That scene was straight lift from Jackie shroff’s Paisa Yeh Paisa which released in early 80s

More broadly, the difference between a Dostana and a Borat is that there was no attempt in Dostana to explore homophobia, Indian attitudes towards gay sex, etc. In fact, by setting such a film in an utterly foreign, beach-ish setting, Johar makes it more palatable to Indian audiences, because it underscores an air of unreality and that “out there, sab chalta hai”. By contrast, Borat is often used by its creators to satirize American society…

On Akshay Kumar incidentally my favorite segment from all his comedies is the one in the initial reels of PHP where he keeps pulling out his 1000 rupee note and offers to pay at each step but of course no one has the change forcing the girl to pay!

ps: Is it possible, definition of crude and crass change in, say next 10 years?

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/1.....000200.htm

The problem though is that he couldn’t completely Johar-ise things as the film would have seemed schizoid. On the other hand Bobby was wrong for the role so you’re not invested in his pairing with priyanka reaching a happy conclusion. Johar should have had a proper triangle in the second half with the gags continuing. Would have made for a much better deal. Not sure why they didn’t do this. And this would have enabled them to continue with the situational comedy of the first half.

But it’s clear that Johar really wanted the male pair to end up together and he introduces just a bit of ambiguity in that final scene!

Absolutely Satyam.Some of the humor were risque and might be offensive to few but again paying public in general especially the younger lot I am sure will love this sort of humor which was in fact pretty evident while watching the movie in the theater.

There is this scene where Priyanka comes in a Bikini on a beach and finds her place in between John and Abhishek and the things follow after that were bit too much.This is fine if are willing to show something about the erotic fantacies of a teenager but com’on two grown up adults behaving like that?!

To be fair to the movie, the overenthusiastic ‘Haule Haule’ dorky jumping was quite a decent promo. But its gone downhill from there! To call the ‘dance pe chance’ video or the theatrical promo crassy or crude is putting it mildly… its horrible! Accompanied by a album full of lame tracks is the icing on the cake.

Unless the next set of promos show any major improvement …the buzz on this movie will be restricted to touchy fans.

A movie be still be a hit … but the promos hardly promises a decent movie here. And whats wrong with SRK? His so-called ‘cool’ avatar is shockingly poor … wonder when he looked so bad last time?

Yup Julie and Rangan gives a few examples too (like the hotdog scene, the kind of t-shirts they were wearing). However I find these props pretty lame. Anyone can do this kind of stuff – even the dressing room fight or Kirron Kher in that song catching Abh–John in awkward positions. For me the humour was better used in the Venice story and the party where Boman is invited and Abhishek’s mum arrives. When they “act” it out – with all the typical hand and arm gestures, dancing around – the whole theatre was in spits.

I found the climax flat btw. In fact most of the second half was just a snoozefest. Bobby was weak because he didn’t fit the Miami surroundings at all! I guess they were looking for a straight up guy character, I would have gone with someone like Shahid who could at least look like he is fitting into Miami surroundings.

Jay: I would probably agree with your choice of those two segments as being the very best in the film..

Bollywood comes out of the closet in a bright comedy that quickly congeals into tedious drama. Plus, “Anand” for the multiplex set.

KJO is adventurous here and has boldly experimented with the gay theme. Even if technically the film is not about gays, the innuendos and constant inference to gays and their lifestyle has been given a very bold exression for the first time in BW films. Well for the expermiment itself KJO gets a huge applause from me. How the experiment will fare at the BO remains to be seen. The first half is a laugh riot. The second half is extremely ordinary to the point of being monotonous and listless. Abhishek shines with a compelling performance with very good comic timing. John gives good support in performance but is more of a showpiece like Priyanka in terms of good looks and hot bod. Priyanka looks awesome, but must say that she needs to breathe more life into her performances than what she has been delivering of late. I do not see the spark and the zest that she displayed in movies like Aitraaz (her best performace to date) and Mujhse Shaad Karogi. Bobby is the biggest sore point in the film. Wish they had cast someone with more life than Bobby who incidentally comes in a fairly extended cameo. I found the first half equally interesting for some really peppy performances by Boman Irani and Kiron Kher. The latter is a bit OTT but still makes you laugh.

Net net, the film starts on a very bright note but fizzles out post interval for me. Not the best of KJO movies for sure, but the brand KJO is so big overseas that this movie should post pretty good numbers abroad. The best KJO movie to date is KKHH.

I do beleive that the team here gets to share the credit, even tho Abhishek stands out in overall performances, but it is certainly a well deserved hit for Abhi, John and Priyanka.

