TWO MUCH and it aint funny.
2. Dostana is a movie about friendship but the ‘friendship’ aspect is not shown with the right amount of sensitivity. In the first half, it is all about their gay antics and their misinterpretation, and the second part is about both guys trying to woo Priyanka Chopra. The friendship factor is lost somewhere in Dostana.
3. Songs most of them jarring and off key(one of the worst scores of Vishal Shekhar) pop up at odd times and slow the pace of the film. Except for Desi Girl and Jaane Kyun, you cannot really remember any of the other songs.
4. Some scenes like the auction scene and scenes involving Boman Irani were not required and lengthened the movie unnecessarily.

Best scenes of Dostana:
1. Abhishek Bachchan explaining about how John Abraham and he had met, and dated. The flashback funny scene is rip roaring and Abhishek Bachchan’s performance makes it a visual treat.
2. A cute romantic scene was when John Abraham treats Priyanka Chopra for the Kuch Kuch Hota Hain movie. He recreates the magical scene of Shahrukh Khan mesmerizing Kajol in the movie and makes it look like likable. Full marks to Tarun Mansukhani for shooting the scene very well.
3. The scene where Bobby Deol tells Priyanka Chopra they don’t have a life together in the baseball arena is filmy but moving. The onlookers including John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan think that Priyanka has actually said ‘yes’ to Bobby.
4. The final kiss scene between Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham is the landmark scene, easily going to be one of the talked about scenes in Bollywood. Which is the first mainstream Bollywood movie to have a gay kiss scene? Answer: Dostana.

Performances in Dostana:
Abhishek Bachchan has given a splendid performance. It is really top notch and though it looked like he had lost his marbles in Drona, he definitely kicks ass(no pun intended) in Dostana. He is a sheer delight. John Abraham set the heart of women racing as he flexed his finely carved muscles and butt with gay abandon(no pun intended again). John Abraham is not just ‘Brawn Abraham’; he has performed brilliantly too. Priyanka Chopra has never looked so shapely. Her oomph appeal reaches zenith in Dostana. Speaking of Priyanka Chopra, there is a couple of references to her bum, as the camera flirts with her butt on occasions, hinting to the fact that the guys still think straight. Priyanka Chopra is pure eye candy here and does not really have a performance oriented role as she had in Fashion. She is happy to be a sexy audience admiring her ‘gay’ friends hog center stage.

Final point on Dostana:
Dostana is clichéd, an average entertainer.



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