Dostana Review
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Dostana Movie Review
iView Author: Jehan Handa (New Delhi, India)
Email: jehanhanda580 [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] in
A Sweet Dostana..A Million Little Things
The movie initially didn’t excite me at all, same candy floss, item numbers, eye toffee and some sweet moments, my initial perception of Dostana. Dostana is not about homo sexuality or neither is it a gay bashing film, it is a film about life, a few sweet moments and loads of fun.
Like someone anonymous said:
‘Friendship isn’t a big thing – its a million little things.’
The film is true at heart, true with its moments, and that’s what makes Dostana, a sweet watch, a must try for people who wish to go, smile a bit, have some fun, rather than watching a Deshdrohi. Seriously!
The film is by no chance off beat, neither is it preachy in terms of treating homo sexuality. It treats both gays and homosexuality in a funny yet respected manner, and kudos to director Tarun Mansukhani for that. It brings homosexuality out of the closet, gives it respect and dignity and doesn’t treat gays as ‘abnormal’.
A Hotshot photographer Kunal (John Abraham) and a not so hotshot nurse (Abhishek Bachchan), randomly bump into each other, both in search of a house, finally bump into a posh house in Miami, and naturally the landlady (Sushmita Mukherjee) doesn’t want two single boys at her house, where her pretty niece( Priyanka Chopra) lives. Both Kunal and Sam need a house, they hatch a plan: they pretend to be gay to secure the apartment. Over a period of time, Sam, Kunal and Neha become buddies. When Neha’s boss Abhimanyu [Bobby Deol] enters the fray as the third contender for her affections, it gets even hotter. All three fall for the same girl, secretly that is, and who gets the cake at the last, is what the movie is all about.
The film reminds me of the two of my best friends, and how all three of us love each other, fight, laugh and cry over small things in life, and how our friendship is more to us right now than any other dream, any other ambition and any other wish in life. It reminds me of how we three, talk on the phone all night, hang out at lunches together, watch movies everyday, how we try to do everything in these few moments, as if its our last lunch, last phone call, or our last movie together. Dostana is a simple ode to all these sweet moments in life, some might experience it today, some might have already experienced it, and how these small moments pack life in one full big box. Dostana is one such box that has sweet moments, sad moments, good times, bad times, and much more.
On the other note, the movie is a zingy entertainer. It is full packed of amazing performances. The cinematography is top notch; amazing locales have been caught by the camera, naturally due to the beautiful locales like Miami, and even Venice at times. The effort is remarkable for extending the limits of sexual permissiveness and for touching upon a subject that has remained largely in the studio closets. The music is lilting, every song has its place in the screenplay, and at no point does it seem forced, it carries the screenplay forward. Jaane Kyun and Maa Da Ladla are the pick of the lot, whereas Desi Girl seems of more of a headache. The below the belt jokes can bring the house down, and sitting in the front row, I could experience people ‘maroing seetis’ and laughing their asses off the seats. The film needs a sharp editor, as it gets slow paced towards the end, and you wish that the result comes out as quickly as possible. The costumes and styling is also top notch. Mansukhani’s directorial debut is foolproof, and he is here to stay. Bravura!
The chemistry is wrecking, it is outstanding, and yes it is between the two boys, John and Abhishek. John Abraham is sheer eye candy, and is in competent form. You can see the girls next to you drooling, and oh some men too. Abhishek pulls out all the stops and delivers one of the finest performances of his career. His comic and dramatic timing is in amazing form, and he somewhere steals the show. Priyanka Chopra bounces back with yet another good film in her repertoire after Fashion, and she excels here too. Boman Irani in a short cameo is terrific, Sushmita Mukherjee goes over the top many a times, and hams a bit. And Bobby Deol is a decent choice for the role; he excels in all his scenes.
Like Leo Buscaglia said:
‘A single rose can be my garden… a single friend, my world’
And oh, the best friend I talked about, I too fell for her, and I also expressed my love for her, what happens with my best friend, and what happens with these best friends is the story, go check Dostana out, have some fun and come with some funny pleasures, and don’t forget to take that best friend of yours with you.
