Indian movies

When you are young, you believe, the possibilities are endless...

What does an eighteen year old guy in college really want? Dil Dosti Etc is a fresh and unabashed look at how young men of today think and choose to live their lives. Dil Dosti Etc is set around students in Delhi University. Through two university hostellers, Apurv (Imaad Shah), a rich, cosmopolitan guy and, Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade), an old-fashioned Bihari guy, the film juxtaposes the ‘new/ liberal’ and the ‘old/ conservative’ in our society.

Sanjay is an ambitious and focused student-politician in Delhi. He represents the romantic and the idealist who steadfastly pursues his political goals. 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 – that of a prostitute (Smriti Mishra), a school girl and a rich model, provide a myriad of social and emotional backdrops to the film. Vaisali (Smriti Mishra) plays an attractive but sharp-tongued prostitute. She claims never to get emotionally attached to her customers. Then there is the precocious school girl Kintu (Ishitta Sharrma), who coquettishly remains noncommittal to Apurv’s flirtations and plays hard to get. Prerna (Nikita Anand) is the rich South Delhi babe who aspires to become an international model, and yet finds herself attracted to the earthy and charismatic student-politician, Sanjay.

Dil Dosti Etc uses a rich ensemble of characters, stories and themes to explore the very nature of friendship, male bonding, voyeurism, sexual perversion, love and betrayal. The film, based on an original screenplay, is full with realism and black humour and shows the coming of age of not only a young man but also explores the ambiguities and pre-occupations of an entire generation.

Dil Dosti Etc has been produced by Prakash Jha and directed by Manish Tiwary.

Rahul is one young man with dreams. Working as a call centre executive in a BPO in Mumbai. He silently loves his boss, Neha. A smart young woman who has made it up the ranks in a very short time. And hard work is not her only secret. Because her boss, Ranjeet loves her and is willing to shower her with gifts and opportunities… only if she is willing.

In his 30s, Ranjeet is married to Shikha with a 6 year old son. Shikha is very well educated and was a better student that Ranjeet. But they decided that she should stay back at home and take care of the house and the kid. So Ranjeet ventured out on his quest for money and success… and forgot his family somewhere on the way. And bitterness and boredom crept into their relationship. Soon he found solace and a fresh lease of life in Neha. An exciting, non-committal relationship based on sex.

Neglected by an indifferent husband and bogged down by family chores, Shikha is soon attracted to a maverick in Akash. A loser and a rebel without a cause, Akash is a struggling theatre artist whose wife divorces him… because she cannot stand his failures anymore. Akash and Shikha’s love blossoms and she almost crosses her limits that she has so fervently guarded all these years.

Amol is a 70 year old man who’s returned to India after 40 years. To spend last few years of his life with his first love, Vaijanti. This lady lives in an old age home and is Shikha’s aunty who gives moral strength to Shikha.

Shikha’s sister and Neha’s room-mate, Shruti works in at Radio Mirchi. A producer. In her 30’s and still a virgin, she’s desperate to get married. She is dreamy eyed about her RJ, Wishy K. Her boss hooks her up with Wishy K. While she also meets Debu through a matrimonial site. Hates him. But Debu, an ordinary man, is ready to marry her. Her affair with Wishy K blossoms.

Rahul is extremely ambitiously and discovers the easiest way to success. Rather the key to success. The key to his uncle’s opulent apartment where he stays while his uncle is away. Most of the men in his office look for places to take their mistresses, girlfriends or prostitutes. He provides the perfect place to release their libido. His apartment. The cost? A recommendation for his out of turn promotion. Even Ranjeet gets the key and takes Neha to the apartment.

Amidst one of their escapades Neha asks Ranjeet about their future. A commitment? Ranjeet makes it clear that she should not even think of a commitment. He insults her and leaves. She tries to commit suicide. Rahul discovers her in his apartment and takes care of her, They share some loving moments… come closer but still she’s unsure about him.

The current generation of working professionals leads a life very different than what it was earlier. That’s the essence of DELHII HEIGHTS.

But the question is, does this seemingly realistic yarn work? Sure, DELHII HEIGHTS tries to portray the life of many working professionals in the metros of India, with Delhi in particular, but the result isn’t as convincing.

What acts as a spoilsport here is the writing. Had the material been as compelling as the actors enacting the parts, the results would’ve been complimentary. But that’s not the case here!

Abi [Jimmy Shergill] and Suhana [Neha Dhupia] are a newly-wed couple who live in a building complex called Delhii Heights. They work for rival companies. In the same society live Timmy [Om Puri], his wife Ruby [Kamini Khana] and their daughter Sweety. Abi’s friend Bobby [Rohit Roy] and his wife Saima [Simone Singh] also live in the same complex.

Due to their tiresome and tedious professional lives, Abi and Suhana are not able to dedicate ample time to each other and have to compromise on many occasions. On the other hand, Bobby is a compulsive flirt. When Suhana and Bobby dance on Holi and when they meet at Suhana’s house for a business chat, Abi begins to feel uncomfortable with Bobby being around too much and gets a little possessive. All these factors reduce the tolerance level of the couple.

Abi and Suhana, employed with rival companies, are working on the same deal and it seems to be going in favor of Abi. But at the end moment, the deal goes in favor of Suhana’s company. Abi feels Suhana has taken advantage by reading his confidential documents and taking the deal away from him. He has a tiff with her and does not even give her a chance to explain her viewpoint.

Saima is fed up of her husband’s flirtatious ways and catches him red-handed one day. In the tension that follows, Bobby meets with an accident. Since she loves him, she takes care of him until he recovers. Bobby begs for another chance. That incident changes their lives.

Meanwhile, Abi realizes his fault and apologizes to Suhana, realizing that she was not responsible for anything and had never broken his trust in the first place. All’s well that ends well. Other tracks are that of a group of friends who are just having fun and play pranks.

The story stands on a realistic platform and the identification with the premise is tremendous. But the material hasn’t been explored to the optimum. An exciting screenplay would’ve only taken the graph of the film upwards. Also, a number of scenes are unnecessary and seem forced in the narrative. The writing lacks vision.

Barring the Jimmy-Neha track and to an extent, Rohit-Simone track, the other stories only add to the length of the film. Had the director concentrated on limited characters, the results would’ve been better.

After an ordinary first hour, you expect things to perk up in the second half. But, again, the mediocre writing doesn’t improve things. Even the climax is a disappointment. A better culmination was the need of the hour for sure.

Given the material, director Anand Kumar’s execution doesn’t really help elevate matters. Music [Rabbi Shergill] is pleasant. ‘Tere Bin’ is the best track of the enterprise; its one number you carry home after the show has concluded. Cinematography is striking. Dialogues don’t leave much of an impact.

Jimmy Shergill is a complete natural. The role demanded an able performer and Jimmy doesn’t let you down one bit. Neha Dhupia enacts her part with equal conviction. She seems to be evolving into a fine actor. Rohit Roy goes a little over the top, but is alright otherwise. Simone Singh is efficient. Om Puri doesn’t get substantial footage, but is a delight to watch whenever he appears on screen. Kamini Khanna and Vivek Shauq are just about okay.

On the whole, DELHII HEIGHTS is too mediocre a fare to leave any impression. The pre-release promotion [attractive promos] might appeal to a section of the multiplex-going junta, that’s about it!