By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Saturday,
September
29,
2007
Delhi
University
campus.
Four
youngsters.
One
prostitute.
University
politics.
Love.
Friendship.
Sex...
Really,
given
the
topics
amassed
on
the
plate,
one
could
explore
so
much
in
those
2
hours.
But
in
Dil
Dosti
Etc.,
the
story
only
moves
in
the
penultimate
15/20
minutes.
Neither
is
the
University
politics
depicted
with
grit
that"s
associated
with
it,
nor
is
the
bonding
amongst
friends
or
the
various
relationships
depicted
makes
your
heart
go
dhak
dhak.
Debutante
director
Manish
Tiwary
could"ve
explored
so
much
given
the
choice
of
subject
he
has
opted
for
his
debut
vehicle,
but
he"s
letdown
--
and
terribly
at
that
--
by
the
script.
What
the
viewer
eventually
carries
home
are
a
few
poignant
moments,
besides
a
superlative
performance
by
Shreyas
Talpade.
But
that"s
not
enough!
Dil
Dosti
Etc.
is
set
around
students
in
Delhi
University,
mainly
two
university
hostellers,
Apurv
[Imaad
Shah],
a
rich,
cosmopolitan
guy
and
Sanjay
Mishra
[Shreyas
Talpade],
an
old-fashioned
guy
hailing
from
Bihar.
Sanjay
is
an
ambitious
and
focused
student-politician
in
Delhi.
On
the
other
hand,
Apurv"s
life
is
directionless.
With
the
abundance
of
time
and
money
in
hand,
he
searches
for
meaning
in
life
through
amorous
escapades
with
various
girls.
The
three
female
leads
--
a
prostitute
[Smriti
Mishra],
a
school
girl
Kintu
[Ishitta
Sharma]
and
a
rich
model
Prerna
[Nikita
Anand]
--
provide
a
myriad
of
social
and
emotional
backdrops
to
the
film.
The
prostitute
claims
never
to
get
emotionally
attached
to
her
customers,
the
school
girl
Kintu
remains
non-committal
to
Apurv"s
flirtations
and
plays
hard
to
get
and
the
model
aspires
to
become
an
international
model
and
yet
finds
herself
attracted
to
the
earthy
and
charismatic
student-politician
Sanjay.
The
problem
with
Dil
Dosti
Etc.
begins
soon
after
the
characters
and
their
diverse
characteristics
are
introduced
and
the
viewer
has
just
one
question
in
mind
--
What
next?
And
the
question
continues
to
haunt
you
till
three-fourths
of
the
narrative.
All
you
get
to
witness
is
Shreyas
and
his
opponents
contesting
the
elections
[but
the
aggression
is
missing]
and
Imaad
eyeing
everyone
in
skirts.
Actually,
one
is
confused,
is
Imaad
in
love
with
Smriti
Mishra?
And
is
the
relationship
with
Ishitta
based
on
lust,
not
love?
The
penultimate
15
odd
minutes
are
interesting
because
it"s
at
this
juncture
that
there"s
some
movement
in
the
tale.
But
it"s
too
late
by
then.
The
viewer
is
exasperated
by
now!
Arvind
K."s
cinematography
is
alright.
Dialogues
are
well
penned.
As
for
the
music,
just
one
song
makes
an
impression
--
'Dum
Laga".
The
production
values
are
below
par.
The
film
bears
an
impoverished
look
at
most
times.
Shreyas
Talpade
enacts
his
part
with
gusto.
His
outburst
in
the
end
is
electrifying.
Imaad
Shah
is
cool,
but
it"s
a
clear
case
of
miscasting.
He
doesn"t
look
like
a
Casanova
who
wears
his
heart
on
his
sleeve.
Smriti
Mishra"s
role
should"ve
had
meat.
Ishitta
looks
cute
and
carries
her
role
well.
Nikita
Anand
has
the
trappings
of
a
fine
actress.
On
the
whole,
Dil
Dosti
Etc.
lacks
the
power
to
keep
you
glued
to
the
screen.
Disappointing!