Tags: Abhishek Bachchan, Dostana, Dostana Review, John Abhram, Priyanka Chopra
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
I’m afraid I can’t say I saw what u did.
I, on the other hand, saw a film which wasn’t sure what it wanted to be.
Its a strictly average film.
Quite bad in places too.
Sure Abhishek was great and Priyanka acted well and looked DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, but in all honesty, Kiron Kher is the saving grace here.
Madhur Bhandarkar and Onir have raised the bar regarding homosexuality.
Can we PLEASE not credit this film for doing so?!
The technical dept wasn’t up to mark either.
Dissapointing!
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Let me elaborate.
Whilst the lighting was impressive, the film wasn’t shot that well.
I remember thinking that bout ‘Kabhie Alvida’ too.
That wasn’t shot well either.
The whole 2nd half was a drag.
Lets face it, there was nothing left to say post intermission.
It didn’t have any substance and it sure didn’t entertain me enough to overlook the flaws.
I’m not trying to critisize for the heck of it, but it just didn’t work as a film.
Quite poor.
Loved Abhishek, superb performance.
And Priyanka was wow!
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Umm Steve..it didnt raise the bar for gays, it wasnt meant to be a social film, or even a My Bro Nikhil..its main aim was to make u smile and laugh, and nowhere does it tell u or preach you abt gays, or their lives, u probably got it wrong..
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And i thought the cinemaotography was top notch dude, even KANK,the locales were well used, and there wasnt any problems with lighting either,it had loads of colors well used,yeah but to each his own.
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The Gabbar Singh joke had me in stitches though!
The single stand out scene in the whole film!
Ok, enough said…
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Yeah and i have mentioned that the 2nd half was a drag,
“The film needs a sharp editor, as it gets slow paced towards the end, and you wish that the result comes out as quickly as possible”
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nice review …i wish the second half was more funny…
abhishek bachchan steals the show easily
he is excellent in the film……
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I must say..it’s a nice review jehan..i’ll definitely watch dostana..and have some fun!!
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Uff Jehan, yes I know they didn’t set out to do that.
I’m just responding to ur statement, ”it brings homosexuality out of the closet, gives it respect and dignity”….
Hmmmm?
I can think of much better examples.
But that’s a different debate.
I dedicated years of my life debating ‘Kabhi Alvida’.
I’m not gonna make that same mistake for Karans C-grade American wannabee film.
No, sir! :-)
Haath jode, kaan pakade, mere ko maaf kar, ab aap ki ijaazat ho toh hum iss dostana se chhutkara chahte hain :-)
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@ Steve
I would go with Jehan Handa on this.The movie was never meant to be a serious take on gays.But yes it promised entertainment & delivered it fairly well.True 2nd half could have been better but remember there’s hardly any story & inspite of it to deliver such a result was a decent attempt.
BTW the most funniest thing I’ve read about Dostana is in one of the Orkut communities- someone says the film is an
“offence to straight people” and so they wouldnt wanna watch it
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Hey Bhagwaan!
I was reacting to what Jehan dada said na?
Mere ko pata hai that this film was meant to entertain.
Par nahin kiya re!
Main BAHUT bore hua tha.
It could’ve/should’ve been funnier, more clever. It lacked wit.
Arre zaalim (hee hee) samjha karo mere dil ke tukde ;-)
Offence to straight people??!
But it’s about STRAIGHT PEOPLE!
Uff, uff, uff!
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Hahhahahaa…Yeaah thanks Ashwin and Girish..and Yeaah Steve,to each his own, and thanks alot Sethumadhavan..I agree..such films are meant to make you laugh,and not bring out serious details abt homosexuality =p..
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Hahhaa..i like steves humour.. :D
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Jehan…Tu toh mera heart fail karke chhode ga.
The lighting was fine. I didn’t have a prob with that.
I said I didn’t like the way it was shot.
