Dostana [translation: Friendship] is a 2008 Bollywood romantic comedy film. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra in the lead roles. The film was directed by Karan Johars assistant, Tarun Mansukhani. Dharma Productions produced the film.
The film explores the story of two men who pretend to be gay, so that they can to rent an apartment from an older lady. Both the men fall in love with the same girl, their roommate, but are unable to express their feelings because she is related to the old landlady.
Dostana is the first Bollywood film to be filmed entirely in Miami, United States. Filming began in Miami in March 2008, and the film was released on 14 November 2008, and went on to become the eighth highest grossing film at the Indian box office in 2008.
Sameer Acharya [Abhishek Bachchan], a nurse, and Kunal Chauhan [John Abraham], a photographer, bump into each other while looking for an apartment to rent. They fall in love with the same apartment; however, the owner refuses to sublet it to them as her niece, Neha Melwani [Priyanka Chopra], will stay in the apartment alone. When a U.S. soldier mentions how much Sameer and Kunal remind him of his own relationship with his life partner, Sameer tries to convince Kunal to pretend to be lovers so that they may live in the apartment. Kunal initially refuses, but agrees out of desperation. Their plan works and they move in. Neha, Kunal, and Sameer spend time together and become good friends.
One day, Nehas boss, M, short for Murli [Boman Irani], announces that he is resigning his job as the editor of Verve magazine and will decide who should take his position. To impress her editor and get the job, Neha invites M for dinner at her house, telling him that she will introduce him to her gay friends. The evening turns out to be comedic. However, Sameers mother finds out that her son might be gay and is not pleased. The next day at Nehas office, M announces that Abhimanyu Singh [Bobby Deol] will be the new editor. Neha, heartbroken, returns home where she is consoled by Sameers mother. Kunal and Sameer then help Neha with her on a film project, given to her by Abhimanyu.
While Kunal is out of the film for a few days, Sameer takes Neha on a romantic outing. Later, he tries to tell Neha about their scheme and admit that he loves her, but Kunal overhears and stops him. While they try to figure out what to do, Kunal suggests that Sameer meet him and Neha that night at a local dance bar. Instead, Kunal takes Neha to a romantic dinner and movie. The next morning, Sameer is furious with Kunal.
Abhi and Neha start dating, and Sameer and Kunal decide to team up to sabotage the relationship, such as advising Abhimanyu to wear ridiculous clothing or wax his chest hair. Despite these efforts, Abhi and Neha eventually fall in love. Sameer and Kunal redirect their efforts into frightening Abhis son, Veer, about his future stepmother.
Neha discovers that Abhi plans to propose to her during a basketball game. She leaves and asks Kunal and Sameer what she should do. Kunal and Sameer are shocked and reveal that they are not gay lovers and both are in love with her. Meanwhile, Veer tells Abhi of his fears and begins to cry, asking his father not to marry Neha. During the game, Abhi hugs Neha and ends the relationship, citing Veers discomfort. Neha tearfully turns out Kunal and Sameer from the apartment and resigns from Verve.
A few months later, Kunal and Sameer go to court to collect their resident permits and realize that they miss Neha. They find her at a fashion show and try to apologize, but she refuses to see them. Abhi shows up, and Kunal asks when their wedding is. Neha tells him that they broke up because Veer Singh wasnt comfortable with her. Kunal and Sameer then admit the truth about their manipulations, and both Abhi and Neha are furious.
Kunal and Sameer get on the stage and begs Nehas forgiveness, with the crowd egging them on and asking them to get on their knees and give flying kisses to Neha. Then they are asked to kiss each other, and the guys adamantly refuse to do so. Neha and Abhi begin to turn away. At the last moment, Kunal forcibly kisses Sameer. Abhi is amazed and tells Neha that the guys were really her best friends, as he wouldnt have done that, not even for her. Neha goes to them and they make up.
Kunal and Sameer propose to Abhi for Neha. He agrees, and Neha and Abhi get married. Two months later, Neha, Kunal, and Sameer are sitting on the apartments balcony, enjoying themselves. Neha asks them if they felt anything during their charade of pretending to be gay. Kunal and Sam get defensive and Neha leaves saying "sorry touchy topic." Sam and Kunal, now alone, remember the kiss.
* List of highest-grossing Bollywood films
* List of films set in Miami
The films soundtrack is composed by Vishal-Shekhar. The album met with an electrifying response from potential audiences. According to the statistics published on IndiaFM, Dostana debuted at #4 on its Top Ten Soundtrack Sales Chart. Listeners registered on the website reviewed the album favourably and Dostanas music currently has an average rating of 3.94 stars out of 5.
Dostana performed well both in India and overseas markets. Its opening weekend gross in the USA was $645,604 whilst in the UK, it was the third biggest opener- lagging only behind Singh is Kinng and Race with £341,665. As of 21 December 2008, the film had grossed $1,444,246 after a 37 day run at the UK box office alone with its total production budget of $2 million being almost covered. In the USA, the film had a total gross of $1,243,910 as of 11 December 2008, whereas in foreign countries such as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, Netherlands and India the total gross was $16,650,664. The film was a big earner in India because [as of 12 December 2008] the film had earned $14,718,754 which was 82% of its total gross. As of 11 December 2008, the film had a total, worldwide box office gross of $17,894,574 which is just over Rs. 85 crores.
