Dostana makes it to New York Fest

Even months after its release, Dharma Productions’ path-breaking commercial film, Dostana, directed by debutant Tarun Mansukhani continues to make news. It has been selected as the opening film for the iView Film Festival in New York.

 

Dostana will be screened at the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts on the 28th and 29th of this month. It is the first Hindi film to be screened at the iView Film Festival.

Director Tarun Mansukhani, who is currently scripting Dostana 2, is absolutely thrilled. On his Facebook and Twitter pages, he said, '(Tarun) is happy to say that DOSTANA is going to be screened at the Lincoln Center, New York as the opening film for the iView Film Festival on 28th & 29th August.'

When Tarun spoke to StarBoxOffice, he said, "The iView Film Festival is about human rights, relationship and oppression of any kind around the world. It is amazing that a film like Dostana has been chosen to be screened there because for the first time an Indian movie has been chosen to be screened at the fest and at the Lincoln Theatre which is a dream venue for any filmmaker."

"I got the call about the selection a week ago and we were working out the logistics and now everything has been confirmed. They saw the movie a few months ago and talks were going on. At that time, homosexual was illegal and a criminal offense in India. We are happy that a film like Dostana has been chosen because usually they play serious films and documentaries at the festival."

John, Boman and Kirron will attend the fest with Tarun. "We are going to be in New York from the 27th to the 30th. Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra are shooting so they will not be able to come."

Tarun has also asked all his friends and people who liked the movie in New York to join the Dostana cast and crew there.

Dostana has already won the Screen Award for Best Jodi for John and Abhishek, the IIFA award for best performance in a comic role for Abhishek Bachchan and the IIFA for best choreography for Desi Girl for Farah Khan.

Abhi-Ash plan baby

A lot of people in the industry have been wondering why Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been working so hard lately even as she balances her time between her two sets of parents at Jalsa (the Bachchans) and La Mer (the Rais).

Fact is that Aishwarya is in a hurry to finish up all her pending assignments so that she can keep a part of the year 2010 free for family affairs, and that includes motherhood.

A source close to the couple said, “The two of them are fed up of relatives, strangers and relative strangers asking them when the stork is visiting. Secretly, they feel pressurised. It’s as if their parenthood is a public issue. Even when they are at airports waiting to board flights, over-exuberant ladies rush to them with an inquisitive look on their eager faces. Even before these fans open their mouth, Abhishek knows exactly what the question is, and he gets visibly annoyed. Aishwarya handles such over-inquisitive attention far more graciously.”

Luckily there has been absolutely no peer pressure on Abhishek or Aishwarya about parenthood from either side. Neither the Bachchans nor the Rais are the type who badger their children asking when will they start a family.

But Aishwarya already has a plan, and parenthood probably comes next year when she completes her pending assignments, and that includes a parade of topnotch films including Vipul Shah’s Action Replay, Shankar’s Robot, Mani Ratnam’s Raavana and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish for which Aishwarya starts shooting in Goa in August, followed by Abhinay Deo’s Crooked.

In addition there are filmmakers like Rohan Sippy, Vishal Bharadwaj, Rituparno Ghosh and Ashutosh Gowariker waiting patiently in the queue to sign her.

A source said, “This no doubt is the busiest phase of Aishwarya’s career. Such a flurry of assignments has never been seen before in any married actress’ life and she’d be foolish to let such opportunities slip by. Luckily, Abhishek is thoroughly supportive of her career. She wants to complete as many of these assignments as she can to before she becomes a mother. Because once she gets into that role she wouldn’t want any other distractions. That, Aishwarya is sure of.”

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Stars Performs at IIFA Awards 2009

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Gay themes no longer in Bollywood closet

Gay themes in Bollywood are well out of the closet, if the many comic acts and sexual innuendos at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) in Macau on Saturday (June 13) night were anything to go by.

With a number of quips about gay relationships by hosts Boman Irani and Riteish Deshmukh the order of the day, Abhishek Bachchan topped it off with his remarks as he won the Best Comic Role award for the film "Dostana" about him and John Abraham pretending to be a gay couple to secure accommodation from Priyanka Chopra's character in the film.

