No, as is Karan’s wont, he has not taken a full step. Once again, just half measures. The two lead protagonists, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham just pretend to be gay to rent two rooms with a common bathroom. As always, when Bollywood tries something bold, the story is set much beyond the Indian soil.

In fact, the plot is too flimsy to be set in an Indian metro, where millions of boys share rooms and nobody finds two males holding hands unusual. Tarun has used the cloud of Miami to cover it up. It works just about, as it takes the film to an elitist level making it a fantasy for the teeming millions, who don’t indentify with the subject.

But then, a gag has a short life and beyond a point it refuses to sound funny. This is exactly the problem with Dostana.

Here the gay gag gets so obdurately long that it begins to bore. Plus, when you figure out in the first few reels that the director wanted you to leave your brains at home and it’s not a sensitive take on homosexuality, suddenly Tarun tries to make you touchy.

Result, instead of mush, what mushrooms is confusion. When the two guys can take the girl to a personalised trip to an amusement park and charter a place for dinner, they can definitely look for another accommodation when they realise that they are in love with the girl. It seems the director had no sub-text so the gay droll drags on and on even if the punches refuse to be effective.

Both John and Priyanka are natural in the skimpiest of outfits.

Of late, Priyanka has given some fine performances in some bad and some average films. Here again she plays her part with full conviction.

The scene stealer, however, is Abhishek Bachchan. He has effortlessly slipped from the male partner to the female partner in the relationship as per the demand.

His gestures, his ability to make fun of himself are just in sync with the subject. Bobby Deol is required to be stiff and we know that is his speciality.

Anuj Kumar

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