No fluidity.
And it’s not just the end that drags.
The whole 2nd half was so?? Pointless!
Where were the jokes?
Where was the entertainment.
Bobby Deol being taken for a ride was just bland.
They really ran out of ideas.
Chalo. It’s just an opinion.
I guess a few will agree with me and alot will agree with u Jehan dada. :-)
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Haha..Yeaah Steve,thanks.LOL =D
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Whilst we’re on the topic of commercial entertainers, I have to mention Shirish Kunder’s ‘JAAN-E-MANN’.
That was by far one clever little film in terms of execution, narrative, story and entertainment!
It was a refreshing take on a love triangle.
I really feel that the promos went against that film.
They gave out the wrong signals.
Still can’t understand why that film failed.
Even now it cracks me up!
And makes me super emotional too.
Just thought i’d drop that in.
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Hmm yeaah steve,but you actually liked the film?..I thought it went the cliched way,the music was lovely tho.
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Yeah, I did.
I liked it alot, actually.
Cliched? Well, ultimately it’s a commercial film, but it’s what they did within those parameters that impressed me.
It was a self conscious comedy really, with the right amount of humour, emotion etc.
Even Salman was good, and I NEVER say that!
I agree, the music was nice.
And most importantly, it had twists at the right places.
U don’t even realise when the film shifts tones.
Quite a task really.
I do like that film alot.
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@ Steve
Hmm somehow I didnt really like Jaaneman all that much.I mean it had a great cast, some good music & of course good locales.But somehow I felt something vital was missing.Again to each his or her own
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Yeaah Sethu,i found it quite confusing,and agreed Steve,Salman was ok here,but yeah a somewhat underrated film,but not great.
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I thought the film was good. Nothing to write home about, if you pardon the pun. My favorites in the film were Boman Irani and Kirron Kher. Sheer comic geniuses. And I found John Abraham an excellent “straight man” to Abhishek’s funny guy. Again, pardon the pun… considering the subject of the film.
The music was cool, the costumes were glittering and fun, the locations striking, the inside jokes as times hilarious, but ultimately, it would not win “film of the year” for me.
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Neither would it win that for me Nina,there are way too many good films out there,Mumbai Meri Jaan etc..if you read mi review on that
http://passionforcinema.com/?s=Mumbai+Ko+Dekhiye+Meri+Jaan
and other than that,as i said a few good and bad moments,good times and bad times,this is what the movies all about,this is what Dostana is all about :D
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i think tarun mansukhani did a fair job….though i didnt like the initial view of the film…i think it comes out to be a typical johar film…with some humour and no rona dhona
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Excellent review,sir. Will certainly watch it.
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naice…not expected.
Its a really gud review! So good Job!!!
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Thanks Vaibhav,Vibhuti and Mr Singh..Really appreciate it.!
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DOSTANA
A PINK BOMBAY DUCK WILL ALWAYS BE A LAME DUCK IF IT IS BORN LAME
Casts: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham, Bobby Deol, Shilpa Shetty
Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Producer: Karan Johar
Music: Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjian
Genre: Romance
Review By: Dr Usman Khawaja
Review
This is a an exasperatingly extroverted gay romcom from the limited imagination of Karan Johar who has decided fit to take every funny joke regarding drag queens, homosexuals and straight women called fag hags and put it incoherently together in a malicious plagiarized version of Larry and Chuck get married.
.
It will be of no use to try to remind Bollywood that it is no problem being gay but it is a crime to be unimaginative and make sheer trashy comic enterprises out of Hollywood blunders and doubly so with crude and vulgar double entendres regarding both Indians and homosexuals.
This extroverted moronic piece is how 2 men of Indian origin in Miami pretend to be gay romantics to rent a room in an Indian Sindhi family household and that heralds this lunatic comic caper. One of the men is a supermodel with a pumped up ass and biceps with an underdeveloped torso called John Abraham and the other is the pretender drag queen as Abishek Bachchan who has clearly studied every act from the Indian community of hijras (Eunuch) as he plays a modern Indian gay man.