As he called his director onto the stage, Bachchan said: "You're the man!", quickly adding "No, not THAT man!

"And John (who was not at the Awards), I miss him, I was watching Bipasha and she was going like: 'He's mine!'

Addressing his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the front row, Abhishek said: "Baby, you're the best! This is proof that I'm a heterosexual, but tonight I'm feeling very gay (happy)."

Later in the show, Irani and Deshmukh, playing a gay couple getting married, were shown on screen in a spoof, The item ended with the double entendre comment :" Dost -aana - loved by all MAN-kind" (sic).

Deshmukh also made several "gay" advances towards some of the actors getting onto stage at items.

As for the film "Jodhaa Akbar", which was named best film and also won Ashutosh Gowariker the best director award, Irani remarked that Deshmukh would have made a good Jodhaa, the character played by Aishwarya Rai in the film.

The 15,000-strong audience at the Chinese resort here lapped it all up with huge applause.

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Abhi-Ash revel in their love for each other

For Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, the IIFA Weekend could well have been a second honeymoon.

The couple, clearly very much in love in their third year of marriage, showed something rather rare in their public life otherwise - their affection for each other very publicly at the various International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend events and also during stage activities at the grand finale show in Macau, which is a Special Administrative Region of China.

In the company of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan most of the time as they walked the green carpets at the three nightly events that saw hundreds of fans behind barriers screaming for autographs and a handshake, the couple readily obliged.

Aishwarya even playfully pulled Abhishek along by the hands at one stage when she thought he was taking too long in moving along as he chatted to the media.

But it was during the awards ceremony on Saturday night that the couple revelled in their love for each other amidst their performances on stage.

"Baby, you're the best," Abhishek said off the stage as he accepted the award for the Best Comic Role playing a pseudo-gay character in the hit film “Dostana” last year.

Earlier, when Aishwarya got the award for outstanding achievement by an Indian in global cinema, she said in her thanks to all her family: "You're the best husband!"

Towards the end of the show, as Abhishek danced through the 15,000-seater packed auditorium, he stopped by Aishwarya's seat and even got her to jump up and dance with him in front of her seat.

When Abhishek broke down and choked with emotion while talking about how he had aspired to be like his father when he saw Amitabh's role in "Amar Akbar Anthony" as a child, the shared emotion was clear on Aishwarya's face shown on the screens around the arena. And every time that he laughed or joked, she showed great joy too.

The same was true for Abhishek whenever Aishwarya was on stage, and the huge crowd lapped it all up with thunderous applause.

The love story that was the toast of Bollywood two years ago clearly continues to make waves.

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Abhishek watches Shiamak's show

From May 29 to June 3, dance guru Shiamak Davar presented his Summer FunkTM Workshop and Show 2009 in Mumbai.

This year, Shiamak is celebrating 25 years in show business in India, 15 years of offering students the Summer Funk™ platform and 20 years of his classes in Mumbai.

More than 20,000 family members and friends watched students perform over five days at the Shanmukananda Auditorium.

Among the guests was Abhishek Bachchan, who went berserk dancing with Shiamak’s mother on stage. “Summer Funk is the best thing on Earth,” he said.

Also seen rocking were singers Abhijeet and music director Adesh Srivastava, along with his wife Vijeyta.

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Bachchans secretly shooting in Delhi

It’s the beta who’s older, actually, in the movie that was being shot in Delhi yesterday.

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan continued shooting for Pa in Delhi, amid tight security – and secrecy. Amitabh is playing a bald man in the scenes that were being shot in Delhi, and every measure was taken to ensure that he was not visible to onlookers.

He was to come to Dwarka Sector 9 Metro station to shoot, but was dropped mid-way at Tagore Garden Metro Station. The shots were taken on the train, in the stations, and AB returned without being seen. Even elsewhere, Amitabh would only appear with his head covered. A source from the unit says that his make-up started at 2 am and went on till the early hours of the morning.

