User Reviews

The Movie started off good. showing a spoilt brat and a feisty girl getting along , problems with authority at home so he gets the boot to UK etc etc. True to the book so far. Humor was good as it was situational comedy and not intentional, which is what i prefer.

Abhay deol projected Devdas in a different light altogether. The modern devdas. Smoking, drinking, doping etc. Abhay deol convincingly played the character well, easy for the youth to relate to. Good amount of swearing involved. Yes it was required and so it was given an A certificate. At no point of time you will feel sorry for the protagonist though as you know the story he screwed up so he has to face it.

Mahi Gill an average looking Jat girl playing Parminder (Paro) lacks the charisma but i guess her feisty nature may help you overlook that.

Kalki Koechlin the girl with a french heritage, parents were hippies who came to India 38 years ago and then settled here, playing chandramukhi (Chanda) lacks that charisma too required to convert our own devdas to a responsible or a good man (read obedient cute little puppy).

Having said that, Anurag kashyap made this movie keeping in mind The Youth today and incidents occurred in the recent past. So it becomes a little easy to watch and enjoy the movie or relate to it.

The end I liked it at first. Then it was pointed out that the end would have better if it was something else. The movie could have been ended conveniently within 120 mins but it had to be dragged for another 30 mins for no obvious reasons, or for some reason i don't understand. So watch the movie as a pop corn flick before you start reading between the lines

I am not very familiar with Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's 'Devdas'. I know that it was about a rich bugger from Bengal who drank himself to death over a girl he loved. I also know that there have been several filmed versions of the novella though I'd failed to catch any of them, save a couple of scenes from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's version starring SRK. Anurag Kashyap's reputation for art-house genius aside, it was the standout publicity hoardings, wreaking of seduction and psychedelia that pulled me in -- first day, first show. Picture's up and I am greeted with the playful camaraderie between two kids, with the little boy Dev biting little Paro's hand, followed by a scene in which the same brat argues with his father as to why he cannot address him by his pet name -- Sattu. One resounding slap later and Dev is packed off to London, where he magically evolves into a horny, pot-smoking, i-pod-toting cad (Abhay Deol). The little girl whose arm he had nibbled on earlier has now grown into a gorgeous young Paro (or Parminder, played by Mahi Gill). The childhood fondness has evolved with puberty into a teasing romance bathed in sexual innuendo. And when Paro consents to sending Dev a snapshot of herself naked, he promptly decides to head homeward (Kashyap's naughty lines are priceless in this scene). However, destiny intervenes by way of a gross misunderstanding, shattering the 'happily-ever-after' and giving us a story. In the ensuing misunderstanding, Dev shuns Paro, leading to her taking the rather severe step of getting married to a rich widower. Fraught with guilt, Dev begins to sink to the depths of alcoholic depression, as the frustrated loser begins to take shape. After one particularly violent bout with the bottle, Dev passes out and wakes up to find himself in the squalid interiors of a hotel in Delhi's neon-lit Pahar Ganj area. The third vital character in the plot, Chanda / Chandramukhi (played by Indo- French actress Kalki Koelchin) is introduced here. A former victim of a horrible MMS scandal, she now wears the persona of an in-demand, college-going prostitute who, when she is not bringing men to orgasms over the phone in Tamil, dresses up in a variety of imaginative outfits (ironically, one of them happens to be that of an 'all-American school girl') and engages in kinky role play with mama's boys. Through a delightfully slimy pimp Chunni (a fine performance by Dibyendu Bhattacharya), Dev is introduced to Chanda. In Chanda, Dev finds an outlet for his love for Paro, a comforting listener. Just as things begin to warm, Kashyap's tale veers off in a different direction from the original and... I shan't tell you more. Technically, Kashyap's 'Dev D.' is a visually delectable film against the psychedelic backdrop of sex, drugs and some Desi wedding band fare. Cinematographer Rajeev Ravi does a fine job of capturing the grittiness of Pahargunj – whether it be the grimy squalor of Dev's hotel or Chanda's lair drenched in shocking pink. The play with film speeds works particularly well in the heady drinking scenes as do the 'Requiem for a Dream'-like floating shots of a well-hammered Dev wandering back to his room in a chemical daze. Amit Trivedi's music (a bulky, multi-genre score that moves from folk to jazz to hard rock) is a solid character in itself, as it meanders through scenes, hitting the spot every time.The screaming reception his 'Emosanal Atyachar' got in the cinema hall,is testament that brassy wedding band fare can indeed be made to sound hip. The acting department is damn tight. Mahi Gill's Paro is a thrill to watch – a character perfectly aware of her sexuality and surprisingly expressive for her small-town background. Although Kalki Koelchin may run into rough patches with the accent and diction, her emotional scenes make up for it, especially in the film's second-half, as the relationship between her and Dev begins to evolve. Dibyendu Bhattacharya almost steals the show as Chunni (Kashyap's re-incarnation of the original Chunnilal) but in the end, it is Abhay Deol who takes the cake, champagne and the butter chicken home, playing the coke-snorting loser lover, with measured confidence and understated cool. The gentleman's acting chops are firmly in place and I am not surprised as to why everyone is raving about him. It would be good to see more of Mahi Gill, Kalki Koelchin and Dibyendu in the future.

So where lie the pitfalls then? For one, the film's length (a heady three hours) is overwhelming and Kashyap might have just managed to overcome this, had it not been for its extended trajectory that runs into an abrupt wall. Some might even argue that Trivedi's score drenches almost all the scenes in the film. But the pros far outweigh the cons here. For the most past, the film's characters are unabashedly honest and real. Kashyap's script-writing chops give us gems like the 'haldi' scene, the 'ticket' scene where Dev gets reprimanded by an old female co-passenger on the bus, after a particularly nasty alcoholic binge as well as Paro's delightfully ingenious solution to finding a venue for her and Dev to consummate their relationship (and the aftermath). Those of you familiar with the medical sitcom 'Scrubs', will take great pleasure in Kashyap's use of the aforementioned dancing boy trio for moments of random delight. ' Dev D.' is an important film to consume as we sit on the cusp of a more progressive Indian cinema – a sign of good things to come. You may not exactly fall in lust, as the film urges one to, but you will certainly want to discuss it, perhaps even fight over it.

Adaptations of literary works is a rarely ventured territory in Hindi cinema. Going a step further then, as Anurag Kashyap tries to adapt Saratchandra's Bengali classic and place it in the contemporary times, it is no less than a radical step for Hindi film industry. Kashyap's last film, 'No Smoking', was too complex for a regular cine-goer and it suffered as a result. This time around, in 'Dev. D', he has mellowed down in his style and treatment. The outcome, therefore is easy on the mind.

The story begins in the green landscapes of Punjab. Dev is the son of a rich businessman. Paro is his childhood friend. Unable to control Dev's notoriety, his father sends him to London for schooling. The childhood friendship of Dev and Paro blossoms into an adult, long-distance romance. Dev returns and wants to marry Paro but refuses when is blinded by the rumors of a local claiming Paro to be promiscuous. Paro marries a rich widower from Delhi. This sets off Dev on the road of drinking and self-destruction. On this road, he meets Chanda, a prostitute. In Kashyap's 'Dev.D' she also has a scarred history which include a scandalous MMS and father's suicide. Kashyap's Devdas takes a different route thereafter from the book that it is based on.

The first hour of the film is very rustic and rural in its look and feel. Paro (Mahie Gill) is raw, sharp and irresistible. It is easy to see why Dev (Abhay Deol) is floored by her. Some dialogs and situations are probably a bit bold for the Hindi audiences, almost bordering on the lewd, but that is Paro for you - all open for her Dev. It is only obvious then that she reacts with speed and vengeance, without giving Dev any time, when he breaks her heart. We are then introduced to the school girl Lenny (Kalki Koechlin) and witness her transformation to Chanda. All three characters converge in Delhi to set up the second half of the film.

Abhay Deol gets into the skin of Dev. He does not try to add any new dimension to his character but very naturally and effectively brings out the wasted Dev. Mahie Gill is fiery and probably lives out Paro as Kashyap would have wanted. Kalki is very convincing as her character traverses time and emotions.

The Devdas in Saratchandra's novel is a spineless character who cannot stand up to anybody. Kashyap's Dev is a little different. He decides and sticks to it but is weighed down by the consequences of his decisions, unable to bear the outcome. The climax establishes that he is by no way spineless. Kashyap goes to extremes to establish his characters. Dev upgrades to narcotics from alcohol. Paro is bursting with sexual energy, eager to consummate her love for Dev. Chanda is educated, multi-lingual and a realist, unlike the romantic in the book.

Anurag Kashyap's style is what I'd call collage film making. There are so many patches stitched together, it is difficult to carry an image outside the theater with you. All the energy of visuals and the bursts of music thrill you while you watch the film, but like a sparkler only for its lifetime. A very different film and worth your time and money.

That is Dev D for you. The question on everyone's mind prior to Dev D's release was, Is it going to be another "No Smoking"? Will Anurag Kashyap alienate the audiences yet again? Is it going to be self indulgent? Well, lets get the obvious stuff out of the way. This is not a typical commercial film that is tailor made for Indian audiences as the director and rest have touted it to be. Yes, it is more mainstream, yes it has more linear or conventional narrative as suppose to his previous effort, yes it is based on the novel "Devdas",cheap work of literature (almost pulp fiction) by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee which has been a source of inspiration for 9 previous efforts. But here is the kicker, this is not a remake of Devdas, but an interpretation of the original work in the context of Gen x.

Rooted in the real and the contemporary, Kashyap's film stars Abhay Deol as Dev, an aimless drifter who returns home to Punjab after a graduation abroad, but has little in terms of future plans, except for getting into the sack with his childhood friend Paro, with whom he's spent many a long night talking dirty on the phone. On learning that she might have had a promiscuous past, Dev rejects Paro and her advances, driving her to marry a man she doesn't love, and landing himself in a downward spiral of booze and drugs and whores.

Kashyap takes the basic structure of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's original story, but in setting it in the now, updates much of the film's narrative, and makes the characters' actions and motivations more understandable. So you get a back-story to the Chanda character, the hooker Dev hooks up with in his desperate, despondent phase; and sex itself becomes the invisible but omnipresent motivation that drives many an important plot-point.

Where most of the other versions of Devdas have failed, Dev D succeeds. The movie is not driven by caricatures or some puritanical, monogamous idea of love. It is a movie about lust, sex, loyalty and love in all its imperfections and complexities. This makes what is redundant story more relevant and poignant for the current audiences. The cinematography and the editing is top notch (however it could have been shorter by at least 20 minutes). The use of colors is some of the best I have seen in Hindi cinema since Bhansali's Saawariya. However, one major player is the narrative is the brilliant music by Trivedi. In many senses, Dev D is a musical in the way it uses songs and music to drive the narrative.

From the performances, it is Abhay Deol who comes out with flying colors with one the best performances in recent times. Abhay has carved a niche for himself with his choices of films but the jury was out on him in terms of his acting abilities. Well, he has laid a lot of them to rest with his arrogant, existential, flawed portrayal of Dev. His performance is more driven by his body language than spoken, subtle yet poignant. Mahie Gill is excellent in her debut effort bringing the external brazenness and internal vulnerability to Paro. Take that scene in which Paro(played by newcomer Mahie Gill) sends for Dev to join her in a dense field so they can get down to doing what they've been unsuccessfully trying to do for some days. Watch the manner in which she virtually attacks a reluctant Dev into submission; and then the following scene in which she heads back home, mattress folded and tied on her cycle,after Dev spurns her overtures. Kalki, in my opinion, was the weak link of the film and her back story was an hindrance to the narrative.

And finally Anurag Kashyap. What started out as a cult following for him as an accomplished non-mainstream filmmaker is slowly growing in stature, popularity and recognition. One of the finest filmmakers and a compulsive "contrarian" by nature, he is slowly starting to find some common ground. This movie is driven by his take on the subject and also his need to break all supposed norms associated with it. I hope he is less angry from hereon.

This movie follows story line of the famous novel Devdas by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Although many movies were made earlier on this story, this one is specially different. This movie looks totally different as opposed to the other movies. A special type of, what people would say, "Modern look" makes this movie different.

The main attraction of the movie is its screenplay. The sets (and the locations) help to make screenplay look better.

Abhay Deol's acting was awesome and as was the role representation of 'Chanda'. Every aspect of her character is highlighted in such a good manner that in some parts of the movie it looks like she is the lead character in the movie.

A bunch of songs in the movie eliminate the necessity of creating background scores separately.

On the top of everything, the direction of the movie is so good that predictability tends to zero, realism is maintained, suspense is maintained and all actors made to act to their best.

The main thing is EVERYTHING IN THIS MOVIE IS EXPLICIT.