"India isn't ready for big, serious films"- Karan Johar
Is
Dostana
a
gay
romance?
No,
John
and
Abhishek
play
two
straight
guys
who
pretend
to
be
gay.
As
the
trailers
say,
it's
a
tiny
lie
that
they
tell
because
of
certain
circumstances.
Is
it
an
updated
version
of
the
1980s
buddy
film
with
the
same
name?
It
has
absolutely
nothing
in
common
with
that
film
(which
my
father
made)
except
the
name.
Oh,
and
both
films
have
two
actors
with
a
sexy
girl
between
them.
So
you
would
be
surprised
to
hear
that
the
original
Dostana
that
starred
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Shatrughan
Sinha
is
also
occasionally
read
as
a
film
with
gay
subtext.
I
wonder
what
my
father
would
think
of
that.
But
you
know
in
India
we
find
it
slightly
embarrassing
to
watch
male
bonding.
(Laughs)
You
started
a
trend
of
self-referencing
in
Bollywood
with
Kal
Ho
Na
Ho.
And
in
these
trailers
you
seem
to
be
making
fun
of
your
older
films.
Oh
yes,
Tarun
and
his
team
had
a
lot
of
fun
making
these
trailers.
In
Bollywood
we
have
a
new
romcom
coming
out
every
month.
These
trailers
have
you
thinking,
"Oh
God,
another
film
that
says
it's
an
eternal
love
story" and
then
you
plummet
straight
into
this
mad
plot.
In
Kal
Ho
Na
Ho,
you
had
a
gay
subplot.
In
this
film
the
fake
gay
relationship
is
the
main
thread
of
the
story.
Do
you
think
you
will
ever
make
a
film
that
is
actually
about
a
gay
couple?
I
learnt
something
from
making
Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Kehna.
I
learnt
that
it's
possible
to
make
a
Rs
70
crore
film
about
infidelity
with
stars
as
big
as
Shahrukh
Khan.
And
people
accepted
it.
So
I
will
push
the
boundaries
with
each
of
my
films.
People
judged
me
far
too
quickly.
They
decided
that
I
would
make
only
mushy
films
but
I
will
break
new
ground
every
year.
We
have
to
leave
behind
the
tone
of
the
films
we
made
in
the
80s
and
the
90s.
But
is
India
ready
for
a
big,
serious
film
like
Brokeback
Mountain
yet?
I
would
say
it
won't
go
down
too
well
yet.
But
we
will
open
the
doors
for
other
filmmakers
in
the
future.
Communities
who
have
made
major
contributions
to
cinema
have
been
oddly
subject
to
terrible
stereotyping
on
screen.
Like
Muslims
and
Anglo-Indians
in
Bollywood.
Do
you
think
the
industry
is
homophobic?
I
don't
think
people
confident
in
their
own
skills
would
be
homophobic.
If
you
are
educated
and
have
been
brought
up
in
an
urban
milieu
it's
quite
ridiculous
if
you
are
homophobic.
It
either
means
you
are
insecure
or
you
have
never
read
a
book.
Or
that
you
are
in
denial
of
your
own
orientation.
Homophobia
speaks
volumes
about
who
you
are.
That's
as
far
as
the
industry
is
concerned.
As
filmmakers
I
think
we
have
a
great
responsibility
to
be
sensitive
to
the
feelings
of
all
communities.
We
Asians
are
an
emotionally
volatile
and
dramatic
lot.
Tarun
and
his
team
have
made
a
film
that
is
fun
but
does
not
poke
fun.
It
is
not
callous
and
does
not
hurt
the
dignity
of
gay
people
in
any
way.
It
may
shock
a
small
part
of
the
population,
but
I
think
most
people
would
enjoy
it.
What
do
you
feel
about
being
a
gay
icon?
It's
very
flattering
to
be
an
icon
to
any
community.
I
have
been
asked
many
times
about
my
own
orientation
but
I
will
never
discuss
my
personal
life.
People
can
look
at
me
or
look
down
at
me,
I
don't
care.
What
I
do
and
where
I
do
it
and
who
I
do
it
with
is
nobody's
business
but
mine.