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Dil Dosti Etc
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'Dil Dosti Etc' -An Ordinary Film

By Aparajita Ghosh
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Small budget films with no big stars can stand at par with some of the mainstream opuses if the story is interesting and has been told well by the director. Sadly, such is not the case with ‘Dil Dosti Etc’.

The movie, starring Shreyas Talpade , Imaad Shah , Nikita Anand , Smriti Mishra and Ishita Sharma, marks the directorial debut of Manish Tiwary. The film is set in the Delhi University campus.

The

story revolves around four youngsters and a prostitute. Each one comes from a different backdrop. There is a rich, city-bred guy Apurva (Imaad Shah) with no apparent aim in life but to squander his time on girls in skimpy skirts, or sleeping with a prostitute (Smriti Mishra) to satisfy his urges.

Then there is somewhat focused Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade), a Bihari youth from a conservative family, who is active in student politics and aims to win the college elections. He gets involved with a beautiful model Prerna (Nikita Anand) who has high aspirations from life.

And there is also a schoolgirl Kintu (Ishita Sharma) who manages to catch the fancy of the philandering Apurva.

Within these characters the story of ‘Dil Dosti Etc’ moves in circles without taking any definitive direction. It goes through college politics, romance, lust, sex, infatuation and regrets, but never does the plot seem headed anywhere.

The movie remains pretentiously arty with nothing substantial to offer.

Imaad Shah looks sleepy and dull throughout the film. Even his dialogue delivery appears as if it were read-out. Shreyas Talpade has a bright glint in his eye, as if to signify the dreams of the character he plays. It is regrettable that his character is not properly chiseled out.

Nikita Anand looks promising. Her acting is not bad either. Smriti Mishra is natural. She has the ability to hold your attention when she is on the screen. Ishita Sharma is comfortable playing her part.

Director Manish Tiwary has opted for an ordinary and forgettable story for his debut movie. Granted, there are grey areas in the relationships depicted in the film: Imaad and Smriti have a physical relation but there is also an undercurrent of mutual liking between them. Similar is the relation between Shreyas and Nikita. While Shreyas’ attraction towards her is explicit, she is shown dilly-dallying between a yes and no. Vaguely defined though these relationships seem, they look real, and open to interpretation.

What ‘Dil Dosti Etc’ lacks is an interesting story that has movement and development. The film’s music is also average.

All in all, a forgettable film.

Rating: *1/2

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