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Golden Decade Honours to be given at IIFA 2009

In its tenth year, the IIFA Academy has decided to institute a special set of awards to commemorate the last decade of Indian Cinema. It has put together nominations in five major categories for The Videocon IIFA Golden Decade Honours, which will be announced at the IDEA IIFA Awards on June 13 in Macau. The five categories are: Star of the Decade – Male, Star of the Decade – Female, Movie of the Decade, Director of the Decade and Music of the Decade.

The nominations are as follows:

Star of the decade – Male: Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan.

Star of the decade – Female: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra.

Movie of the decade: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (2000), Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2001), Lagaan (2002), Devdas (2003), Kal Ho Na Ho (2004), Veer Zaara (2005), Black (2006), Chak De India (2008) and Rang De Basanti (2007).

Music of the decade: Taal (2000) - AR Rahman; Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2001) - Rajesh Roshan; Lagaan (2002) - AR Rahman; Saathiya (2003) - AR Rahman; Kal Ho Na Ho (2004) - Shankar Ehsaan Loy; Veer Zaara (2005) - Madan Mohan; Bunty Aur Babli (2006) - Shankar Ehsan Loy; Rang De Basanti (2007) - AR Rahman and Guru (2008) - AR Rahman.

Director of the decade: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (2000), Devdas (2003) and Black (2006); Rakesh Roshan for Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2001) and Koi Mil Gaya (2004); Ashutosh Gowarikar for Lagaan (2002); Yash Chopra for Veer Zaara (2005); Raj Kumar Hirani for Lage Raho…. (2007) and Shimit Amin for Chak De India (2008).

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Abhishek-Aishwarya say No to LG's offer

For those who think our stars can do anything for big bucks, here's an eye-opener. Abhishek Bachchan said 'No' to LG's offer to be their brand ambassador for their entire range of products across-the-board for an eye-popping price.

Reason? He didn't want to be even remotely unfaithful to another cell-phone manufacturing company. A source close to the Bachchans says, "LG was very keen to have Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to endorse their entire range of products across-the-line. It was an extremely tempting and lucrative offer. But LG's range of products also included cell-phones. And Abhishek is already endorsing Motorola cellphones. So, he had to decline LG's offer. But he has received a letter from the company saying they would love to have him and his wife as their brand ambassadors any time they wish."

The Abhishek-Aishwarya pair won't be seen in any advertisement at the moment. Their next screen outing will be Mani Ratnam's film that goes on the floors as soon as Abhishek returns from Miami after filming Karan Johar-Tarun Mansukhani's Dostana with Priyanka Chopra and John Abraham.

At the moment he's working 20 hours a day to wrap up Rakeysh Mehra's Delhi 6, which completed a 2-month schedule in Jaipur and is now being shot in Mumbai.

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Abhishek Bachchan wins the Best Brand Ambassador of the Year award

Abhishek Bachchan was announced the winner of the 'Best Brand Ambassador of the Year' award at the NDTV Techlife Awards 2009 held yesterday. Nominations were called from all brands for various categories like Mobile phone of the year, Gadget Eye candy award for the best style and design and Best Celebrity Endorsement - Brand Ambassador of the year, among others. The awards acknowledge lifestyle products, gadgets and best technologies that have made a difference in India today and change the world.

On winning the award, Abhishek Bachchan commented, "It is a great honour to win the title of 'Best Brand Ambassador' for the IDEA & Motorola campaigns. The IDEA campaign carries a socially relevant message in today's commercial environment and the brilliant concept of encouraging two way communications between the government and people has connected with millions across India".

He further added, "I feel proud to be associated with the best brands in the gadgets and technology space".

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Mani Ratnam's illness gives Abhi-Ash time together

If you wanted to greet the first couple of Bollywood- Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - on their wedding anniversary, you may be disappointed. Sources confirm that Ash-Abhi won’t be in town on April 20 when they celebrate their second wedding anniversary. The family, including Amitabh and Jaya, are debating whether the couple should go to Europe or the United States.

