- Imaad Shah’s Diary –

Manish Tiwary (and Pawan Sony) had written a crisp and an intelligent script. I was instantly attracted to it because it is a film set in Delhi, a city I love. For me, Dil Dosti Etc is about a set of people at one of the most delicate phases of life trying to make sense of their environment and relationships. And in this whirlpool of people and emotions, I was offered to play Apurv, who if slightly self-centered and yet is fascinated by the world he finds around himself. His libertine values though unacceptable to some, are built on natural needs and instincts.

The preparation before the shoot was more based around being comfortable with a body language and trying to communicate with fellow actors through Anamika Haksar’s workshop. I read the script over and over but essentially played myself... because Apurv’s manners and gestures, I guessed, would be reasonably close to my own.

Shoot in Delhi was fantastic. This film would have worked no other way. Delhi is an enjoyable and beautiful city for me and I feel strongly that films should be shot on location as far as possible. Some of the locations we worked on in old Delhi were chaotic shoots but make up very interesting moments in the film. Again, the North Campus of Delhi University carries a unique character of its own. I’m glad we shot there.

When I look back, I remember the Hindu College boys breaking in to our costumes room stole all of our costumes. Many of my own clothes went. Though this was not a light moment then, it is now. Besides working I played lots of cricket, read, drank chai and smoked.

A scene that often comes to mind is when Vaishali is pressing Apurv’s back and asks him not to leave tonight.

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- Shreyas Talpade Diary -

To me Dil Dosti Etc is about the youth of today and their take on friendship and love. Several characters come from different backgrounds and have their own take on life, each representing a particular segment of our society. The film is about the dreams and aspirations of youth today and how they end up in trying to reach their goals.

Manish had seen Iqbal, had liked my work and thought that I would be the right person to play the part of Sanjay Mishra, a bihari student in Delhi University.… I felt that the script was very interesting and I liked my role. After Iqbal the kind of offers that I was getting were either of seedha saadha gaon ka ladka or sports films. I was not really interested in either. The character of Sanjay Mishra that Manish offered had a lot of shades. Not many people would have offered me that kind of character at that point of time. All these factors made me sign the film.

I am not like Sanjay Mishra. But I can relate to his values, like respecting your elders and patents and his commitment to one person once you are in love. Prakash Jha and Manish Tiwary assisted me in getting under Sanjay Mishra’s character. And then I also interacted with the president of the college while we were shooting in Delhi. He was urbane but spoke with this subtle Bihari accent. I quietly borrowed some of his persona for Sanjay Mishra. You see, if you are from Bihar but staying in Delhi you would not be speaking with an accent that a Bihari would speak in Bihar. Instead it will be a mix of a Bihari with a city accent. And I tried to get that right. Sanjay Mishra had to have a particular body language, an air of confidence around him. Manish wanted everything pretty subtle, and not go over the top so we tried to maintain that.

Working with Imaad Shah was a great experience. Imaad reminded me a lot of Naseerji. The best part about him is that he is a completely natural performer. Not even for a moment would you feel that this man is acting. I think he fitted the bill of Apurv really well. And Nikita is a hard working girl. It was a completely different equation with the two, because on one hand you have Imaad who is a laid back and subtle and, on the other hand, there is Nikita who is always charged up. But all of us had good fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Prakash Jha Productions. I should add that there are many film makers who come up with interesting subjects but don’t manage this kind of backing. I thank Mr. Prakash Jha for standing behind this project and making it possible for all of us to realize the film.

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- Manish Tiwary's Diary -

Please check out: http://passionforcinema.com/ and http://www.upperstall.com/dildostietc.html