Jha looks into youth ambiguity
Noreen Aslam

BOMBAY—Producer and director Prakash Jha who is known to be a multiple award winning independent film maker of India has already produced and directed nine feature films besides over 25 documentaries. After the huge success of ‘Apaharan’ two years ago, he is back with ‘Dil Dosti Etc’ under the banner of his production company. Manish Tiwary has directed this movie , comprising the cast of Shreyas Talpade, Nikita Anand (Miss India 2003), Imaad Shah (son of Naseeruddin Shah), Smriti Mishra and Ishita Sharma. Jha is famous for ‘Apaharan’, ‘Gangaajal’, Mrityudand’, ‘Damul’ and ‘Parinati’ that are based on relevant social issues.
Jha’s latest attempts to explore the ambiguity of today’s youth. It deals with the nature of love and friendship, male bonding and matters of the heart. This film focuses on the new generation who are not able to decide as to what they want to achieve in life . So, the movie delves into the minds of the individuals. This is set around students of Delhi University with two university hostellers, Apurv (Imaad Shah), a rich, cosmopolitan guy and Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade), an old-fashioned Bihari guy from a village. The film juxtaposes the new/ liberal and the old/ conservative youth in our society.
While Sanjay is an ambitious and focused student-politician in Delhi representing the romantic and the idealist who steadfastly pursues his political goals, 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. Interestingly, there are three female leads in the movie (a prostitute, a school girl and a rich model) . They 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 school girl Kintu (Ishitta Sharrma), who remains noncommittal to Apurv’s flirtations. 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.
Thus, the movie 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 humor and shows the coming of age of not only a young man but also explores the ambiguities and pre-occupations of an entire generation.