Dostana Response

One thing that struck me about Dostana was the fact that even though Dostana is a Bollywood movie, it is set entirely in Miami and we never see anything about India. Even the more “Indian” characters in the movie, like Samveer’s mother, come from London. Overall, the movie is stylized in a very Western way, from the clothing to the autotuned song numbers to even the fact that Samveer is referred to as “Sam.” However, throughout the movie there are references to songs and quotes from many classic Bollywood movies like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I thought that these subtle references to Indian culture were very interesting, especially as Indian culture is not featured very much in Dostana, and I wanted to further explore what this means in relation to the LGBT theme in the movie.

Dostana definitely has a more tolerant and open-minded perspective on same-sex relationships, but I don’t know if I would go so far as to say that the film celebrates or fully accepts same-sex relationships. The film uses comedy to stereotype Sam and Kunal into the occupations of photographer and nurse. The characters also attempt to act with stereotypically gay mannerisms – commenting on outfits, acting and dancing girly, etc. Granted, Sam and Kunal are pretending and not actually gay, but even the truly gay characters in the movie (Mr. M and the immigrations officer) also act very stereotypically. None of this actually showcases the diversity of people who are actually in same-sex relationships.

Additionally, the fact that the film is set in Miami distances the same-sex issue from India. The characters are ethnically Indian but have grown up in the West and are under Western influences; therefore, to the Indian viewer, the film can send the message that homosexuality is a Western issue and only happens to people who go abroad, away from their Indian culture, and are “corrupted.” The Miami setting was also a smart way for the filmmaker to avoid controversy, especially considering that homosexuality was not decriminalized in India until 2009 (and this movie came out in 2008).

The inclusion of popular throwback Hindi songs in the film can have several interpretations. Some of the songs, like “Suraj Hua Maddam” (from K3G) were included in reference to Sam and Kunal’s fake relationship. Therefore, these songs might be drawing a parallel between these modern same-sex relationships and the classic boy-girl romance we see in older movies, conveying the message that all relationships around the world, regardless of who they are between, are the same; relationships are universal and being in a same-sex relationship is not something to be treated differently. On the other hand, we can also interpret the inclusion of these songs as the calls of the Indian homeland to its diaspora, as an attempt for the characters to come back to their culture. Therefore, the songs could also highlight how different these characters are from the typical Bollywood characters. With these two interpretations, viewers could either see Dostana as an emblem of the slowly budding gay acceptance movement in India, or as a portrayal of the debauchery that takes place in the West and the need to preserve Indian culture.

Overall, I do feel like Dostana is a somewhat progressive movie just by the fact that it does portray gay characters who are more-or-less accepted by the society around them. However, I did also feel like the movie addressed this social issue on a very superficial level, using comedy as a way to avoid the deeper, more controversial questions and problems surrounding same-sex relationships in India. A review of the film by Daniel Pillai had a very insightful comment on this when it said, “I pray for a day when a mainstream blockbuster Bollywood film can portray homosexuality in its reality and how and why it exists in the way it does in the Indian culture. Only then do I believe we can view homosexuality as a realistic part of the Indian culture and society.”