I happened to watch these 2 movies last evening,back to back - one a 2004 regular bolly, Karan Johar churn(and of course a superhit);the other a 1994,,Hollywood classic, which won Tom Hanks the Acadamey for the Best actor. Both these flicks loosely had the same central theme - but the similarity ends here.
And I ought to get myself some huge criticism(from both sides) when I give the silghtest idea of me even trying to COMPARE these 2.While the bolly attempt-to-comedy was a mockery of the not-so-acceptable, new-age, ultra-chic societal phenomenon, the hollywood piece was a partial take on the legal and social side of it- male homosexuality.
By no means, Dostana and Philadelphia have a common genre, but (both of them set in the US of A and seperated by a decade of movi-volution), they do expose a cross-section of the society,so unseen before they had shown it.
Dostana is a story of 2 'normal' guys- John Abraham and Abhishek Bacchan,who decide to fake being gay couples, to get a rental appartment,and then (as is with all other one-small-lie movies) churning out lie after lie,before falling for the same girl, eventually ending up kissing up each other in all-out public sight to cheer-up the girl who discovered their well-kept secret.
On the other hand,Philadelphia's plot is about Tom Hanks's character who is indeed a homosexual but conceals it.When diagnosed with Aids,and then his sexual orientaton exposed,he's fired by his conservative employers,a lawfirm. He then goes about to sue his employers with the help of a small-time lawyer,Denzel Washington,a strongheaded,hate-all-u-faggots hetro but sympathisizes with Hanks's condition eventually winning the case for him before he dies.
I don't want to sound like a bollywood-is-so-shitty, everything-firang-is-so-good,yankee-twanged-wannabe-NRI but I can't help pointing out that Karan Johar's masala was bland and seriously unfunny. The fact that John can't act and AB's baby doesn't realize that the only form of comedy he should attempt is a staright-faced one rather than the Govinda class make the director look puzzled.The only saving grace, I can't help admiring is Kiron Kher,a typical Punjabi,loud mother devastated to know her son being gay.
Philadelphia though gets overly-sesitive at times, the director Jonathan Demme(who gave the mind-numbing 'Silence of the lambs'), keeps his characters mostly intense.Some otherwise ordinary shots are delivered with such subtle precision by Hanks and Washington, that is trademark of fine actors like these.
All in all, the point to be made, Dostana showing its heroes as hunks faking to be gays,is more so detrimental in it being a superhit.Allright, I admit I can't just appreciate the works coming from the house of Johars and Chopras, Dostana was no different,but natually.
And I ought to get myself some huge criticism(from both sides) when I give the silghtest idea of me even trying to COMPARE these 2.While the bolly attempt-to-comedy was a mockery of the not-so-acceptable, new-age, ultra-chic societal phenomenon, the hollywood piece was a partial take on the legal and social side of it- male homosexuality.
By no means, Dostana and Philadelphia have a common genre, but (both of them set in the US of A and seperated by a decade of movi-volution), they do expose a cross-section of the society,so unseen before they had shown it.
Dostana is a story of 2 'normal' guys- John Abraham and Abhishek Bacchan,who decide to fake being gay couples, to get a rental appartment,and then (as is with all other one-small-lie movies) churning out lie after lie,before falling for the same girl, eventually ending up kissing up each other in all-out public sight to cheer-up the girl who discovered their well-kept secret.
On the other hand,Philadelphia's plot is about Tom Hanks's character who is indeed a homosexual but conceals it.When diagnosed with Aids,and then his sexual orientaton exposed,he's fired by his conservative employers,a lawfirm. He then goes about to sue his employers with the help of a small-time lawyer,Denzel Washington,a strongheaded,hate-all-u-faggots hetro but sympathisizes with Hanks's condition eventually winning the case for him before he dies.
I don't want to sound like a bollywood-is-so-shitty, everything-firang-is-so-good,yankee-twanged-wannabe-NRI but I can't help pointing out that Karan Johar's masala was bland and seriously unfunny. The fact that John can't act and AB's baby doesn't realize that the only form of comedy he should attempt is a staright-faced one rather than the Govinda class make the director look puzzled.The only saving grace, I can't help admiring is Kiron Kher,a typical Punjabi,loud mother devastated to know her son being gay.
Philadelphia though gets overly-sesitive at times, the director Jonathan Demme(who gave the mind-numbing 'Silence of the lambs'), keeps his characters mostly intense.Some otherwise ordinary shots are delivered with such subtle precision by Hanks and Washington, that is trademark of fine actors like these.
All in all, the point to be made, Dostana showing its heroes as hunks faking to be gays,is more so detrimental in it being a superhit.Allright, I admit I can't just appreciate the works coming from the house of Johars and Chopras, Dostana was no different,but natually.
1 comment:
You do sound like the ones who are like; everything desi is bad, everything firangi is so good...dostana was a good movie and funny too...
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