Dostaana Review - Naveen

Naveen  Heragu

5-10-15

Dostaana Review

            Dostaana is a romantic comedy directed by Karan Johar, which follows the relationship between Sameer Kapoor, Kunal Chopra, and Neha Melwani. In the film, the two main male leads attempt to acquire an apartment together in Miami and in order to do so, must pretend to be gay. On the whole, although Dostaana represents homosexuality through many stereotypical characters and situations, it effectively introduces the idea of the acceptance of such behavior through the portrayal of homosexuality in a light, comedic, and most importantly, benign, manner.   

            In terms of stereotyping, the film portrays its truly gay characters as flamboyant, effeminate, and highly overtly sexual in their behavior. For example, Neha’s boss M is involved in a couple of scenes in the first half of the film. His character behaves in an distinctly female manner,  addressing Neha and others as” darling” and fussing over fashion and clothing in a way that it is believed most heterosexual men would not. In addition, M is very open about his sexual desires and in expressing his attraction to Kunal and Sam. The way in which he dances with Sam and his mannerisms and body language towards them in general are very off-putting and would be unusual in a normal first time meeting between strangers. These behaviors and characteristics are all commonly associated with gay individuals. Many feel that gay people are all flamboyant and highly open and aggressive in their behavior towards other men. This is often viewed in a highly negative way among people in India and around the world and it is not understood that this is simply a stereotype. While there are gay people who behave in that manner, this movie, through its gay characters perpetuates the most common stereotypes unfairly and fails to provide a broader perspective of the gay community.   

            In addition, throughout the film, Sam and Kunal’s attempts to “act gay” involve highly stereotypic behaviors and serve to reinforce the public’s beliefs in these false ideas. When M and the immigrations agent arrive the apartment to visit, in desperation, Sam tries to explain to Kunal how to act gay. He says, “Talk about colors and dresses. Think like a woman, feel like a man.” This basically reinforces the idea to the audience that all gay men somehow are less manly then heterosexual men. Basically it completely associates the idea of being gay with basically behaving like a woman and reinforces the stereotype that gay men are basically effeminate “girly” men who have lost their male identity and all that comes with it.

            Although the movie does introduce homosexual characters and behavior in a very stereotypic manner, on the whole, it does do more good than bad. This film was the first Indian film to introduce the topic of homosexuality to such a broad audience. In the film, most of the characters were very accepting of Sam and Kunal’s supposed homosexual relationship. And most importantly, Sam’s mother eventually comes around herself and accepts her son for who he is. She is initially shocked by the revelation that Sam is seemingly gay and is shown in a comedic manner trying to bring him back to the correct path. However, Sam’s mom eventually decides to love her son unconditionally and openly condones and consents to her son’s relationship with Sam. Showing a conservative Indian mother accepting homosexuality was a very bold and important step taken by the film, although it was done in a comedic manner. If the film had only shown the younger and more westernized characters accepting Sam and Kunal’s behavior it would not have been breaking any new ground or helping bring about acceptance of homosexuality. This is because the Indian audience would have expected the younger more modern movie characters to accept gay people and would possibly have considered it just another way in which today’s generation is failing to uphold Indian principle and values. By showing a conservative and religious Hindu woman coming to the realization that homosexuality is nothing to be afraid of or angry about, the movie helps even its most conservative audience members possibly see the error in their ways.