No, as is Karan’s wont, he has not taken a full step. Once again just half measures. The two lead protagonists, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, just pretend to be gay to rent two rooms with a common bathroom!

As always, when Bollywood tries something bold, the story is set much beyond Indian soil. The plot here, in fact, is too flimsy to be set in an Indian metro, where millions of boys share rooms and nobody finds two males holding hands unusual. Tarun has used the cloud of Miami to cover it up. It works just about, as it takes the film to an elitist level making it a fantasy for the teeming millions who don’t identify with the subject. A few reels into the film, when Kiron Kher accepts John Abraham as her daughter-in-law, it appeals as a progressive step, but soon you are reminded that she is based in London!

But then a gag has a short life and beyond a point it refuses to sound funny. This is exactly the problem with Dostana. Here the gay gag gets so obdurately long that after a few genuine laughs it begins to bore. Plus, when you figure out in the first few reels that the director wanted you to leave your brains at home and it’s not a sensitive take on homosexuality, the director suddenly tries to bring in the emotional factor, with three guys wooing a girl with tried and tested methods and manipulations. Result: instead of evoking mush, what mushrooms is inertia.

In Karan’s designer world it is very difficult to feel the heart ache. When the two guys can take the girl on a personalised trip to an amusement park and charter a place for dinner, they can definitely look for another accommodation when they realise that they are in love with the girl.

What really works for Dostana is the body. Yes, the unabashed display of skin by John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra. Both John and Priyanka are natural in the skimpiest of outfits. There is never an element of self-doubt. We know John is a limited actor and he has lived up to the reputation. For most part in the film he is unbuttoned, cajoling the cynic in you not to look beyond his chiselled body. Of late Priyanka has given some fine performances in some bad and some average films. Here again she plays her part with full conviction.

The scene stealer, however, is Abhishek Bachchan and his rollicking chemistry with John. He has effortlessly slipped from the male partner to the female partner in the relationship as per demand. His gestures, his ability to make fun of himself are just in sync with the subject. Bobby Deol is required to be stiff and we know that is his speciality.

If you want to indulge in momentary hedonistic pleasures and enjoy some set-piece song sequences, try Dostana. Looking for soul? Stay straight.

When the big banners are busy making films out of gags, the master of gags has turned ambitious. And he almost succeeds.

Vinay Pathak has mastered the art of playing the common man in uncommon situations. Here in this film he takes it to another level. As Amar Kaul, the dreary accounts manager who loves to write down ‘ten things to do in a day’, he has given a measured performance.

The basic premise is not novel, for umpteen times Hollywood and Bollywood have captured the plight of a man who gets to know that he is going to die within a few weeks or months. What makes Shashant Shah’s debut film special is what Amar decides to do once he gets to know D-Day is about to come and the way he goes about the task. There is never a flight of fantasy, never the dream to do something out of this world, still he keeps you engrossed.

Remember the last time you had a balcony view, which was the deciding factor for buying the flat? Remember the girl who was adept at understanding your symbols in a dumb charade, but failed to read your heart? In trying to achieve the distant goals, we fail to appreciate the moments we live in. Sashant says it all in subtle ways.

After a point, the script does get predictable, particularly in the second half, but Vinay’s endearing ways keep you interested. The man has attempted to rise above the laugh-a-minute image to do something seriously funny. Your heart goes out to Amar when his mother, hard of hearing, fails to listen to his first attempt at singing or when he dances with a Russian hooker (the origin of the title) on ‘Pal bhar ke liye koi hamein pyar kar le….’ Where speech amounts to stating the obvious, situations and mannerisms do the trick. Difficult to achieve, but Vinay has shown remarkable persistence not to fall for the expected or “what the audience wants” excuse.

Never short on witticisms, here he relies more on facial expressions. He is in good company with usual suspects Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla and Ranvir Shorey in a cameo. Not to forget Kailash Kher, who has given some touching numbers.

Yes, a podgy man next door could be your hero too. Meet Amar Kaul soon, for theatres are always in a hurry to say Dasvidaniya (good-bye) to such creatures.

Himesh Reshammiya has got competition. Those who thought Himesh should be credited for having the guts to be on screen, have a look at Kamaal Khan. The man beats Himesh hollow in the art of understatement! He simply doesn’t act. Words like intonation, modulation don’t exist for him. He delivers everything with a straight face.

One can understand the plight of director Jagdish Sharma for Kamaal happens to be the producer of this lacklustre venture. The film does raise some pertinent points about regionalism and vote bank politics but the treatment is so shoddy that even the front-benchers will find it tough to digest. The dialogue has the required venom and pathos but Kamaal masters the art of turning volatile into mellow.

To top it all, he has names like Aman Verma, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma and Raza Murad to counter, who can have him for breakfast when it comes to acting. The idea of the underdog striking back is fine as long as the audience believe in the potential of the dog. Here every time Kamaal cries, the audience breaks into laughter at the improbability.

This new Khan on the block has brought back times where the lead actors used to sing songs in lavish dream sequences every 15 minutes. The outfits used to change six times per song and size never mattered. If you are a hero you could throw somebody thrice your size. It’s a matter of will after all!

As for the story, it’s a tale of Raja, a bhaiyya from North India who goes to Mumbai to eke out a decent living. He encounters regional bias, inadvertently kills the brother of a politician, and is used as a pawn by selfish politicians. So where is the source of controversy? None whatsoever. The film paints all the politicians with the same brush and the prime villain is a North Indian politician who uses Raja for his own interests. Apparently it is the producer who has released selective portions of the film to the media to get a weak product some mileage. As for his love for North India, the picturisation of the nautanki song on Rosa says it all.

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