Fridae

A Bollywood gay film? Well, almost�

Partly imitating last year's Hollywood comedy I Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Dostana stars Hindi hotties Abishek Bachchan and John Abraham as two straight men who are trying to rent the same apartment. However, the landlady wants female tenants only; she is afraid the male ones will get fresh with her luscious niece, Prinyanka Chopra.

The two men quickly hatch a plan to pretend to be a gay couple, so the landlady won't see them as a threat. Their ruse works, they get the apartment, but they soon find themselves falling head-over-heels in love with Priyanka. Cue the romantic music, please!

Directed by first-timer Tarun Mansukhan, Dostana's gay-friendly plot is rare for Bollywood. Seldom has the subject of homosexuality been treated so lightheartedly, a clear indication of how attitudes among India's middle-class have evolved over the years. The fact that top-billed male stars like Abishek and John are happy to gay it up certainly signals acknowledgement and tolerance by the entertainment industry.

Of course, you can't expect their portrayal of gay men to be particularly fair or accurate. They play up the cliches of gay men being vain, over-sensitive and horny. But considering that these swim in an ocean of general Bollywood cliches about women, men, children and old folks, we think they're just par for the course.

As a piece of entertainment, Dostana is just so-so. But the movie does represent a positive development in gay awareness, especially with that one funny song-and-dance about guys swinging the other way.