Box Office India gave it 3 stars out of 5, stating, "Dostana is fresh, frothy, naughty & a delightful romantic comedy. Its an ideal date movie". Bollywood Hungama gave it 4 stars out of 5, with Taran Adarsh commenting, "On the whole, DOSTANA is a winner all the way. In terms of content, it might just prove to be a trendsetter." The Times of India gave it 4 stars out of 5, stating, "Just for laughs, with a loose second half, Dostana boasts of some fine chemistry between the two lead players: Abhishek and John". The review at Rediff.com makes note of the elaborate sequences and the possibility of the film becoming a financial success. However, it also mentions that the film is flawed in its depiction of homosexuality, calling it a "crucial blunder". AOL India gave it 3 out of 5, with Noyon Jyoti Parasara calling Dostana "a fun film".
As of 21 December 2008, the film has two reviews on the film-critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, which is not sufficient to gain a rating; however, the reviews - by David Chute, of the L. A. Weekly, and Mark Olsen, of the Los Angeles Times - were favorable. Among other U.S. critics, Frank Lovece of Film Journal International enjoyed it as a "[b]ig, colorful, delightfully dumb Bollywood gateway movie" that "could be a perfect crossover vehicle for U.S. audiences". Referring to the thematically similar film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Lovece said "this reverse La Cage aux Folles ... is miles above Adam Sandlers Hollywood take on the topic". Critic and author Maitland McDonagh in MissFlickChick.com, placing the film in a larger context, analyzed that it "trades in stereotypes about swishy queers, shallow horndogs, frustrated career girls, guilt-wielding [s]mothers and overbearing aunties who need to chill out and get laid. And you know what? Its pretty damned funny and oddly subversive. Yes, everyone learns a lesson about tolerance without actually embracing an alternative lifestyle, but any movie that can finagle two macho movie studs into a full-on smooch that doesnt devolve into slapstick gay panic is venturing into risky territory".
* 2009: IIFA Award
** Best Comedian: Abhishek Bachchan
** Best Choreography: Farah Khan
* 2009: Star Screen Awards
** Jodi No. 1: Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham
The soundtrack received generally positive reviews. Joginder Tuteja of IndiaFM stated that "Dostana is an excellent album from Vishal-Shekhar which does not carry a single number which doesnt work", giving the soundtrack 4 out of 5 stars. NDTV also gave the soundtrack 4 out of 5 stars stating that "that the soundtrack of the film will keep the cash registers ringing, with "Shut Up and Bounce" as an exception." Coincidentally most critics were in favour of every track apart from "Shut Up and Bounce," which they described as a huge disappointment considering it carried the tune played during the first promo of Dostana. Some even said that it lacked originality and because of its familiar tune, comparisons were made between "Shut Up and Bounce" and Kal Ho Naa Hos "Its the Time to Disco".
Another song "Maa da laadla" affirms that Dostana isnt just about soothing, pleasant numbers but also about celebration. Punjabi in flavour, the song has good beats and is sung by Saleem. The lyrics of the song, penned by Kumaar, are noteworthy. The track has a slight humorous essence as well. In contrast to IndiaFM and NDTV, Buzz18s Chandrima Pal gave the soundtrack 2.5 stars out of 5, stating that it "misses out on most of the spunk Vishal-Shekhar had in their previous works". Rediffs Sukanya Verma also gave the soundtrack 2.5 stars out of 5, stating that "although Dostanas music is nice and peppy for the most part, its nothing extraordinary." She even said that Dostana "certainly wasnt the best from Dharma Productions". ApunKaChoice.com has given it 3 out of 5 stars saying that it features some of the nicest groovy numbers. The Times of India has rated the soundtrack 3 out of 5 and mentioned that its cliche.
Pritish Nandy, owner of Pritish Nandy Communications, filed a court case against Dharma Productions for using the song "Kuch Kum" without his permission. His allegations were that "Kuch Kum" was originally composed by Vishal-Shekhar for a film to be directed by Tarun Mansukhani under his banner, but the film never took off. Hence, Vishal-Shekhar used "Kuch Kum"s composition in Dostana, which apparently made Pritish Nandy, "livid" and caused him to "raise objections" against the use of the song. Instead of wasting time going to court, Dharma Productions decided to handle the situation mutually by paying Nandy Rs. 3 crores in compensation.
In 2009 reports came out that director Tarun Mansukhani and Karan Johar are planning for a sequel of the film to cash in on its success. It was reported that along with the existing cast of the film [excluding Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol] Johar has roped in Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal and Ritesh Deshmukh and Shreyas Talpade to play the other leads. Ritesh Deshmukh and Shreyas Talpade will play a real gay couple.
Yash Raj Films released Dostana on Blu-ray on 14 December 2009.
Source : Dostana Wiki Page