Europe, especially Italy, is Jaya Bachchan’s favourite holiday destination. She even has a villa in Florence where she stays during her visits. A source close to the family reveals, “Jaya is suggesting they fly to Florence and spend the day there, while Amitabh is coming up with the idea of a US trip. They haven’t yet taken the final call but it will be one of the two destinations.”

Both Abhishek and Aishwarya have been working super hard for Mani Ratnam’s film Raavan for the past few months. Now that Mani was hospitilised for exhaustion, they have the opportunity to take a break while he recuperates. “This will be the first time in a very long time that they will get to take a vacation. They haven’t been on a holiday ever since their marriage,” says the source.

Last year, the couple didn’t celebrate their one year anniversary due to the demise of Abhishek’s grandmother Teji Bachchan. The source says, “They won’t be at Jalsa this year, there is definitely a mini vacation being planned.”

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Abhishek Aishwarya to take on Saif Kareena

Two real-life pairs are planing to do their own Bourne Identity. It’s not only Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor who are getting ready for their sojourn as the spies who came in from cold in Sriram Raghavan’s Agent Vinod. Another real-life couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are doing a super-slick espionage film called Crooked. Says producer Ritesh Sidhwani, “Our slick espionage thriller will be in the same genre as The Bourne Identity. It will be shot in Greece, Istanbul, Thailand and India.” Gul Panag and Jimmy Sheirgil, two talented fringe players waiting for the big time in Bollywood, along with Boman Irani who has just wrapped up Shyam Benegal’s latest, will be playing key roles in Crooked. “The English-language title will most probably change, ” warns producer Ritesh who’s working with the entire cast, barring Boman, for the first time. Crooked director Abhinay Deo is currently in the process of wrapping up Aamir Khan productions’ Delhi Belly with Imran Khan and Shernaz Treasuryvala in the cast.

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Farhan grills Abhishek

Abhishek Bachchan will be on the hot seat on Oye! It’s Friday! The chat with Farhan Akhtar will feature stories about growing up, the stars they know, their families and, of course, some sizzling gossip.

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Delhi 6 - Movie Review

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra thinks out of the box and it's more than evident now. First AKS, then RANG DE BASANTI, now DELHI 6. A two-liner of the story may give you an impression that it's similar to UTV's earlier outing SWADES, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker: An American of Indian origin returns to his roots and decides to stay back in India. But DELHI 6 bites more than it can chew.

Set in old Delhi, the screenplay [Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Prasoon Joshi, Kamlesh Pandey] takes its own sweet time to come to the point. In fact, the entire first half is dedicated to the sundry characters in the bylanes of old Delhi, where several stories run parallel with the main plot... The two warring brothers [Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra] and the wall that divides the two; the daughter of the house [Sonam Kapoor] aspires to be an 'Indian Idol' contestant; a moneylender's [Prem Chopra] wife has an illicit relationship with one of his lecherous debtors [Cyrus Sahukar]; an 'untouchable' [Divya Dutta] makes more sense than the so-called thekedaars of samaj; a friend of the family [Rishi Kapoor] has still not forgotten his first love [Tanvi Azmi]. Oh yes, there's also a 'Kaala Bandar' who spreads havoc in the locality. Really, Rakeysh tries to pack in multiple stories in those 2.18 hours.

But, alas, the problem is that barring a few individualistic sequences, you don't carry the film home. The film is engaging in bits and spurts. Worse, it tends to get monotonous, preachy and boring and the end is so bizarre, you actually want to ask the writers, 'Hey guys, you okay?'

Let's cut a long story short: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra misses the bus this time.

DELHI 6 tells the story of a young American boy Roshan [Abhishek Bachchan] of Indian origin, who comes to India for the first time, to drop his ailing grandmother [Waheeda Rehman]. She wants to retire and spend the last leg of her life back home; dissolving into the soil she was born in.

In America, having led a very western lifestyle, Roshan is not familiar with the sites and smells, the food and culture, the religion and beliefs, this huge melting pot that India is. He believes that Dadi had left her family and loved ones back in America, only to realize that how wrong he was.

