Dil Dosti Etc is exactly the kind of film that could have been so much more, but alas, it isn’t. Inspired by the slacker films of Richard Linklater, Dil Dosti Etc is a character-driven drama set in a Delhi campus, and focuses primarily on two students – the poor-little-rich boy with existential dilemmas played by Imaad Shah, and the middle-class, firmly-rooted campus favourite played by Shreyas Talpade.
The film’s got very little in terms of story, but that’s not really a problem here, because it’s clearly not a plot-driven picture. Borrowing its spirit and its mood from Slacker, Suburbia and Dazed and Confused, some of Linklater’s most popular films which are prototypes for movies of this genre, Dil Dosti Etc is about young people and the direction they’re heading in.
The problem with the film however, is the amateurish direction by debutant Manish Tiwary who has an interesting idea, undeniably, but not the skills to execute it efficiently.
One can relate to Imaad’s wandering, questioning frame-of-mind, even his tendency to indulge in meaningless sexual relations while on a search to understand what love is. But how I wish the director would spare us Imaad’s pretentious voice-overs, struggling to figure out life, asking all those existential questions.
Much of my problem with Dil Dosti Etc lies in its sloppy writing. Most characters come off looking one-dimensional and half-baked because they haven’t been fleshed out well enough.
The film’s dialogue, sounding clunkier than King Kong climbing stairs, alternates conveniently between Hindi and English, but for no good reason. As if that wasn’t bad enough already, you also have put up with all that terrible acting.
Alina Wadiwalla, who has been voted out of reality show “Bigg Boss” this week, is miffed with co-participant and item girl Sambhavna Seth for having allegedly betrayed her.Alina, the only non-celebrity inmate on the show, said, “I always shared her (Sambhavna’s) sorrows and she back-stabbed me. I always used to console and pacify her, but she betrayed me by nominating me.”"When she used to vomit, I used to bring her a bucket and clean up. When she was not well, I used to take her to the loo. After doing so much for her, I wasn’t expecting this in return. I felt so bad,” she said.The reality show required her to be locked in a specially designed house with celebrity inmates for three months under 24-hour camera surveillance, with no access to the outside world.A professional wedding photographer based in Britain, Alina is a tad disappointed on being eliminated from the show.”I’m a little disappointed because I did have my own plans after winning the show, but I’m happy that I have left it in good faith. I know I didn’t do anything wrong or never cheated on anybody, so I’m happy,” Alina said.Alina stayed in the house for a month and a week. During her stay, she managed the kitchen and cleaning, and mostly maintained a calm demeanour.Now that she is out of the house, Alina has no immediate plans to return back to work. She is happy being “back home” with her family, especially her identical twin sister Sana, who visited her at the Bigg Boss’ house last week.What upset her most in “Bigg Boss” was when her housemates changed their choices when open nominations took place last Monday to oust one of the participants.”I felt like a victim. I know it wouldn’t have been the same had the nomination taken place in the confession room because it was all planned. With that nomination, the honesty and humanity of each and everyone was clear.”People had double standards and I felt hurt when I was told that I was creating misunderstandings between people and that’s the reason I was being nominated,” Alina said.She alleged that Sambhavna had nominated her just because it was an open nomination this time, instead of inside the confession room. She added that Sambhavna may have named Payal Rohatgi, whom she dislikes, if it was a closed nomination.All said and done, Alina says she is missing her house mates and hopes to meet them as and when they come out. The young girl feels Diana Hayden, who was the wild card entry to the show, will go on to win.”Diana will win the show because she has a relaxed approach towards things and also her tough experiences in life will help her sail through.”Currently, Sambhavna, actress Payal Rohatgi, comedian Ehsaan Qureshi, model Zulfi Syed, late Bhartiya Janta Party leader Pramod Mahajan’s son Rahul, Diana and reality show winners Ashutosh Kaushik and Debojit Saha are in the “Bigg Boss” house. .