On a sidenote there was a lot of buzz on RNBDJ trailor during interval and post the ending of Dostana. You could tell from the reactions, people are certainly looking forward to this one. My husband who is not a huge fan of SRK had a first time look at the trailor and commented, “this movie will be a big big hit”. Well that should cheer all SRK fans hopefully. For me the year’s standout BW will still remain Jodhaa Akbar. Very few movies in a long long time have touched me or made such a profound impact on my sensibilities as did this movie. Literally Hritik rose to a different magnitude and scale of height for me with this act. The other films which I have enjoyed this year are mostly HW films, and TDK and QOS feature tops on my list for the year.

That’s all from me for the night.

I think Bobby was ok, but he didn’t really “fit” all the surroundings. He was “uncool” whereas everyone was cool.

Humour – well it works in parts and is pretty low and graphic at times. Being caught in awkward positions is very typical…but the Venice scene was more better.

The second half – well its just plain disappointing and slow. How many times do we see a really interesting first half transcend into typical cliches and mushy triangles or quadruples.

I don’t think Priyanka has looked better…everytime Abhishek and John eyeball her you can see why! John was ok IMO, but those opening scenes, the detail was all too much for my eyes. Abhishek was clearly the best here, he got the lions share of the dialogues too but as a goof-ball type he is very funny.

If your a fan of YR/K-Jo, watch it for the second half…come fall in love, because they will make you dance and they will make you cry.

LOL , I would have missed this in deluge.

i guess its related to topic in hand

btw bringing hrithik , archives ……break free etc etc is how related to topic in hand is very amusing

why accuse akshay of being govinda

akshay does this sumo act a decade back with khiladi series

aamir looks certainly reminds of abhishek in dostana( with those scarf ) and to hrithik’s look in john player ad but break free lol i never understood how anyway it was a plain imitation itself of certain micheal jackson

If Aamir’s Ghajini look is part of the role and his “physical” attributes are also part of the role, and that is why we can excuse him and not call is CRASS, then what is the evidence that the look SRK supports for part of the Rab ne promos is not for the role and material to the story? In the case of Ghajini the story is transparent but do we know what is in store in Rab ne? Plus crass is crass whether for the role or not. We have already given Aamir a pass for agreeing to act in a remake of a ripoff. And we are posting admiring pieces from the original perpetrators of the ripping off. At least with SRK it goes the other way – his films like Main Hoon Naa and Yes Boss are remade in Tamil – he is not the one copying contemporary here. And still we keep talking of Aamir’s fine script sense. Then that is a pass that should be given to all actors who act in ripoffs and remakes. Otherwise we are saying that I have accumulated enough points for good behavior and now I can go rob and steal and it is fine as it could be a one-off deal. And the crassness from Akshay (note that this is NOT my characterization – rather it is Satyam’s) should be equally forgiven. Why is it that we can forgive the two extremes and not what is in the middle?

If SRK made a hype machine out of six-packs in OSO, then did Aamir not make a hype machine out of his hairstyle and mustache in MP? In fact he is trendsetter in hyping looks and making us believe it is some method acting. Even now we can go through NG archives and look at the hype of his bald (?) scarred look in Ghajini, and admiring posts on how it is “inspiring” college students across the country! Then we should be willing to admire SRK for inspiring people to go for six-packs! There are some “trying to be cool looks” in Rab Ne that seem so offensive to some, when it seems amply clear that is merely a small town “wannabe-cool” look. I see no such attempt in Aamir’s looks, which are merely “cool” and trying to copy Hritik and even SRK looks in Break-Free. That brings me to Sumo wrestler scene. In fact such scenes are embedded in old Japanese woodcuts. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi.....o_1851.jpg
Let us not think of the Japanese as respectful Kabuki or Noh-watching people. I have seen Sumo (or Smo as the Japanese would call it) in Tokyo, and it is a rowdy popular enterprise. In any event, do we know the context of that scene?

Which brings me the film that will not go away – that cinematic masterpiece called Kal Ho Naa Ho.
“really low brow comedy in OSO or MHN (a professor constantly spitting? Akshay can’t beat this either!).”
The clash of Gujarat vs Punjab culture that was shown in the film does pick on stereotypes, but it is not like we do have popular jokes on the very stereotypes. Is a spitting professor as bad a peeing leading man? One who pees in almost every film? Or talks of condoms and not changing underwear? If these seem the same level or crass to some, then there is a deep divide in what I see as crass and what some see as crass. Normally I would not bring us any of Akshay’s films – his choice and he has fans who laugh at this stuff – many on NG defend this stuff too. But now that crass is at issue let us not shy away from it.

If SRK is responsible for every component of a film he acts in, and the crassness or copying or homage to grab legacy or whatever, then let us put the same burden on other actors for agreeing to do a Dostana or a Heyy Babyy or a Fanaa or a Ghajini.

Take Dostana. I know what the subject is. Many scenes and moments are risque but these go with the subject. But some lines are obscene (not many thankfully but they’re there). So I think it’s not hard to spot the ‘crassy’.

