Dostana

After hearing all the hype, when Dostana was advertised at my local multiplex, it was time to go and find out what all the fuss was about. For the first time in a long time the entire hall was packed so the film had a lot to live up to.

The story follows two strapping hunks in the form of Abisheikh Bachchan and John Abraham, both have their hearts set on an apartment in Miami, the only problem, the Aunty renting the flat out (on behlaf of her neice Neha) is only willing to take take on female tenants. So our two heroes decide to pretend they are gay in order to secure the appartment. They then realise that by acting gay they can gain American residency quicker and thus continue their charade. The first half of the film follows the friendship between the two gay men Sam and Kunal and their relationship with Neha (Priyanka Chopra), but the second half typically ends up with both guys falling in love with Neha and the aftermath once the truth comes out.

The first half of the film is hilarious, my personal favourite scene had to be the one where Neha brings her gay boss M (Boman Irani)to meet the guys at the same time the officer from the INS arrives to check if the guys are really a gay couple. Boman puts on the Beedi track from Omkara and the heroes are forced to camp it up. Things are getting a little steamy as the doorbell rings and Sam's mother (Khiron Kher) walks in! In fact Khiron Kher's very brief appearance is superb and she gets some of the best lines.

The second half tails off a little is we fall in to a conventional love story and it marks the entrance of Bobby Deol as Neha's sauave new boss. Neha takes a shining to Bobby who prances around with that stupid grin of his which makes him look retarded rather than shy! Sameer and Kunal trey to sabotage the relationship and almost succeed and in the final reels the truth comes out and Neha has a huge decision to make.
Abisheikh is absolutely brilliant and seems to enjoy camping it up, he seems like he really enjoyed himself. John was quite happy to take his top off any chance he got, his performance was good and Priyanka played her role well. Bobby Deol just about pulled off his role although pretty much anyone could have played it. Khiron Kher as mentioned earlier was superb as was Boman Irani.

Dostana is an entertainer all the way and despite the love story angle in the second half you can't help but come away thoroughly amused. Although some of the content is of a stereotypical nature, Dostana is a bold step for Bollywood and the concept is a refreshing change from the usual boy meets girl formula.

5 out of 5