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With a PhD from Cambridge in England and three years of experience at the the United Nations, Manish Tiwary may not sound like your regular film-maker. He is kick-starting his feature film directorial career with Prakash Jha's forthcoming production Dil, Dosti, Etc.

IndiaFM had an exclusive tête-à-tête with Manish where he spoke about his film.

Wasn't Dil, Dosti, Etc earlier titled Love Story?
Yes, Love Story was the initial title. There are so many love stories that get made here and most show romantic and candyfloss love. My film speaks of the irony of 'love', where couples are not meant to meet, fall in love & stay together happily ever after. I talk of love where a lot of it has to do with class, convenience, calculations and sex.

So came the thought to show my version of love under the banally expressed, Love Story. However, we realized that another producer has the rights to this title. We also noted and without much surprise that some other films with 'Love Story' as part of their titles are lined up for release. So now we have the film as Dil Dosti Etc.

How did your association with Prakash Jha begin?
In an idealistic way. I called up Prakash Jha's office, spoke to Mr Jha and told him that I have a bound script which I think he would like to get associated with. In our first meeting he liked the synopsis and heard out on how I plan to go about doing the project. He asked for the screenplay, liked it and called me back for another meeting.

Tell us about the theme and setting of the film
Dil, Dosti, Etc. is set in Delhi University with 2 protagonists who come from different backgrounds. Imaad Shah is a fresh entrant in the University while Shreyas Talpade plays the senior guy. Shreyas is a conservative Bihari student-politician. Imaad plays the role of a cosmopolitan guy who has all the time and money to indulge in pleasure and sex. So, in this film you will see how conservative values meet the liberal face of India.

In Dil, Dosti, Etc you will see how conservative values meet the liberal face of India.

Your film has two new females - Ishitta Sharrma and Nikita Anand. Tell us about their background and characters in the film?
We picked up Ishitta Sharrma from an audition. She plays the role of an extremely precocious girl from middle-class Punjabi background in Delhi. We also held a trial shoot where Ishitta proved how perfectly she can don the role.

The other role is of a college going girl who wants to be a supermodel. This is one casting which we thought will be easy as most aspiring actors are from this age range. However, we finally had to audition close to 150 girls to zero in on Nikita Anand. Perhaps Nikita fitted well because she is from Delhi, a model and also the Miss India 2003.

We had to audition close to 150 girls to zero in for the role of the supermodel.

Smriti Mishra, despite being a good actress, has been seen in very few films. What made you choose her for the role?
I was studying in Cambridge when I got to know the film-maker, Vijay Singh he has made Jaya Ganga, One Dollar Curry. He introduced me to Smriti in Bombay. She was one of the first people I had in mind while writing the script. She has acted in few films but is a tremendously gifted actor.

The film's cast doesn't exactly have star value. What do you think would be the selling point of the film in this star-struck industry?
This is a dare that we all have made. We have tried to strike a balance between identification-factor from the known faces & names in the team and, yet, not compromise on our casting and telling of the story. The female leads could well have been actors who are better known but we chose those who will fit the roles perfectly.

The female leads in my film could well have been actors who are better known but we chose those who will fit the roles perfectly.

What sets your film apart from the others?
I think what sets my film apart is the kind of story I have set out to tell and how I have told it. Dil Dosti Etc is a story of two real people living out the real India today without romanticizing the context they live in and way they express themselves. The reality of it will hit hard but not without a tinge of humour.

When is the film expected to release?
Sometime in May this year.

Tell us something bout your background?
I am a Bihar. That is one connection I have with Prakash though he didn't know this until late. I went to boarding school and then to Hindu College in Delhi. I got postgraduate degrees in England. Subsequently, I worked with the United Nations.