such
issues
in movies. While Madhur Bandarkar’s hard-hitting
Chandni Bar offered a glimpse into the harsh reality,
his Page 3 and Fashion featured gay characters since
they became significant with the fashion scene. Mahesh
Dattani’s Mango Soufflé, a self-proclaimed
‘first gay male film from India’, was another
notable venture in that direction.
Homosexuality, meanwhile, became a constant fodder for
Kantaben jokes in mainstream movies – a phenomenon
that kick started with Kal Ho Na Ho.
As for John, he proclaimed with a wicked smirk in a
television interview that if he were gay he would want
to date Brad Pitt. Now that’s being a sport. John
was cast in a role of Abhi’s boyfriend in Dostana
that was shunned by many a high profile Bollywood stars.
He also announced that he wouldn’t mind playing
a gay role all over again. Although I have no clue if
wants the gay characters to be pseudo-gay like it was
in Dostana, the mere audacity of the statement is worth
considering.
Dostana
has almost managed to prove that it is cool to be gay.
With liberal dosages of the Friends sitcom and the Adam
Sandler starrer ‘I now pronounce you Chuck and
Larry’ Dostana is a laugh riot at the end of the
day – only with a not-so-straight twist quite
unseen in mainstream Bollywood.
So
it is not a choice to remain homophobic any longer.
When the most popular actors of Bollywood, without a
hint of skepticism, play gay characters onscreen what
more reassurance does anyone need?
As
for a Dostana remake, in a more conventional Tamil scene,
it is quite next to impossible. Well, we haven’t
quite gotten over Kushboo’s tongue-in-cheek remarks
about extra-marital affairs or Mallika Sherawat’s
barebacked lace dress that she wore for the Dasavatharam
event. Let alone discussing about alternative sexuality.
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