The whole exercise is a torture and a pain in the ass itself as they leave no opportunity to hump each other’s asses at any time and everything from their Cadillac to scarf to underwear is pink.
It gets redeemed slightly by Priyanka Chopra who gives the only credible performance as the girl they both fall in love with, but she is sabotaged by an awful Punjabi mum who has become branded as the worst mum in Bollywoods living memory-Kiron Kher and here she is singing a song in Punjabi too on south beach Miami while giving us a eye popping tour of the art deco resort.
Even worst is Bobby Deol as the lame duck who gets to be a real turkey, emerging as the only straight guy in this world who starts pretending to be gay because he is convinced by the 2 gay boys that women are attracted to effeminate drag queens who wear the outfits only Posh Spice wears.
Yashraj movies use everything from erstwhile hits to make this work from a gay reworking of the beedi song from the great Omkara to the fabled Gabbar from Sholay, Yash Raj are intellectually bankrupt as they actually have recycled half their movies from Kuch Kuch Hota Haie to Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham in a desperate effort to make a comedy work but it is in the worst possible taste and could not be rescued by any footage whether shot in Venice or in Miami.
Priyanka should keep away from this trash, as she is pretty and a decent actress who proved her mettle in the excellent fashion recently. As for John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan they are so contrived that I do not care what they do as long as they do not dance in future as this movie has the most unimaginatively violent and ugly choreography I have seen in a Bollywood epic with the two of them waltzing in a tuxedo on a beach in Venice.
A gay romcom with moronic monsters playing caricatures and a tasteless sordid script with jokes about g sexual positions making this a modern day Yashraj guide to the gay Indian Punjabi Kama Sutra experience. Disgusting and Dreadful.
Rating: HALF STAR
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Hey jehaan ..
good review .. but my single question to u is if u ever become a film maker will u like to make this film yourself ?
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I thought the first half was hilarious… Slapstick but still very funny. The movie went downhill in the second half… Them wooing the two girls, the emotions etc… And I’d also like to mention that I didn’t like John Abhraham’s acting at all… He was OK in the funny scenes but quite bad when he tried to be serious. Abhishek was quite natural and Priyanka looked awesome. Cameos from Kirron Kher & Boman were superb. I liked the music a lot too.
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@ Rom
What the f… are you talking about?Yashraj is only the distributor of the movie & the movie otherwise is a product from Dharma Productions.get a life dude – agreed you may not have liked the movie (like some others ) but your description sounds like you have something personal against Yashraj (and believe me if that was so you shouldnt be bashing Dostana,save it for the next Yashraj production RNBDJ).
Purely for outbursts like this from you, I would wish that the movie should go on to make tonnes of money at the box office, which I am more or less sure it will.
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Arre? Aap yahan bhi?
Sethu ji, aap krodhith mat hoiye.
Agreed that even I didn’t think too much of it, but that is one livid viewer we have here!
Tu gussa thook de aur Tamil Nadu ke sundar, sundar sapne dekh yaara ;-)
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Steve,
even i think jaan-e-mann is brilliant. i loved the movie. the whole deal about being the absolute musical. and i personally thought salman-akshay chemistry was awesome.
it is one of few Hindi movies that actually has gorgeous looking musical setpieces that took the story forward. and even technically, too good. tongue-in-cheek humour. ah, i can go on and on about that movie.
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Thankyou Gopi, I agree.
And to think, that was one film I had already decided would be rubbish before I even viewed it.
I was actually forced to watch it initially.
So bloody glad I was!
I went back to see it with different friends and family too.
They were like, ”Didn’t u say this was meant to be crap??”
And i’d just go around telling all that I was wrong!
It’s good, silly fun.
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I agree with you Jahan,it was good fun,not a great one but still deserve a three star.
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I think the moment you are out of the theater you will forget about it. But during those 3 hours, you will have a decent time. The songs are OK but I don’t remember any.
