Appartamento per... 3

Dostana is a lot of fun, specially in the first half, all thanks to Abhishek's wonderful comic timing, and a brilliantly conceived "gay fantasy love story" between Abhishek and John. Priyanks Chopra looks stunning, and there's plenty of eye candy (for both sexes) to enjoy. Boman Irani and Kirron Kher are good, but the script doesn't accommodate them well. Bobby Deol has what amounts to an extended cameo. Unfortunately he sleepwalks through the part. John makes an effort to act, but still isn't up to par. The last hour of the film gets bogged down in sappy melodrama, with an uncalled for scene of cruelty towards a child. Still worth catching on DVD or television.

Overall 6/10

I've eagerly awaited this movie. The prerelease publicity has been pretty good. The video I saw of John and Junior polkaing around the room wasn't that effective, but the video of Priyanka in the golden bathing suit said "must see" to me. And then I learned that Shilpa Shetty was doing an item number and, for me, the deal was sealed. Frankly, the chance to see J&J pretending to be gay didn't pique my curiosity at all.

When I was in the theater, the crowd was not large, but they were laughing practically nonstop. It isn't every Hindi comedy that can achieve that. My sense was that they were startled at the things J&J were willing to do to get a laugh. The screenplay really pushed the two to extremes. And some of the jokes were kind of out there.

In fact, I'd say everyone in the cast overacted, except Bobby Deol. In my opinion, Bobby is such a stiff customer that before he can overact, he first has to act, and I'm still waiting to see that.

Strangely, the cast member who appealed to me most was Boman Irani. When he appeared as the editor-in-chief of Verve, it actually was a surprise to me. I would rate this movie lower without Boman. This guy is near the top of my supporting-performer list. He's been the only good thing in several movies I've seen in the past.

I think the director created anti-climaxes. E.g, you parade around Junior and John in practically nothing, then somewhere in the middle, Bobby Deol shows up. As male cast members go, that is what I would consider a huge anticlimax. He's older, he has less acting talent, etc, etc. He would have been more effective introduced first. As a second example, you put Shilpa in a dance number in the opening credits. Then you introduce the heroine. How can anyone truly appreciate her physique or dancing when they've already seen Shilpa. I'd love to have that shot of Shilpa reclining on the motorcycle as my wallpaper. I hope it shows up somewhere. Truth is that the last number of the movie should have been in the opening credits and Shilpa should have been in the closing credits as an added goody.

The movie is entertaining, I don't want to take that away. Even though Khirron Kher was "meri filmy maa" for a second straight movie, she did add something just as Boman did. But I just don't think the way the movie got assembled was optimal. That's why I can only rate it 7 of 10. To me it is the least appealing Dharma creation I have seen. Kind of a shame, considering the Yashraj decline, to see Dharma also putting out less-appealing movies.

OK – the "Kanta Ben" episode forms the basic premise of Dostana but hey, just like in Kal Ho Na Ho some good interesting tracks were expected as well.

Apartment? Instead of harping on a unbelievable reason, a better convincing reason should have been thought for pretending gay.

The trio did an amazing job, so lets not go that area.

Bobby Deol was a big downer and his look seemed he was just out of Chamku. In fact the entire track seemed a poor rehash of "6 din - Ladki In" episode of Kal Ho Na Ho.

Kiron Kher was just OK.

Shilpa Shetty in the opening number was an eye-candy.

Sulabha Arya a.k.a Kaanta Ben – very good... very good. Sushmita Mukherjee – very bad... very bad.

Songs are #1 and without doubt Vishal-Shekhar rule the roost.

And yes, the costumes deserve a special mention.

The visuals are stunning – it is visitmiami.com beckoning.

Dostana scores a number of firsts. One being set entirely in Miami, with the glorious shots of golden beaches and opportunities for the cast to show off their toned bodies (for the first few minutes, John Abraham seemed too eager to get rid of his singlet every few minutes). And the other first scored was that this is the first Bollywood film to have a focus on a gay relationship, albeit a faked one, between its two leading men. For an industry that's still sans on-screen sex, where kisses still bring upon rage, and nudity a no-no, is it any wonder why this premise, together with its A-list stars, will draw in the crowds without a doubt?

Some 4 years ago, Abhishek Bachchan was busy chasing John Abraham as hero and villain in the action-adventure Dhoom. In between they only shared credits in Kabhi alvida Naa Kehna, and it is not until now that the two alpha-males get put together in the same film, share plenty of screen time together, and the joke's clearly on their effeminate behaviour and gay relationship. Imagine two muscular jocks having to turn girly at a wink of an eye, and that itself sets up a tsunami of laughs in plenty of situational gags that will leave you genuinely in stitches.

