Dostana () 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.
Dostana was released on 14 November 2008 to positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances, the chemistry between its three leads and its direction, music, cinematography, humor, costumes and style. A box-office success, it grossed over 871 million, becoming one of the highest grossing Hindi films of 2008. At the 54th Filmfare Awards, Dostana received 9 nominations, including Best Film, Best Actor (Bachchan), Best Supporting Actress (Kher) and Best Music Director (Vishal–Shekhar).
Dostana was influential in creating fashion trends in India, with Chopra's silver sari, worn in the song "Desi Girl", becoming popular. Abraham's yellow trunks, Chopra's golden swimsuit, and the actors' looks and style also received considerable attention and were popular with youngsters. Dostana is regarded as one of the most stylish and trendsetting of Indian films, with Filmfare ranking it #1 in a 2013 poll.
Plot Sameer "Sam" Acharya, 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 Verves 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).
Sam and Kunal redirect their efforts into frightening Veer, Abhi's five-year-old son, about his future with Neha. During a basketball game, Neha discovers that Abhi plans to propose to her and asks for Kunal and Sameer's advice. They ask her to turn him down, admitting that their homosexuality is a ruse and they both love her. Veer tells Abhi about his fears, and during the game, Abhi breaks up with Neha. She tearfully evicts Kunal and Sameer from her apartment, and resigns from Verve.
A few months later Kunal and Sam meet in court, where they are picking up residence permits. Recognizing the value of their friendship with Neha and each other, they reconcile. They find Neha at a fashion show and try to apologise, but she refuses to see them. Unaware of Neha and Abhi's break-up, they ask about the wedding and Neha tells them about Veer's fears. Kunal and Sam admit that they manipulated the boy, angering Neha and Abhi. Kunal and Sam climb onto the stage and beg Neha's forgiveness. The crowd encourages them to beg on their knees, say that they love her and blow her kisses, but nothing softens her. When the crowd tells them to kiss each other, they refuse. Neha and Abhi turn to leave, and Kunal kisses a reluctant Sam. Abhi and Neha are both amazed by the lengths to which they will go to regain her trust; Neha forgives them. Kunal and Sam then get down on their knees and propose to Abhi on her behalf. Amused, Abhi agrees.
Two months later, Neha playfully asks Kunal and Sam if they felt anything for each other when they pretended to be gay; they say "no", remembering their kiss. Neha dismisses the conversation remarking it is indeed a "touchy topic".
Cast The cast is listed below: Abhishek Bachchan as Sameer "Sam" Acharya John Abraham as Kunal Chauhan Priyanka Chopra as Neha Melwani Bobby Deol as Abhimanyu "Abhi" Singh Kirron Kher as Rani Kaur Acharya Sushmita Mukherjee as Ishita "Ishu" Melwani Boman Irani as Murli "M" Lokhande Shrey Bawa as Veer Singh Shilpa Shetty as an item dancer in the song "Shut Up & Bounce"
Production Development 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.
Casting
Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra were cast in the lead roles. Aishwarya Rai was originally offered the lead role, but she refused it because she did not want to end up with another man in her first film with her husband (Bachchan) after their marriage. After Dostana release, she regretted the decision. Saif Ali Khan refused the role of Kunal because he was uncomfortable with a husband and wife (Bachchan and Rai) playing the other two leads. In early April 2008, Shilpa Shetty was signed for a special appearance in one of the film's songs.
Bachchan said that Sam was his most difficult character to play, and he worked hard on his gestures and mannerisms: "I had to work very hard to portray a straight man acting gay. It could easily have gone over-board. I wanted to avoid making the character caricatural [sic]. Barring one portion ... we kept it controlled." Bachchan and Abraham, who had gained weight for their earlier films, had to lose the weight and become more muscular. Although Chopra agreed to wear a swimsuit, she refused to wear a bikini. The actress said that she did not lose any weight (as the media speculated), but worked out for a toned look in her films; she was also filming Fashion (2008) at the time. According to Chopra, "For Fashion, I had to put on six kilos and later had to shed chip by chip as the character progressed in the film. My body structure in Dostana is more toned than in Fashion as it is a completely beach film. I've worked very hard on my body."
Costume design Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula designed Dostana costumes (Malhotra for Chopra and Narula for the rest of the cast). It was Malhotra's second time working with Chopra; the first was for Andaaz (2003). Since the film was set in Miami, he decided on a holiday look; Chopra's character, a fashion editor, would wear stylish, chic clothes. The actress had "a lot of shorts, tank tops, tees, formal jackets and bikini tops", and her wardrobe had a "beach vibe." Malhotra gave her a very young, "girlie" look. He designed clean lines with many colours, toning down Chopra's accessories: "You will notice that none of her dresses have any embroidery or designs either. All her outfits are mainly in satin, chiffon and georgette."