Delhi's a miniature India: Manish Tiwary

We’re all claiming our share in Delhi, says Manish Tiwary.
Manish Tiwary’s directorial venture “Dil, Dosti, Etc” had Delhi University as the backdrop, and the modern face of India was represented by Apurv (Imaad Shah) and Prerna (Nikita Anand) while the traditional Sanjay (Shreyas Talpade) and Vaishali (Smriti Mishra) bring the old-world charm to the film. Manish Tiwary tells us what’s so Delhi about his film...
Delhi as the setting for his film
I had came to Delhi as an outsider.That’s my primary perspective even in the film. All the men in the film are outsiders to the city. Delhi is a city that’s promises many dreams to us. And all of us are trying to realise them. Delhi, in reality, is also a miniature India. In the film, everyone is claiming India as being their own, since it has become an extremely promising land.
Dilli through roles
All the three lead female protagonists are from Delhi, and they represent the entire spectrum of Delhi socio-economic strata. Prerna’s the South-Delhi girl, Kintu’s from a middle class family and Vaishali from the red light area. And as Apurv goes through his quest for love, the audience sees different women of Delhi. Vaishali is from the most disadvantaged section of the society, but the most intelligent and sensitive. Middle class Punjabi people – Kintu and her mother, both have their own different sets of ambition. And Prerna’s father is on a completely different trip for his daughter. While writing the film, it was very important to tie them to their roots in the city. The female characters helped us cover a larger part of Delhi ‘coz of the locations they have been placed in geographically.
‘Sex with three girls in a day’ bet
The bet is a dramatic hook. It’s fictitious and there’s no connection to reality here. That’s a bait that I threw to draw them into the larger story that I wanted them to be a part of. The bet presents a contrast between the old-school Sanjay and the new-age Apurv. Sanjay’s way of finding his ground in Delhi is by becoming something of consequence in college by fighting the elections. While Apurv is bothered about sex, and love has completely different meaning for him.
The new collectors
The line that describes the outsiders’ perspective of Delhi is – ‘Iss sheher ke naye collector papa paincho hum hain’. Everyone is trying to claim their share of Delhi. These students have come to Delhi from various parts of India – Jats from their villages in Haryana and Punjab, Sanjay has come from Bihar, Apoorv has come from some big city. With the characterisation, I was trying to show something new in terms of what people have already seen in films. Films set in Delhi, these are usually about Punjabis or extremely rich yuppy crowd. And these films are correct in their own way. But I think hostel life gives one the opportunity to talk about these outsiders, who are also there to claim their share of the city and trying to prove themselves as the new collectors of the city. They have all been thrown into this big melting pot that Delhi is.
Follow us on Twitter for more stories