The warmth and affection of the neighbourhood embraces him with open arms. Amidst all this he meets the beautiful Bittu [Sonam Kapoor], who wants to break free from the typical Indian social structure, to whom Roshan is destined to lose his heart.

That Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an accomplished storyteller is evident in several individualistic scenes. Note the scene when Vijay Raaz slaps Abhishek and Abhishek slaps him back. Also, portions in the second hour, when a Baba [Akhilendra Mishra] triggers off the Mandir-Masjid talk and divides the two communities, is very well structured. The sequences are disturbing and the writers and director succeed in exposing the fickle-minded people residing in the locality.

But the screenplay isn't foolproof. The romantic track is the weakest link in the enterprise. The love story falls flat. Also, the ending is so abstract that an average moviegoer would find it difficult to comprehend what the actual culmination is. The sequence in the end, when Amitabh and Abhishek have a conversation, looks weird. In fact, ridiculous. What was the need to have this sequence? It makes no sense. Even the Ram Leela sequences, interspersed at regular intervals, are forced in the screenplay.

Rakeysh's handling of the subject is exemplary at places. But the writing [faulty at times] as also the execution of the material isn't the type that would appeal to all sections of moviegoers. A.R. Rahman's music is outstanding; it's easily amongst his finest works. 'Masakali', 'Ye Dilli Hai Mere Yaar', 'Rehna Tu', 'Maula' and 'Genda Phool' are amazing tracks. Ditto for Prasoon Joshi's lyrics; they're gems. Binod Pradhan's cinematography is brilliant. Watch the Jama Masjid sequence [breath-taking] or the camera movements in the bylanes of old Delhi. Just one word to describe the output: Incredible!

Abhishek doesn't work. Also, his American accent looks fake. Sonam is likable. Waheeda Rahman enacts her part well. Rishi Kapoor is wasted. He deserved a better role. Amongst supporting actors, Om Puri [powerful], Pawan Malhotra [flawless], Vijay Raaz [tremendous], Deepak Dobriyal [genuine], Divya Dutta [admirable] and Cyrus Sahukar [likable] leave a mark.

Prem Chopra is alright. Atul Kulkarni looks like a buffoon. And what is Raghvir Yadav doing in this film? Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi, K.K. Raina, Akhilendra Mishra and Dayashanker Pandey are passable. Amitabh Bachchan's presence in the penultimate minutes fails to evoke any reaction.

On the whole, DELHI 6 has a terribly boring beginning [first hour], an absorbing middle [second half] and a weak end [climax]. At the box-office, the business is bound to be divided. The film may record bountiful collections at multiplexes in its opening weekend. The popular music as also the fact that there's no major opposition will benefit the film in the initial days. But the business at single screens as also the mass belt will be a shocking contrast. However, the cracks will start appearing sooner than expected, even at plexes. Thumbs down!

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Wish Abhishek a Happy Birthday !!!

Actor Abhishek Bachchan popularly known as Junior B turns 33 today.The actor is currently in
New York with his better half Aishwarya for the premiere of 'Pink Panther.'As known they are also bringing up his birthday celebration there.


Abhishek Bachchan was born on 5th of February to actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. He started off with his career in Bollywood with J.P.Dutta's 'Refugee' in the year 2000. The film did moderately well on box-office but his co-actor Kareena Kapoor got more exposure in the public. However, Abhishek kept trying his luck and after strings of flops he got a hit like 'Dhoom' in his kitty. But, it was after 'Yuva' that he was critically acclaimed as an actor.


He got engaged with actress Karisma Kapoor in the October 2002. But, somehow the engagement was called off. Then after 5 years in January 2007, he got married to Former Miss Universe and Bollywood beauty Aishawarya Rai. The duo has done many films together before.


Out of his recent releases in the year 2008 'Dostana' was a hit at box-office. His forthcoming release 'Delhi 6' directed by Rakeysh Mehra is one of the most awaited film of the year. In the film he is paired up with actress Sonam Kapoor.


