'Think Like a Girl': Why 'Dostana' Was Anything But LGBTQ+ 'Representation'
The QuintIf one was to objectively look at it, Dostana didn't really succeed in doing either of the two most important things it should have aimed to: It failed to accurately represent the LGBTQIA+ community because it was riddled with stereotypes It also failed to attempt to normalise queerness because at the end, the two homophobic men didn't really learn their lessons or apologise for being problematic The kiss between John and Abhishek towards the end cannot be considered a "lesson" for the two, because homosexuality is way beyond two people of the same sex kissing each other. Undoubtedly, the film was an actual representation of how stigmas and stereotypes work, but when two A-list Bollywood stars are mocking the reality of an entire community on the big screen without any apology whatsoever, the heteronormative society watching it doesn't learn any lessons either. Five years before Dostana, Karan Johar made Kal Ho Naa Ho and the world was introduced to Kanta Ben, who went on to become the flagbearer of homophobia. Imagine the trauma, the self-doubt, the insecurity, and the suffocation that scores of 'closeted' queers must have suffered while plots and films like these made the entire cinema halls laugh at who they really are.
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