Gay Dosti Hum Nahee Todenge

To sound presumptuous, Bollywood has always highlighted male friendship in an obviously gay manner. Or probably we hadn’t known about homosexuality as much back then. But if you revisit certain Bollywood movies, even classics the gay angle cannot be mistaken. The filmmakers may have never known male friendships because I haven’t ever seen the kind of male friendships that they chose to portray on screen. Right from Jai-Veeru in Sholay to the trio in Dil Chahta Hai, there have been several such male bonding exercises that have been dubious; maybe not the latter but certainly some in the not so distant past. If you remember Silsila and a scene earlier in the movie when brothers Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor are bathing together; yup! You heard that right and when one of them drops the soap and the other asks him to get it. He almost does and then pauses and slyly smiling says, Bhai, Main Nahee Uthaoonga. Many didn’t get that joke back then. You will now if you know that one when they warn you that if you drop a coin in San Francisco, don’t pick it up.

Due to lack of quality releases and relatively much free time these days, I was watching an oldie, Yaarana starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan in an immortal bond of friendship that seeks to be remembered through the ages much like Romeo & Juliet. Except they are closer to each other than Romeo & Juliet and often walk around the village hand-in-hand while the simple villagers sing paeans to their ‘deep friendship’; no pun intended. They are childhood friends and often consult each other on even trivial matters, like boxers or briefs; ok, I made that up but you get the picture regardless of how weird it might be. Of course, one has to be richer; much richer than the other to somehow fulfill the cardinal rule of Bollywood friendships. There are numerous instances in the movie when you get the strange Brokeback feeling and I was rolling on the floor laughing at even the simple dialogues that they would utter like, Kishan idhar aa aur nikaal. Now, how can you not laugh at that especially when they mouth dialogues that they would give their life for each other and cry all night long when one is about to leave for the city? I am not deliberating berating Yaarana for being too gay but if you take a look at it now, you will definitely understand what I am talking about.

Probably it was a more innocent time back then because in recent times, an Akshay-Bobby starrer Dosti hit the screen sometime this past December and was instantly panned by the critics as Gay-watch because guys simply don’t bond the way they show in the movies. Of course, we see guys holding hands and walking with their arms around their shoulder all the time even in the rural parts but somehow now such a visual instantly sets off the gay alarm for me. I might be corrupted but I may be right too. And nothing wrong in that either.

Full disclosure: I fully endorse gay rights including their right to marry and to adopt children.

Update: If you thought I saw Bollywood through rainbow-tinted glasses and offended your innocence, take a look at 100% Indian-bred Jabberwock’s analysis of Dharam-Veer. What’s more, Turbanhead has stills from a oh-so gay song from the movie.

“Gay Dosti Hum Nahee Todenge” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=1348] was published Monday, May 22nd, 2006 at 2:04 pm by Patrix, filed under Movies, Society Culture, and tagged as , , , , . Both comments and linkbacks are closed.

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  • http://alpha-2.blogspot.com alpha

    wonder if i shud publish that photo of you and yogi.

  • bloghopper

    I never found anything gay about jai-veeru or the dil chahta hai trio. Of-course you are corrupted :) Its all in the mind of the beholder.

  • http://www.retributions.wordpress.com confused

    Patrix,

    Its just too many years in America! Go home dude :)

    I second blog hopper. I found nothing gay about their friendship too. I agree taking a bath together is a little gayish but in India we are used to putting arms around each other or holding hands. Now in this country, even if I slightly touch any of my Amru friends, they seem to be uncomfortable, even if the touch is inadverent.

    Different cultures yaar. You are reading too much into it.

  • http://ipatrix.com Patrix

    Alpha, you wouldn’t !!!!! $%&*@

    Bloghopper, I agree that I didn’t find anything gay about Jai-Veeru or DCH trio although some ppl did murmur something to that effect. But trust me, see Yaarana and tell me Amitabh-Amjad friendship is just friendship.