Other films in his kitty are Mani Ratnam's 'Raavana', Abhinay Deo's untitled film. Both the films also starAishwarya rai Bachan.

Well, lots of good performances are expected from this matured actor. But before that its time to wish him on this special occasion
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Why Sonam Kapoor likes Abhishek so much?

Rakeysh Mehra’s Delhi6 is all set to release in February. Director Mehra released it’s music on the sets of a reality show. But while everyone including Sonam to director Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and others participated enthusiastically, lead actor Abhishek was nowhere in the promotion. When asked about the Abhishek Bachchan, Rakeysh informed us that Abhi was busy shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Ravana somewhere far off, with wifey Aishwarya Rai. Interestingly both Ash and Abhishek were very much in town to grace another event that happened in the same evening. It is believed that and promotion that has given more importance to Sonam. It seems that Abhishek is not so pleased by the promos as Sonam is getting lot of attention from the promoters thus AB baby has taken the backseat. When we asked Sonam about Abhishek she said, “I liked working with Abhishek. He is really a cool guy. He is fun to work with. We all had fun on the set. We both are foodie.” Hope Abhi feels the same for his co-actress.

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Dostana - Movie Review

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani
Written & Directed by Tarun Mansukhani
Rating: ***

Get this straight. Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham are not gay. They are just happy pretending to be bed partners. In the endeavour they pull put all stops and get into the gay zone with a gusto that stumps all the moralists.

There are butt-and-bum jokes galore some even pointed at the leading lady. But hold that frown.

Auntyji, chill. It's all for fun. Wanna join in?

The theme of heterosexual characters pretending to be gay to get a precious abode in the bustle of the metropolis is pretty cool.

Bachchan and Abraham, both in full form, get into the gay groove without going over the top. They come out with flying colours through most of the material that's provided to them to sink their teeth into.

While John combines terrific body language with some great comic timing (he's come a long way from his thanda GaramMasala days) Abhishek's expressions are a scream in their pitch-perfection.

One of the most brilliantly-written sequences orchestrates all the characters of this gay-play in the same room.

There're the play-acting gay protagonists, a gay magazine editor (a flawlessly wimpy Boman Irani), a gay marriage-bureau official (who just decides to drop in for a quick –check) and of course Abhishek's homophobic mother (Kirron Kher) who screams and rants and then accepts her son's apparent sexual preference.

You could simply marvel at the two principal actors giving so much of heart and others parts to their parts.

After a point you're tempted to stop counting the number of times the word 'gay' gets in the way of the narrative. From 'Mera beta gay hai' (courtesy Abhishek's mom Kirron Kher) to a 'Han main gay hoon' …. Dostana wins the how-to-say-gay-in-every-which-way award of the year.

Sandwiched between the two brilliantly-poised heroes is Priyanka Chopra, glowing like a 1000-watt bulb in her immaculate wardrobe (and out of it…she too gets into beachwear, what did you think?).

So here's the bottom (oops!) line. Hindi cinema finally comes out of the closet. And going by how little John Abraham wears in most of the film. There's very little coming out of the closet.

But there you have it. Bollywood's first beach-bum-chum meri-dosti-mera-pyar dildo-dil-lo preparation done on that slow-burn state of leisurely cooking where the characters get an ample chance to extend the parameters of the conventional cinema without toppling into the abyss of overstatement.

First-time writer-director Tarun Mansukhani has the zing thing in his vision. Miami shot with fetching gusto by Aynanka Bose lifts the luscious locales to more than a touristic paradise. The desi characters seem to belong to this beachside paradise.

Well-toned bodies tanned to the extreme of selfglorification, sinewy movements on the beach and on the dancefloor, songs music and feverish fiesta of sexually- driven people who want it all.And fast. Dostana is the ultimate hedonists' dream.

The narrative pace slackens considerably in the second-half, what with the heroes expanding their homosexual hijinks into a triangle with Priyanka thrown in for good measure.

Then the triangle dilates into a quadrangle as Bobby Deol (looking dapper in his Armanis) makes a belated appearance as the boss who first intimidates and irritates the working girl into motion of anger and submission. And then sweeps her off her feet.

