Dostana

About the film

Dostana (transl. Friendship) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Tarun Mansukhani and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under Dharma Productions. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol, reuniting Bachchan and Abraham after Dhoom (2004). Set in Miami, it follows 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 3 friends living together, drawing inspiration from his own experience. Wanting to add something different to the script, he later decided to introduce homosexuality, which he thought was unexplored by Indian films, 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; Guptan, Kumaar and Vishal Dadlani wrote the lyrics, while Salim–Sulaiman composed the background score. 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.

Plot

Sameer "Sam" Malhotra, 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 UK citizen and Kunal is not. Unknown to them, the approval letter is sent to Sam's conservative mother Rani, who lives in London. Neha's gay boss, Murli "M" Lokhande, resigns as Verve's editor and must choose his successor. Hoping to impress him and 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 Ishu and the immigration agent affirm 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 Rani; in turn, she helps Rani 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 towards her being with Abhi (thinking they are attracted to him).

Production

During the production of Karan Johar's ensemble musical romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Tarun Mansukhani conceived a film about 3 friends who share an apartment. After the production wrapped, Karan Johar told him that Mansukhani was ready to direct a film and should write a script; if Johar liked it, he would produce the film. He set the film in Miami, since he liked its lifestyle and culture: "People in Miami work hard and party harder and I wanted to capture that in my film." Mansukhani worked for eight months on the script; Johar liked it, and asked him about the cast. In an interview, Manuskhani described Dostana as a story of "how the three strangers come together, live together in an apartment and have their moments of happiness and sorrow."

The director was inspired by his own experiences: "The germ for that comes from my own childhood memories of school-time friends. I have lived in boarding school for most of my childhood and the friends that I have today are the ones whom I got in touch with during 4th/5th standard. I may not speak to them for years but they are a family whom I can call up at 4 am without hesitation." Manuskhani soon realised that Bollywood had explored friendship, live–in relationships, marriage and divorce many times, and he wanted to do something different for his debut film. He decided to use sexuality to shed light on the issue, untouched by Bollywood, for the Indian audience.

Mansukhani later added the gay storyline because he thought it was an issue that needed to be touched on. However, the director did not want the film to be serious or preachy: "I also realise that when you preach via cinema nobody wants to hear it". "The film has a message, if you get it, great. If you don't, no problem, sit back, relax and enjoy the film", he said about making it a romantic comedy. In February 2008, Johar announced the film's title Dostana; the producer named it after a 1980 film produced by his father, Yash Johar. Asked if his film was also a love triangle, he replied: "Well, yes and no. Though it's a love story, there's a never-before twist in the tale. All I can say on record is that we've never had a love triangle like this before." The gay storyline was not disclosed until the trailers were released. Manan Sagar was hired to edit the film, and the duo Salim–Sulaiman composed the background score.

Key details