    Confused, I know its different cultures and just a matter of perspective but sometimes Bollywood movies show male friendships in ways that never exist in the real world. You must agree that men and women bond with people of their gender in different ways. I was simply alluding to that. Now go and see Yaarana and we’ll talk about it again.

  • http://chandni.wordpress.com chandni

    Hey patrix,

    I think a little of this thought aslo comes from one’s own notions of personal space.

    For instance..its pretty common for women to dress/change in front of other womena…say in hostels or with roommates.

    But someone who is uncomfortable doingt hat might fid it too “intimate” or weird.

    Also, DCH at least was very real…arent guys like that when in college? Back slapping..pulling each other’s leg and generally having fun??

    And Yarana, its a diff generation altogether, though I still feel there was nothing gay abt it!!!

    Still, this was a good read and an interesting perspective
    :D

  • http://palscape.wordpress.com BongoPondit

    I can’t remember Yaarana – but I agree that the bath scene in Silsila certainly had gay overtones.

    Remember the whispers about two-three years ago that Karan Johar is gay dunno what became of it or if they were true at all but I thought he took a great dig at such rumours in Kal Ho Na Ho – with those scenes between SRK and Saif :-)

    Now, Patrix – lets not practice censorship here – ‘out’ with them pictures. ;-)

    Finally, as with so many things in life, Seinfeld said it best: “Not that there is anything wrong with it!“

  • http://www.adashofash.com Ash

    Well, I was giving Yaarana the benefit of the doubt. But when Amjad Khan goes insane and is cured only after eating Amitabh ke haath ka bana hua chapatti, I gave up !

    But hey, if its not gay and just Indian friendship, then that’s good enough for me. Then us Indian women can leve the chapatti making to our men’s best friends.. what say ? :)

  • http://ipatrix.com Patrix

    Chandni, I agree and I have admitted right at the outset that I may sound presumptuous. It can also be a matter of changing times and different perspectives. But all said and done, Yaarana was definitely gay. Men bond, as you said, over pulling each other’s leg and making fun and not by singing songs to their friendships and crying late into the night. It is just different for men and women, as you agree too.

    Bongo, it may seem like I am canvassing for the movie but go see Yaarana again now and I bet you will be laughing your ass off. and of course, no censorship is advocated anywhere. If it makes you laugh, it must be good.

    Ash, I bet you would be more than happy to leave chapati-making to someone else.

  • http://tamilpunkster.blogspot.com megha

    LOL @ what ash said.

    :D

  • http://lifeandsomething.blogspot.com Gaurav

    Come on !

    Yarana was just typical over the top melodramatic bollywood fare.

    You are imagining too many things.

    This is just obsession of yanks to looks for gays everywhere. I find it ridiculous that two males can be langotiya yaar only at the risk of being accused of sexually involved relationship.

    Contrariwise suppose if one were to state something like X (a boy) and Y (a girl) are too friendly which must mean they have a physical relationship, what would be your reaction.

    This is age of insanity.

    I second (or third) Bloghopper and Confused, come back to Panvel the weather is perfect ;-).

    Regards

  • http://www.retributions.wordpress.com confused

    :) Gaurav

    Patrix needs a break from the ”oh are you gay america”.

    Lets start a ”Pat go home” movement. :)

  • http://ipatrix.com Patrix

    Gaurav, melodrama is when the villain makes a long speech instead of just shooting the tied up hero, or when the mother and sister often constrained by poverty turn on the waterworks, or when the heroine makes a sad attempt at not liking the ruffian hero before eventually falling for him. Crying all night and making rotis for your supposedly best friend is simply gay. Go back and look at your friendships…did you do the things with your best friend that Amitabh and Amjad do in Yaarana? If you did, then I support your right to adopt :)

    BTW, weather is Panvel is great? My brother just told me that he is boiling alive.

    Confused    , don’t join my parents movement which has been strongly resisted for the past couple of years.

  • http://www.lifeandsomething.blogspot.com Gaurav

    No I never did anything like that.
    For that matter I have never killed a villain or happen to have andhi ma. :-D

    Panvel is boiling hot, but it can’t be worse than texas ;-)


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