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They say your first film will be an unforgettable experience also because of the tremendous vulnerability debutant filmmakers face on their films’ release and sheer lack of means they have to deal with all that may get unleashed. Dil Dosti Etc sauntered out on 28 September, and I felt my tiny apartment in Versova becoming an island, exposed to come what may!

As I was beginning my ‘first’ Friday, I got a call from the production office, saying MSN has praised the film to the skies, saying, Dil Dosti Etc is a beautiful comment on the pangs of growing up… The small commune I live around with was online too, and my co-writer, Pawan Sony called asking, ‘did you sneak in and write this review yourself? I can’t think of a better one!’ Ten minutes later came a text message from Alankrita, ‘Rediff pans the film’. I forwarded the …

[Update : Sept 27/2007. Stills of songs added]

Do songs hurt the narrative flow (and form) of our films? I believe they usually do. When we were working on about the fifth draft of the screenplay (it went on till ninth by the time it was ready to be called ‘bound’), I realized that there are some ‘natural’ places where songs can have a place in the film, mostly as background thematic scores not sung out by the protagonists. To not hurt the narration, I knew the key would be the wording of lyrics befitting the narrative situation and the feel… (how they are bound together with music would be secondary – composers usually work the other way round, they have the music in place to which lyricists write the words). …

Visiting Passion For Cinema, I realize how it has become a very active forum for discussing Indian film works. PFC is also a place where filmmakers of now and the future champion the films they like, cut the ill-fated ones to pieces and battle out the elements they want to defend or discard. It is a virtual Congress that is in session day-in and day-out. I confess I am a little edgy entering this cinema cacophony and melaa, but now joining you, I too will try find a corner, spread a mat and display my wares…

The film that I would like to talk about happens to be my own, Dil Dosit Etc. It is heartening to notice the presence of first buzz on my film on PFC (Anurag Kashyap’s post ‘Few more gems to look forward to…’)…

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