I shudder to imagine how real gays would, or would not take offense at the portrayal here, given that most of the time, gayness is equated with being hip and in with modern culture, which I think some would clearly dispute. Nonetheless it is the attempts at debunking the myths and prejudice that surrounds the condition that warrants some merits at least, even though it's still an outright comedy, and I guess all could be forgiven since there are two eye-candy male leads to serve up some compensation.

At first one would imagine a plot that would be similar to I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, given two obviously straight men having to pose as a gay couple to further their own objectives, which of course runs contrary to any romantic notions they have for the opposite sex. Here, Sameer (Bachchan) and Kunal (Abraham) start off as two strangers in Miami who bump into each other after their individual one night stands (with opposite members of the sex of course), but thereafter find themselves eyeing the same piece of affordable swanky rental apartment, which comes with a crucial string attached - no guys, because the occupant is a lady (Chopra) whose aunt refuses to let tongues wag should her housemates be two hunks.

So you know the drill, faced with time constraints and the prospect of staying with Neha the hot chick, both guys pretend they are gays, thus setting in motion plenty of comedy as they have to maintain their cover 24x7, and to make matters worse, have to cement their relationship legally as a means to keep Kunal from being deported. And if that's not all, each of them still harbours the thought of hooking up with Neha, which of course poses a challenge given their known "status". One of the best scenes in the movie involves almost everyone, from mothers to bosses to even an immigration officer who converge in their apartment in a free for all, where bluff goes against bluff, and the two chaps have to be at their best to satisfy the law, as well as to stave off a very interested magazine editor. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard and loud.

But of course things slow down a little in the second half of the film when Neha's new boss (Bobby Deol) comes into the picture to woo Neha, which Sameer and Kunal try to fend off with their wits in what would be co-opetition at its very best. Scheming and conniving all the way, you'd come to expect lies becoming bigger lies, with questionable methods being put into use in order to drive the new competition away. Which brings it quite nicely to an ending that I guess is a fair outcome.

Dostana speaks of friendship, and sometimes, relations are best left at that given the numerous enjoyable moments everyone shares, without complicating matters. Dostana, despite its theme, still plays out to be an enjoyable, entertaining movie brought to life by its excellent casting. Songs and dances were pretty much standard fare, save for that convergent scene which I mentioned was the highlight of the film. Do look out too for the very cheeky wordings on the T-shirts that both Bachchan and Abraham don.

Karan Johar comes up with another film that is very identified with his own style of film-making, Dostana. He combines comedy, drama and emotions in one film, though in this case there's more balance, though it leans more on the comedy. The film, in contrast to Johar's previous films where all starts as a great comedy but ends up in a tearful melodrama, remains a comedy almost from start to end, though different clichés from time to time are inevitable and easy to predict. This is not a bad thing, that's Johar's style and it has clearly worked for him in previous attempts, but while I found myself laughing from time to time, I was also quite annoyed by some of the cheesy proceedings.

The direction is pretty good, not that anything great is required there to begin with. The cinematography is well done, the locations are fantastic. The westernised music matches the light mood of the film. The film is stylish and modern, but it certainly doesn't have the refreshing quality of films like Salaam Namaste and Hum Tum. The various jokes in the film do manage do work though some of them are unoriginal and we are already familiar with them thanks to our film experience. It's still fun, maybe because it's new for a Hindi film, and maybe because the jokes work and it's amusing to see the leading actors in such situations.

Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham get equal footage, and they are okay. John does not lose any chance to take his shirt off and get cocky, which really gets on one's nerves. Abhishek performs better and he's more effective in comic sequences. Hottie Priyanka Chopra plays their friend and a struggling career woman. She's not a great actress, but she's competent in a role which is not very demanding but pivotal. Kirron Kher utterly steals the show with her brief appearance. Her loud and hysterical mother is just hilarious, and her transformation from a desperate mother to someone who learns to accept her son's "identity" is brilliant. The fact that we know the truth only makes it funnier. I can't see another actress doing this part as well.

All in all, Dostana is a decent one. It is filled with the usual clichés and the moments of old platitude one can expect from a movie of this sort; it is predictable, it is stereotypical and not very original, but having said that, it is entertaining and fairly enjoyable. Try this Bollywood entertainment, preferably with your family or friends, which may elevate your level of enjoyment of it.