Dostana - Caricaturing for Box Office Success

There are two lenses through which I can review Karan Johar’s 2008 film, Dostana: one, that of an entertainment-seeking filmgoer, and second, of a thoughtful filmgoer—one who critically analyzes the intended message of a film, and the way it is executed. Through the first lens, Dostana is absolutely incredible: the film has upbeat songs, glamorous shots of Miami, lighthearted humor and a mini love triangle for good measure. However, when evaluated through the second lens, Dostana came up short of what I’d have expected a movie that attempts to bring the idea of homosexuality to the Indian audience.

It is hardly surprising that Dostana was one of the highest-grossing films of 2008. The very first scene of the movie has an “item song” on Miami beach, with Shilpa Shetty as the lead dancer. Soon after, the director caters to his female audience by introducing John Abraham showing his six pack. Not to be outdone, Abhishek Bachchan drives a 1970s-era pink convertible, looking suave. Apart from the obvious visual gratification, this introduction allows the filmmaker to set a lighthearted tone for the movie.

The lighthearted tone both creates, and helps avoid controversy, when the film broaches the topic of homosexuality. While the filmmaker shows “M” (Boman Irani) as a genuinely homosexual man, Sameer and Kunal (played by Bachchan and Abraham, respectively), pretend to be gay to get the apartment they need, and accelerate their permanent residency process within the US. As a cue to get laughs from the audience, the director focuses on visual close-ups that show alarm on the faces of Bachchan and Abraham, whenever they need to pretend being gay. Similarly, Kirron Kher, who plays Sameer’s initially aghast, then understanding, mother, has her comic “props”—most notably, religious symbols and motifs which once again serve as laughter cues for the audience.

I especially enjoyed Karan Johar’s not-so-subtle references to his own earlier movies (for example, background music from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham) and a tongue-in cheek hat-tip to Taare Zameen Par, as they tried convincing Bobby Deol’s son how unpleasant having a step mother would be.

The comic affect aside, I found the over generalizations and caricatures in the film disappointing. Be it Sameer calling his mother “a typical Punjabi woman—loud, dramatic and often blackmailing”, or Boman Irani shown as an effeminate homosexual man, working in the media industry, Dostana made sweeping generalizations that I felt detracted from the movie’s simultaneous effort to make the Indian audience more aware of homosexuality. As the movie was marketed to a family audience, it is possible that children would believe in caricatured versions of the characters in the movie.

My above detractions take little away from Dostana’s success. The enjoyable individual elements of the movie (being set in Miami, energetic music, comic scenes, etc.) propelled the film to a commercial success, with production work expected to begin on a sequel later in 2015.