Dostana Dvd

Dostana (transl. Friendship) is a 2008 Indian romantic comedy film directed by Tarun Mansukhani and produced by Karan Johar and Hiroo Yash Johar. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra, with Bobby Deol, Kirron Kher, Sushmita Mukherjee and Boman Irani in supporting roles. Dostana tells the story of two men who pretend to be gay to share an apartment with a girl; eventually, both fall in love with her.

Mansukhani conceived the film as a tale of three friends living together, drawing inspiration by his own experience. Wanting to add something different to the script, he later decided to introduce homosexuality (which he thought was unexplored by Bollywood) to shed light on the issue for the Indian audience. Manish Malhotra designed Chopra’s costumes, and Aki Narula designed costumes for the rest of the cast. The soundtrack was composed by Vishal–Shekhar and Anvita Dutt Guptan; Kumaar and Vishal Dadlani wrote its lyrics.

Principal photography took place in Miami, Florida over a two-month period in the first half of 2008. Dostana was the first mainstream Indian film with a gay element and has been credited for exploring a topic largely ignored by Hindi cinema. The film was released on 14 November 2008 to positive reviews, with praise for its performances, direction, music, costumes and style. A box-office success, Dostana grossed over ₹871 million, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.

Dostana received nine nominations for the 54th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (Bachchan), and Best Music Director. The film was influential in creating fashion trends in India, with Chopra’s silver sari (worn in the song “Desi Girl”) becoming popular. Abraham’s yellow trunks, Chopra’s golden swimsuit and the actors’ looks and style received considerable attention and were popular with youngsters. Dostana is regarded as one of the most stylish and trend-setting of Indian films, with Filmfare ranking it first in a 2013 poll. A sequel, Dostana 2, is scheduled to release in 2020.

Plot

Sameer “Sam” Acharya, a male nurse and Kunal Chauhan, a fashion photographer are fun-loving, womanising bachelors in Miami. They first meet at a friend’s place after a night out with girls and run into each other again when they are interested in renting the same apartment. The apartment belongs to Neha Melwani, who works for Verve. She lives there with her aunt Ishita “Ishu” Melwani, who refuses to sublet the apartment to either of them since Neha wants girls as flatmates. After meeting a gay soldier, Sam persuades a reluctant Kunal to pretend that they are lovers so they can rent the apartment. They regret their decision when they meet Neha since they are attracted to her. The three become good friends, and Sam and Kunal fall in love with her.

As Sam and Kunal continue the charade, Kunal convinces Sam to apply for a domestic partnership with him, as Sam is a US citizen and Kunal is not. Unknown to them, the approval letter is sent to his conservative mother Mrs. Acharya in London. Neha’s gay boss, Murli “M”, resigns as Verve’s editor and must choose his successor. To impress him (and hopefully get the job), Neha invites him for dinner at her house and asks Sam and Kunal to entertain him. A US immigration agent visits them for a surprise inspection and joins the party. Chaos ensues when Rani arrives from London to confront her son about his newfound sexuality. Sam tries to deny his relationship with Kunal, but the immigration agent affirms that they are a couple. M becomes upset because Neha had told him Sam and Kunal were both single, and leaves.

At Neha’s office the following day, M announces that Abhimanyu “Abhi” Singh will be the new editor. Neha, upset at being passed over for promotion, goes home and is consoled by Mrs. Acharya; in turn, she helps Mrs. Acharya accept her son’s sexuality. Kunal and Sam help Neha with a project assigned by Abhi, who is impressed with her work. They later take Neha on separate dates, both telling her that they love her. Neha convinced that they are gay, sees the dates as friendly outings. When Abhi and Neha begin dating, Sam and Kunal sabotage the budding relationship by giving Abhi inappropriate advice; this irritates Neha, and she and Abhi quarrel. When Neha discovers Kunal and Sam’s plan, she misinterprets it as jealousy of Abhi.

Sam and Kunal redirect their efforts into frightening Veer, Abhi’s five-year-old son, about his future with Neha. During a basketball game, Neha discovers that Abhi plans to propose to her and asks for Kunal and Sameer’s advice. They ask her to turn him down, admitting that their homosexuality is a ruse and they both love her. Veer tells Abhi about his fears, and during the game, Abhi breaks up with Neha. She tearfully evicts Kunal and Sameer from her apartment, and resigns from Verve.

A few months later Kunal and Sam meet in court, where they are picking up residence permits. Recognising the value of their friendship with Neha and each other, they reconcile. They find Neha at a fashion show and try to apologise, but she refuses to see them. Unaware of Neha and Abhi’s break-up, they ask about the wedding and Neha tells them about Veer’s fears. Kunal and Sam admit that they manipulated the boy, angering Neha and Abhi. Kunal and Sam climb onto the stage and beg Neha’s forgiveness. The crowd encourages them to beg on their knees, say that they love her and blow her kisses, but nothing softens her. When the crowd tells them to kiss each other, they refuse. Neha and Abhi turn to leave, and Kunal kisses a reluctant Sam. Abhi and Neha are both amazed by the lengths to which they will go to regain her trust; Neha forgives them. Kunal and Sam then get down on their knees and propose to Abhi on her behalf. Amused, Abhi agrees.

Two months later, Neha playfully asks Kunal and Sam if they felt anything for each other when they pretended to be gay; they say “no”, remembering their kiss.

Cast

The cast is listed below:

Abhishek Bachchan as Sameer “Sam” Acharya
John Abraham as Kunal Chauhan
Priyanka Chopra as Neha Melwani
Bobby Deol as Abhimanyu “Abhi” Singh
Kirron Kher as Mrs. Acharya
Sushmita Mukherjee as Ishita “Ishu” Melwani
Boman Irani as Murli “M”
Shrey Bawa as Veer Singh
Shilpa Shetty (cameo appearance in the song “Shut Up & Bounce”)