Bollywood Diaries wends its way through territory that Mumbai films have charted before, most notably in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Guddi. It, however, takes a circuitous route that instantly pushes it away from the obviously cliched pathways. First-time director K D Satyam delivers a narrative triptych that is shot through with interesting twists.

Coming straight to the point, Bollywood Diaries revolves around three characters that are all bitten by the acting bug. Vishnu (Ashish Vidyarthi) is a 52-year-old middle class man living with his wife. He did theatre during his college days but could not purse his dream further as he got busy with life after marriage. As soon as he gets his daughter married, Vishnu retires from his monotonous job and decides to shift base to Mumbai for the love of acting.

Bollywood is the number one inspiration for popular culture in India. It's marginally rivalled in impact by cricket, but the effect Hindi films and the industry has on the people of our nation is phenomenal. Hundreds and thousands still flock to Mumbai to make a career in the movie industry. A handful make it. But that doesn't account for the millions who never even make it to the shores of b-town. Bollywood Diaries is the story of three such individuals. It speaks of a story done hundreds of times before.

When you chase your dreams, how far is too far? Director KD Satyam gets ambitious with his story, which has its heart in the right place, but fails to mould it into something impactful. Bollywood Diaries is one of those rare films that you would want to invest in but the half-baked narrative is not successful in holding your attention. It is adequate but not evocative enough.