Dostana (2008)

Karan Johar came 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 was a very well-noticed balance. 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 proved to be successful 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 was pretty good, not that anything great was required there. The cinematography was well done, the locations were fantastic. The westernised music contributes to the light mood of the film. The film is stylish and modern, though surprisingly not as modern as 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 we had not seen that in a Hindi film before, and maybe because it's unbelievable to see the leading actors in such situations.

Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham get equal footage, and they are okay. John is good-looking and he 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 woman 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 not a great film but 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, so that it may elevate your level of enjoyment of it.