Bollywood dips its toe in gay well

From left to right: John Abraham, Abhishek Bachan & Priyanka Chopa

Well, it's not exactly Brokeback Mountain, but an upcoming Bollywood romantic comedy called Dostana is getting lots of attention for a rumored gay plot twist.

Dostana's two main male leads are played by major Bollywood stars John Abraham and Abhishek Bachan. Their characters are both straight and best friends. Bachan’s character is in love with a female character played by Priyanka Chopa (a former “Miss World”), but unfortunately she only has eyes for Abraham’s character. To throw her off the scent and get her to fall in love with his best friend, Abraham's character pretends to be gay.

Okay, so this isn’t exactly a landmark gay storyline by Hollywood standards – sounds like it's about on par with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - but by Bollywood standards this is apparently quite daring. To date, no major film star has ever played gay in a true Bollywood movie. Or even, as in this case, played “pretend gay.”

And while the Abraham character is only masquerading as gay, plot complications ensue when - heavens to betsy! - an actual gay character (played by Bobby Deol) pursues him romantically.  And who can blame him. That Abraham guy is green curry hawt.

From left to right: Abraham, Bobby Deol, Bachan

Is it just me or is John Abraham a doppelganger for old Hollywood film star Tyrone Power?

Tyrone Power

Speaking of Hollywood, I'm often discouraged by the slim pickings when it comes to GLBT representation in American films - but the fact that Dostana is such a huge deal for Hindi films reminds me that it could be a lot worse.

Dostana will be out in November.

Note: Special thanks to LolaRuns for bringing us this Bollywood news.