Is this to keep the heterosexuals happy ?

What keeps the narrative going is the sheer zest for life and the mood of wink-wink wackiness which Shilpa Shetty sets at the outset with her ooh-la-la item song.

The gags involve everyone from the caricatural and spinsterish landlady (Sushmita Mukherjee) to an incredibly clueless magazine editor (Bobby Deol) who agrees to behave like a moron on the our pseudo-gay heroes' say-so.

It's all in fun. Not to be taken seriously. Not even when Abhishek and John lip-lock in mock-ecstacy for a climatic farewell kiss that certainly leaves Priyanka breathless.

I'm still trying to figure out why Abhishek is inspired to act gay with John while holding a hotdog in his hand. Is there a hidden code there?

As for the audience, it's still counting the number of times the characters say 'gay'. Every which way.For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize

John, Abhishek shoot an additional song for Dostana

It's customary for two stars to be pitched against one another in real life whenever they are paired on screen. The last time we heard murmurs of discontent was when Bipasha and Deepika apparently couldn't stand one another while shooting Bachna Ae Haseeno.

But John and Abhishek get along like a house on fire. To their regret, they had to shoot a music video for Dostana separately.

Producer Karan Johar who just landed in Mumbai after two weeks of location hunting in Los Angeles says the song 'Maa Da Ladla' was shot during his absence. "I left it entirely to my director Tarun Mansukhani and to the choreographer Feroz (who's been Farah Khan's assistant for ten years). So you'll have to ask Tarun what happened."

Tarun Mansukhani has his own explanation for why Abhishek and John shot the song separately. "I deliberately didn't shoot the song with John and Abhishek together. I wanted at least this one song 'Maa Da Ladla' to look different from the rest of the film where they're constantly together, fooling around, chumming it up. They shot individually, so the masti of the rest of the movie was missing on the sets." Tarun trails off sadly, and then perks up. "The last shooting before this was for 'Desi Girl' where all of us were together. It was so much fun."

The 'Maa Da Ladla' song was shot on 15, 16 and 17 October at Filmistan studios and onlookers watched Abhishek and John arrive on separate days. "This is a music video which we'll use for promotion and probably for the end titles," explains Tarun.

Says Abhishek, "It was wonderful to shoot with John Abraham again after Dhoom. It was fun on the sets because we were all friends."

Adds John, "Abhishek is not co-star or colleague. He's a friend. I dote on him. I love him to death. We never compete. We complement each other in Dostana. We share a great chemistry. Abhishek and I are a couple in the film."For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize

Drona Movie Review

Big wind, loud thunder, no rain! This in short describes Goldie Behl's DRONA the best. The film drags, over two continents, and how! It can be best described as a costume drama. The producers might have spent huge monies to get the costumes and sets in place, not to forget the special effects, which are very, very good. But what is the use of special effects and good costumes if there is no script? DRONA lost the battle at the writing table itself.

To quote the makers, ''DRONA is rooted in the vibrant tapestry of Indian mythology. DRONA is the compelling modern tale of one man's spectacular voyage through the labyrinths of mystic myths and legendary legacies. It is a journey that will force him to face his fears and make him the hero he was born to become.''

DRONA is Abhishek Bachchan. For the first half of the movie the director is getting him to realise who he is; during the latter part of the second half, he realises who he is. And towards the end, he accomplishes what he is supposed to be by eliminating big bad Riz Raizada (Kay Kay Menon).





DRONA also has Priyanka Copra as Sonia, his bodyguard. One look at Priyanka and you want to give a hug to make-up artist Mickey Contractor who has done a fabulous job. Priyanka looks gorgeous. Will Madhur Bhandarkar be able to go one up on DRONA as far as her look is concerned in FASHION? That is for another review!

The huge hype will pull in the crowds, but it will be another task to keep them in during the course of the movie.

You go back with just one thought after watching DRONA, a colossal waste!

Rating - 1/5
For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize