Dev D (Kashyap, 2008)

[kaytee]

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Saw it over the weekend and I wasn't bowled over by it but I will have to say it was one courageous effort from Kashyap. We all know the story of Devdas and how his love for a woman led to his downfall. Well here there is a downfall but the love is not that strong. For the movie to have made a better impact I would have loved to see why Dev loved Paro indefinitely. Or maybe it was just the drugs and alcohol that he loved and not Paro. Another major drawback was Chanda, her story seemed rushed, from school girl to sexual worker the transformation was extremely quick and very unconvincing. Chunni was also cut out of the movie, his character is supposed to be a major one in Dev's life but here he takes the back seat.

But even with all the criticism I enjoyed the movie, maybe it was because of the excellent direction, or the acting from Abhay Deol, damn this guy can really act or maybe coz it was the brilliant music that made the movie watchable.

[shariqq]

I agree on almost all points above. Chanda's story didn't seem rushed to me, because it is quite easy to put two-and-two together to understand how she got where she ended up. And it helped that Kashyap gave us the precis version rather than the details. Apart from that, very spot on - I had the same reaction to the movie.

[sandeep]

i am waiting to get a good copy so i can watch this movie... heard rave reviews...

[kaytee]

i am waiting to get a good copy so i can watch this movie... heard rave reviews...

It is out on DVD.

[sandeep]

Saw it last nite... mixed response...

First things first, the movie is very sexually charged... and the casual approach to sex is what makes this movie unique.

The story of Devdas has of course been twisted a bit a molded to fit the 'Jat' village instead of Bengali noble class... but the intensity is missing...

Dev loves Paro, but the obsession doesn't show. Paro loves Dev, the connection shows, but is severed quickly and easily. I guess set in the modern world of instant relationships, that would make sense.

What got most points from me was the story of Chanda and how her relationship evolved with Dev. Her journey from school girl to CSW (commercial sex worker) and adult phone talker, was interesting and the high point of story. How her relationship evolved with Dev and the subsequent results, was also interesting...

I would recommend this movie for people who want to see something new, but not entirely wonderful.

3/5

p.s. Song clips from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas are shown in bits, providing adequate point of reference from the past to this very contemporary flick

[shariqq]

Anurag Kashyap on Abhay Deol:

As involved that he is , he sometimes ends up living the character he is playing and when he does that, it can be a nightmare sometimes. Not for me as much as it can be for the assistants. Abhay did just that on Dev.D.

He became Dev. I told him to come straight from bed, with his unwashed hair and all, he said he will not touch the hair but will wash his face, i said no , he said, ”You will get what you want fucker but hygiene is my prerogative.”

[safra23]

Sorry I am a slow watcher, but finally managed to watch this movie over the weekend, and I am not going to give my take on it, since it has already been covered by everyone and I agree with most of the comments regarding the story and the rushing of the stories of the characters, also felt the ending rushed as well, all it had to take was one small incident for him to change his ways, to knock some sense into him, initially I thought how dumb, typical Bollywood style, but then also had to be thinking maybe all he needed was a little push to correct his ways, but still too rushed ending.

Anyhow my Rating --- > 3.0/5

[shariqq]

From madali's "Salam Cinema" blog.




Dev.D (Kashyap, 2009)
IMDB Link

Hey, I’m “getting” Indian cinema after doing a small marathon of them. Watching “Dev.D”, I know that the director is Anurag Kashyap, who made the interested but flawed “Gulaal” and the actor is Abhay Deol, the amazing actor from “Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!”

I have a better appreciation to both of them now that I have watched “Dev.D”. Kashyap does not make typical Indian films and based on the last two I have seen, he has an interesting vision and ability. Whatever faults he has (and he still has many, as evidence in “Gulaal”), I realize that he is attempting to take Indian cinema to a new level, without trying to imitate other country’s industries. This is the kind of directing blood the industry needs, films that is able to try something new and exciting, without being too cultish.

The film is based on the 1917 Bengali novella called “Devdas”. This appears to be some kind of ultra-famous Indian story, with no less than ten film adaptations (probably much more). The story of “Devdas” is so familiar in Indian cinema that I don’t know if it is all influenced from that story, or if the story itself is so prominent in Indian culture, that it might just as well have influenced the book itself. The central idea is a man losing of his childhood love, due to a fault of his own, and then slowly destroying himself through vices. The tortured, self-destructive, angry male lover and the barriers that exist between him and his love is a strong theme in Indian cinema.

“Dev.D” adapts the story in an interesting way. He lays down the foundations of the story and the major events are the same, but the story is changed for contemporary issues. And I mean this is a grand manner, the change from tradition to modernity is the transformation from the importance of society and family to the individual. Kashyap does a perfect job here by allowing the individuals to have more active role in the paths they take. It seems in the original novella the barrier that existed between them was the caste system, as Devdas was from a rich family and Paro was from a poorer one. Devdas’s family persuades him not to marry and Devdas reluctantly agrees. But in “Dev.D”, the father actually hopes that Dev would marry Paro. It is not the family or society that prevents the marriage, it is Dev himself.

The film is more complex that the original story hopes to be. Dev is not a good person, he is arrogant and rude, from the first scene we see him, as a young boy, and back from his education in London, Dev’s love for Paro seems more about lust than affection. Later on, after Paro marries (in this film, happily marries to a young widow, rather than the original version of unhappily marrying to a much older man), Dev regrets letting her go and tortures himself. But during all his drinking binges and his drug induced slumbers, the question still should come up. Is he torturing himself because he loves Paro or because in his arrogance and rich spoilt mentality, he is just angry he lost something he desired? Is Dev’s self-destruction act the equivalent of a young child’s screaming and kicking his feet on the ground when he does not get his toy? Is it just a mature version of a tantrum?

There are other things that I wanted to talk about, and just shows the richness of the film that I haven’t even started on them. For example, let me at least mention the music. I have always been annoyed that Indian films are just song-and-dance films, but Kashyap has made his film just a song film, without the dance. A masterful stroke, as the film never STOPS to have a full on song and dance sequence, but there is always music playing in the background, as the characters continue their journey in life. I surprise myself when I say that I loved the songs in this film, and I would not mind listening to its soundtrack.

I won’t mention the other positive things I wanted to mention about the film, but will just there is only one thing holding the film back for me, from it having my full love. There is just too many scenes of Dev walking around drunk, shots of the night life in Delhi, fall down, repeat. I wish it had more trimming, but then I feel like I’m asking too much and too soon of Indian cinema.

4/5

[kaytee]

Mad you need to watch Kashyap's Lynchian No Smoking. I think you will like it.