Thankfully, they are no toilet jokes. Some of the punchlines are very funny. I like the emotional scene between Priyanka and Kirron Kher. Nicely done. The movie will make money but that’s about it. Nothing wrong with that, nothing at all.
@ Sethu (30)
Rom just posted a review written by someone else, I think. The review stinks of personal hatred. So let Rom be :-)
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Thanks Brattycookie..Prafula..and yeah Rom..wherever youve pasted that from..Steve Il watch Jaaneman..as uve recomended iit..maybe i didnt get it the first timee..I totally agree that it was a timepass Romcom..its just about the good moments..and stuff that makes it a good viewing..not 2 or 3 times..just one..but worth a single watch guys..
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Yeah ROM..personal hated huh?..and seriously try finding out the difference between distribution and production..if you have something against Yashraj..Haha why Dharma man?..Seriously..!
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@ Steve
Jitna krodith na hone ki koshish kar lete hain, koi na koi mere andar base sher ko jaga deta hai, kya karen control nahin hota
my God I know I’m sounding like an actor from the 1980’s.And yes beyond a point no point lashing out!!!
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Hehe Yeaah Sethu..Funny Dialogue :p
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Jehan,
Nice review but I feel you have been very kind to the movie and its makers. The first half was funny but the second half went the over-melodramatic, weepy, Karan Johar way. Kiron Kher was,as usual,unbearable. Enough of her Punjabi, hammy mom roles! And there is too much of self-referencing in these Yashraj/Karan Johar movies. I don’t have anything against Punjab or Punjabis, but there is an overdose of Punjabi and Punjabi culture in Hindi movies. I guess thanks to Yashraj and Karan Johar. One more trash from the Karan Johar garbage house.
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Vishesh, that particular emotional scene between Priyanka & Kiron was probably the nicest scene in the film.
It had a really simple yet effective BGM. I got lost in that music piece.
It sounded Chinese.
I loved that BGM.
Jehan, i’m glad ur gonna give ‘Jaan-e-man’ another go.
It’s a really good movie :-)
Sethu ji! Aap apne basse hue sher ko ’sher aur shaiyaari’ sunaaya kare.
Sher khud ba khud thanda ho jaayega :-)
Hum jo bhi likhte hain, hamare personality ka reflection hota hai.
Aap ki personality?
Wah!
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@ Raj Balakrishnan..Thanks..but yeah i feel you too are being too harsh. I think considering that most comedies and funny scenes are generated from the Punjabi culture..no problem using it.I also feel maybe Kirron has been stereotyped..but dude she made people laugh,period. And then Punjab and its culture have loads of colors..and that doesnt matter..muslim..punjabi or christian..and the self referenceing looks sweet..Kuch Kuch Hota Hai..is a romantic classic in its own way..and using it..no problem dude! Certainly not trash..!
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Jehan,
Don’t get me wrong here…I have nothing against Punjab and Punjabis..respect them and their culture..but as I mentioned there is an overdose in Bollywood…In fact there is hardly anything ‘Hindi’ in the ‘Hindi films’…I can hardly understand the lyrics of most of the songs (for eg. listen to Jhoom Barabar Jhoom title track). I feel that there are number of other interesting cultures that can be depicted in the movies.
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Umm Yeaah Maybe ur right Raj..one culture i find interesting is the Muslim culture..it looks realli pretty..the art..the language..the whole set..like in Saawariya..the Islamic art worked well..you agree?..irrespective of how the film was..
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Jehan, Yes, even in Umrao Jaan…also, the Gujarati traditions looked very pretty in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Parineeta, with its Bengali infulence was beautiful too.
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@ Raj
Yes even I think there is a little too much of the punju influence in hindi films.I guess thats because the north lobby ( read Delhi,Punjab,Haryana etc ) & also their representation abroad in the U.K & U.S is quite strong.Plus also the fact that when it comes to music all of us know that punjabi music is quite peppy & so there tends to be an overdose.
