Just as the end credits were rolling I managed to latch on to the name of the publicity firm for Dostana. It was‘Hype’- no kidding, I am dead serious. By the way, the firm has indeed done a good job. With slick promos and clever chat shows this first ever full length ‘Indian Gay Comedy’ has certainly managed to raise the public interest to unprecedented levels.

Just a few days ago, I even read a news report where the chief spokesmen for Indian gay community were fervently hoping that Dostana would bring a change in general public’s discriminatory attitude towards gays! And that they were also planning a special show of the film for the gay community! I can well imagine the horror on their faces now that they have seen the film! Why? Let’s come to that later.

Right from the first frame the camera decides to go into a voyeuristic mode. After showing us a brief glimpse of the deep blue Miami Sea, it decides to cling on to every curve, contour and crevice of skimpily clothed well-sculpted bodies cavorting sensuously to the tune of ‘Shut up and bounce baby’! For the record, a bikini-clad Shilpa Shetty (doing a guest appearance!), an underwear-clad John Abraham (outdoing Salman!) and a (thankfully!) floral shirt-clad Abhishek Bachchan appear in this opening salvo, which sets the exhibitionist tone for an all-baring eye-feast!

The first few scenes once again go all out blaring ‘Oh, it is a sex- comedy’ and come up with further bare body-hugging camera shots and suggestive dialogues, establishing characters of  two cool, macho and (straight!) guys Sam (Abhishek)- a male nurse and Kunal (John Abraham)- a fashion photographer. Fate lands them in a soup when they jointly hunt for an apartment and to get one, they pose as a gay couple so that they can stay with a single lady, who turns out to be a hot chick Neha (Priyanka)! Predictably the masquerade soon turns into an unending series of unintentional events taking them deeper and deeper into the quicksand of lies and debauchery! To add an emotional angle, they both fall for the girl, who is now their best friend but pines for another man (Bobby Deol)! What happens next?

The first half of the film works well with this whole ‘Gay’ deception creating all kinds of unusual funny situations, particularly when Sam’s old-fashioned mother (Kiron Kher) comes to know of her son’s ‘affair’ with another man. But the laboured second half where three men try to woo the girl is as lukewarm as the micro-waved pizza. The comedy gets tackier and the emotional stuff gets soapier, making you wish for a quick end. The end does come with a late comic flourish but by then, the film has already been classified as just a passable plush entertainer.

The three main protagonists – Abhishek, John and Priyanka are the life and soul of this film. They all look hot and their fun-loving, easy-going chemistry makes this thin- plotted film enjoyable. Abhishek is the funny man, while the main job of John and Priyanka is to serve as eye-candy for the opposite sex.  The guys specially deserve kudos for accepting such potentially dangerous roles and carrying them off with aplomb! And boy o boy, Priyanka simply sizzles in all her stylish dare-bare costumes! Bobby Deol- the proverbial fourth wheel doesn’t come off totally unhinged but certainly appears flat. Kiron Kher as Sam’s mother, Boman Irani as a Neha’s gay boss and Sushmita Mukherjee as Neha’s aunt deliver some good cameos.

Dostana is a comedy intended to shock Indian audiences and it does succeed there. But a better written plot and some sharp editing could have gone a long way in making it a better film. First- time director Tarun Mansukhani pulls no punches and goes all out for ‘in your face’ kinda urban sex-talk and body-show at every possible juncture. He keeps the comic tone loud throughout but fails to give the soul to the emotional scenes. He also makes some blatant eulogic references to his mentor-cum-producer-cum close friend Karan Johar’s ‘milestones’ like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum. In return, Johar (as a producer) provides him with the full-on budget to create a glamorous glitzy NRI-centric film excelling in most technical departments except editing! Vishal-Shekhar’s music provides item-songs in plenty and choreographers Vaibhavi Merchant and Farah Khan then present them strikingly on the silver screen.

Now coming to gay community’s lofty expectations, the less said the better. The film doesn’t do anything to change the stereotypical portrayals of gay community in Hindi cinema. The same old over-the-top, effeminate routines are portrayed by the gay men in the film. But still Dostana gives the gay portrayals in Hindi films- (the comic tracks in Masti and Kal Ho Na Ho and the serious track in Honeymoon Travels immediately come to mind!) a full feature length and that too is not a mean achievement! In addition, the film uses the G- word so many times that it is bound to remove the tut-tut and taboos traditionally reserved for that in Indian audience.

Overall, Dostana as a loud up-market bold sex-comedy succeeds in parts but given its banner, budget and hype, it should have been much slicker and much more sensitive!