| Producer | Ronnie Screwvala |
| Director | Anurag Kashyap |
| Music Director | Pritam |
| Cast | Mahi Gill, Abhay Deol, Kalki |
Movie Reviews
Theres a major difference between K.L. Saigal, Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Abhay Deols Devdas. The first three films were faithful to Sarat Chandras legendary novella, while Anurag Kashyaps deviant take on Devdas is contemporary and in the process, differs from the original work.
In Kashyaps DEV D, Dev is into drugs and vodka. Paro sends her nude pic to Dev via email and later, wants Dev to have sex with her in the fields. Chanda, a hooker, indulges in phone sex mainly. Clearly, Kashyaps Dev, Paro and Chanda are audacious and rebellious.
Theres no harm if you pick up an enticing story and tell it your way, but Kashyap goes a bit too far, crosses all limits and tends to get abstract once again. And thats the reason for DEV Ds downfall.
To Kashyaps credit, a number of individualistic scenes are interestingly handled. Unfortunately, the proceedings gyrate from absorbing to boring to yawn-inducing. The writing [screenplay: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane] lacks consistency.
So whats the final word? Does Kashyap redeem himself after the boring and listless NO SMOKING? Unfortunately, he doesnt. Watching DEV D is akin to doing atyachaar on oneself!
Son of a rich industrialist, who is sent away to London when he was 12, Dev [Abhay Deol] returns to his hometown and to Paro [Mahi Gill], his childhood sweetheart. Inseparable as they seem, a misunderstanding puts their lives in a tizzy; Paro is married off to someone else and Dev goes into severe depression.
Not one to take on responsibilities for his acts, Dev digs deep into drugs and alcohol for salvation. He stays away from home, but his finances still come from a doting father.
Lenny [Kalki] likes to live her life on the edge -- a rich student with a penchant for adventure. After a devastating MMS scandal, shes abandoned by her family and is forced into isolation. As a runaway, she finds shelter with Chunni, a pimp. With great determination and inner strength she adopts an alter ego -- Chanda.
As Chanda, she gets to be a high profile escort by night, while Lenny remains a college student by day. At this juncture, Dev enters her life…
Despite the fact that you know the basic plotline of DEV D even before the reels begin to unfold, what youre keen to know is, how has Kashyap executed the subject? The sequences between Dev and Paro at the start are captivating and the volatile relationship they share makes you realize that Kashyap is on the right track. Note the altercation between Dev and Paro, which prompts Paro to marry Bhuvan, whos much older to her, besides being a father of two.
Post Paros marriage, DEV D starts going downhill. Lenny/Chandas MMS scandal is straight out of life and the reasons that make her turn into a hooker are well explained. But the sequences between Dev and Chanda lack fizz. Equally sad are the scenes between Dev and Chunni. Besides, theres not much movement in the story after a point and the goings-on get boring. The journey to the climax is prolonged and tedious.
Amit Trivedis music sounds good to the ears. Emosanal Attyachaar is already popular, besides a couple of other songs [Nayan Tarse and Pardesi]. But therere too many songs in the narrative. Rajeev Ravis cinematography captures the rustic look of North India well.
Abhay Deol is natural. Mahi is decent, while Kalki shows sparks in a few scenes only. The balance cast, including the actor playing Chunni, are strictly okay.
On the whole, DEV D is NO SMOKING II. Does one elaborate more?
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