But whenver other cultures like gujrati or bengali have got represented well as mentioned by you there has been a solid impact.So I hope there will be a balance arising soon.Till then lets wait & watch!!!
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Anyone for Muslim socials guys?..Come On! :p
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Sethumadhavan,
Yes. And how about the south
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Sethumadhavan,
Yes. And how about the south? The South Indians are only caricatured in Bollywood. When was the last time an important character in a major film happened to be a South Indian? (Ignoring Mehmood’s and Johny Lever’s idiotic buffonery)
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@ Raj
Point well taken-in fact I was actually planning to write a piece on this.South Indian’s are usually caricatured badly in bollywood & the latest case in point is Golmaal Returns.I found it extremely irritating to find a South Indian like Rohit Shetty himself doing such a thing just because its a comedy.How long do we have to see South Indian’s doing the “aiyyayo aiyyayo thing”.In fact I was shocked by the lack of detailing in Golmaal Returns.If you’ve noticed both Celina Jetley & Shreyas Talpade are supposed to be tamilians but why does Shreyas sing a telugu song imprompto always ( Aa ante amalapuram)???
Well if someone says cant a tamil guy sing a telugu song, I’ll say yes he can.But if you are making a tamil character sing a song on screen to show he’s a tam then why on earth will he sing a telugu song?
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Priyadarshan is among the top directors in Bollywood & he’s from the south.There are also other directors like Sangeeth Sivanwho are originally from the south.Among technicians you have people like Sabu Cyril,Santosh Sivan,Ravi.K.Chandran etc.Among heroines you’ve had so many from Vyjyanthi Mala to Sridevi to Asin.Even among male actors you have R.Madhavan, Kay Kay, etc who are doing well.But that makes this representation on screen look even more offensive!!!
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But all said & done the reverse is also true especially in tamil cinema.You generally show a North Indian as a “Sethji”
( called seth) & the way the guy would speak tamil is meant to be funny.Now do all the North Indians in Tamil Nadu speak tamil this way?Just visit any of these “seth’s” & you’ll know.I think we must start avoiding such cultural follies in both Bollywood & South Indian films.Its certainly not funny – after stretching it till now!!!
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Sethumadhavan,
Yeah, good point. Waiting for your piece. I haven’t seen Golmaal Returns but I am sick of the ‘aiaiyo’ jokes. Mehmood should take the flak for the irresponsible depiction of Tamilians in Bollywood films. He started the trend with his lousy, over the top, exagerated, shitty performance in Padosan.
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Oh! I didn’t know there are two reviews on Dostana. So, let me repeat some of my comments that I made on the other review.
The film is trashy. I am amazed to see how people can spend crores on a series of gags and a few item songs.
The film does nothing for the gay community. In fact, it underlines the stereotypes and ridicules the gays. The protagonists who pretend to be gay are actualy constantly looking to deny it. They are not at all comfortable with it.
By the way was this film made to make light of the reference constantly made to Mr. Karan Johar in a not so flattering way? May be. Mansukhani’s attempt to portray as KKHH and KHNH as some kind of classics is very tasteless. These days YRF (remember ‘bachna e haseeno and ‘dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge) and Karan Johar (heroine having a dream of working with K Jo in Salaam e Isq) are doing this kind of thing quite unabashedly. So cheap!
Anyway, coming back to the film, it’s neither a good comedy nor an emotional drama. John Abraham roams about half naked through the entire length of the film looking amused at his own buffed up body. Priyanka prances around in equally skimpy clothes and even wears a silk chaddi ( it can’t be called anything else) to the office. Then there is this love rectangle and some directionless boring fare!! yawn!!
Only saving grace is Abhishek Bachhan and songs!!
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Hahaha..I somewhat agree with manjushaa..even though i did like the film..and I would also agree wid Raj..Mehmood was shit overrated..I never found him hilarious either..and yeah south indian depiction sucks too..but whatever..we need more of Kashyaps..Abhishek Kapoors and Nishikant Kamats..all these KJO assistants just simply create a film,by his means, and not what they actually want.
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