Don’t pick on people just for the heck of it. Abhishek fans have been very fair about Dostana. Most of us weren’t even looking forward to it that much. It still isn’t going to be my favorite film by any stretch. Similarly not many Aamir fans defended Fanaa (barring myself and I’ve argued for the film based on certain reasons, I’ve never called it a great quality product). So on and so forth. No one’s more unfair than SRK fans and your protestations here are a perfect example of this.

But isn’t it a little hypocritical on your part to pick on the one time Aamir does this sort of thing or the one time there’s a Dostana for Abhishek or what have you? SRK does this sort of ‘crass’ stuff repeatedly which is why he’s called for it. No other major star barring Akshay does as much of such questionable stuff. C’mon, does that sumo wrestler routine in RNBDJ strike you as quality stuff. Or does SRK’s hairstyles and the usual badness on display in some of those scenes in the preview look enticing to you? A lot of OSO was passable but quality cinema it wasn’t. If you’re going to make these comparisons with Aamir let’s also do it on all the other quality stuff Aamir does as well.

in a strange way though the success of films like Dostana depresses me a little..it’s not that I have a problem with certain kinds of films doing well.. it’s that this makes it that much harder to make successes out of serious films.. because the audience is addicted to gags.. more than at any other point in Bollywood history.. in Hollywood the same thing happens but again the critical apparatus is in place so no one compares Stiller or Sandler with Scorsese.. in India it’s all the same.. audiences are of course changing and many quality films have done well too.. but ultimately the bar is rather low for comedies.. I am not arguing against Dostana here.. there can be good comedies as well.. Munnabhai is the best example.. but there is also much that is ‘crassy’ that becomes a part of the mix in such filmmaking..

will agree and some of the sequences in the 2nd totally looked out of context and it seems it is more of a k-jo’s answer to male bonding but again the final sequence of abhi and john after that in a way contradict that to which again is a case of a confused lot

http://www.naachgaana.com/2008.....e/#respond

(As far as Dostana is concerned, the buzz in the trade circles is that given the movie’s subject, it would fare better only in cities and might do good business in the overseas markets.)

thanks for posting that its in line with my earlier comments seems more like multiplex sucess of last year (like cdi and tzp )

though this one has an advantage along with yuvraaj of having a free run till 12th i guess

funny first half and some good moments in second half before climax

priyanka looked great

abhishek bachchan ( one has to say he is the lifeline here and saves this movie )

great cinematograpy and visual delight

weak points:

SPOLIER ALERT:

are indian audiences mature enough to see 2 male co-stars kissing on screen ( though it was fake but how many will digest it )

k-jo gone overboard with john stripping cmmon first he is an actor they used him as glam doll by giving him even few dialogues

bobby deol’s character first of all it was not required and bobby with his act looked totally out of context

climax it seemed like k-jo was making some statement of sort

Hadn’t thought about it this way but it is indeed true. He was the best thing about KANK (barring his father) and here also he’s frankly got more from the media ‘critics’ than I expected.

But Ghajini has a rather refined look about it whereas RNBDJ again gives the impression of a small film turning big and crassy. Still it probably gives them the hit they want.”

Agree … I echo this.

performancewise : abhi roccked and have to say he carry this movie single handedly supported well by kiron kher and boman irani ( again making him gay was not required to)

priyanka and john are there for glamour quotient

Great point Q! Only, it reminds me of the phrase “Hum To Doobenge Sanam, Tum Ko Bhi Saath Le Ke Doobenge”

[Aside: not to mention that this sort of thing also likely represents the increased purchasing power of female moviegoers, who have just as much right to enjoy a skin show as their male counterparts!]

LOL. Guess this is the “Ram Tera Ganga Maila” moment in reverse.

On the RNBDJ preview I think some things come into clearer focus. There are clearly enough large scale commercial elements here. Some big song visuals and so forth. I think Aditya chopra starts out with the small town deal but then does an OSO with comedy, songs, SRK struggling with the sumo wrestler and so forth. Again probably more crass here than is Aditya’s style.

The point I’m trying to make is that it’s not a small film as the initial preview might have suggested. I’d be surprised if they didn’t have a huge release here.

But Ghajini has a rather refined look about it whereas RNBDJ again gives the impression of a small film turning big and crassy. Still it probably gives them the hit they want.

As for tne RNBDJ promo, i expected more from the theatrical promo, however I feel there is more than a few surprises in store.

A.Shah

My prediction pre-release!
http://www.naachgaana.com/2008.....ent-151703

14th was the day for Dostana release and RNBDJ promo … the under-hyped Dostana is walking away gracefully with all the applause … (Abhishek is again the lone man standing in consecutive KJO productions) … while SRK fans are defending an aw(e)ful RNBDJ promo by constant attacks on other movies and stars.

Wheels of fortune!

A.Shah

Nevertheless, as you say, this is a life-saver for Abhishek and it always helps to have an easy hit in a film where your performance has been liked too.