Review: Dev D
DOPE AND GLORY
Everyone’s favourite literary loser turns to drugs in a beautifully textured, audaciously crafted drama.
FEB 8, 2009 – ANURAG KASHYAP’S MADLY STYLISED TAKE on Devdas begins with tongue firmly in cheek, as a title card informs us that Dev.D is “loosely inspired” by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel. This is the understatement of the year – unless Kashyap somehow inveigled access to the attic of the Bengali writer’s ancestral home, and stumbled upon a cobwebbed early manuscript where Chattopadhyay, possibly inflamed by his contemporary DH Lawrence, wrote cheerfully and fearlessly of fellating schoolgirls and multilingual phone-sex providers and girlfriends whose toes curl in orgasmic release upon listening to lurid entreaties from distant lovers. Despite its sadomasochistic subtext, Devdas is a largely chaste drama, and Kashyap (working on a concept from leading man Abhay Deol) reimagines the story by brushing aside its chastity and burnishing its kinks.
Even as a youngling with the barest wisp of a moustache, Dev shows healthy signs of both the sadism (pushing away the woman who loves him) and the masochism (pining for the woman whose love he cannot have) that will define him as a grownup. “Kaat loonga,” he warns a young Paro, who taunts him with her sass. “Noch loongi,” she retorts. This is how the deep love between them finds expression, through quasi-sexual threats of biting and clawing. Even the relationships are defined through a charmingly kinky conceit. Chanda (the Chandramukhi character, beautifully played by Kalki Koechlin) is, of course, literally a prostitute, but Kashyap contends that, metaphorically, everyone else is a slut too, an emotional whore who can be bought by the first person who showers loving attention.
Kashyap can get away with these scribblings on the margins because – as with Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar films – we know the barebones of the plot at the centre. And like Varma’s take on the Godfather saga, Dev.D is a series of punchy highlights, glossing over what is familiar, dawdling instead on whichever idiosyncratic grey area catches the filmmaker’s fancy. The lengthy flashback that details how Dev ends up in Chanda’s bed is a case in point: even as we wonder if we needed so much information about Dev’s descent into drinks and drugs, there’s a corner of the mind that delights in the carnival attractions of this virtuoso sideshow. (And who’s to say that the apparent aimlessness of this sequence doesn’t intentionally mirror the louche laxness of Dev’s life at that point?)
If nothing else, Dev.D is a breathtaking demonstration on how to render the most static of stories irresistibly dynamic. Kashyap lays his story out in loosely plotted chapters – first Paro’s, then Chanda’s, and finally Dev’s – and Amit Trivedi’s score (which is so astounding, it’s certain to go unnoticed at next year’s awards) glues everything together. At times, Dev.D appears nothing so much as an extended, psychedelic rock musical like The Wall, where the point isn’t narrative continuity or coherent character graphs but vivid existential videos set against simpatico music. Paro’s delight in Dev’s impending arrival from London finds exquisite expression in Dhol yaara dhol (in the lyrics, Man mein more hoonk uthi hai, koyal jaise kook uthi hai), while the truth that Dev still yearns for Paro is underlined as the wails of Nayan tarse fill the soundtrack.
The chapter about Paro (Mahie Gill) is the film’s emotional highlight. “Khatarnaak garmi hai uske andar,” a neighbour smirks, and Gill paints a stunning picture of this unapologetically passionate woman. The first time she tells Dev that she loves him is when she’s in heat, when he has her pinned against a wall within shouting distance of her conservative father. In an earlier era, Paro’s love for Dev would have been conveyed merely in emotional terms, but now, she lays out a mattress in the middle of a field so they can tear each other’s clothes off. And in the memorable scene that follows, the way she vents her frustrations on a handpump takes you back to academic discussions of films of the sixties, where no discourse was complete without a reference to possible phallic symbols. (Even the screen name she uses to chat with Dev is a leering come-on: Chammak challo.)
Chanda, in contrast to the excitable Paro, is preternaturally self-possessed for a girl still in her late teens. Again, in an earlier era, Chanda’s induction to a life of prostitution would have entailed the crafty wiles of a sweet-talking pimp, but now, someone who works at a brothel accosts Chanda and frankly informs her, “We have women from all over the world. Easy money.” That’s all it takes, and there’s not a moment Chanda bemoans the fate that’s befallen her. In that respect, she’s like the women around her. When Paro is married off to a widower, she barely registers the loss of a life with Dev. When the band hired to perform at the reception breaks into the long-anticipated Emotional atyaachar number, she begins to dance with such lusty abandon, her husband is taken aback by the firecracker he’s married.
Dev, meanwhile, is sulking upstairs, drinking straight from the bottle. If the women in Devdas are mature beyond belief, the man is an infant (never mind that he rolls his own cigarettes). It isn’t just that when he needs to go, while inside a bar, he rises and holds up a pinkie, like a little boy asking permission in class. And it isn’t just that his petulant rage is like that of a child who can’t bear to see his pet toys in the hands of anyone else. (He moves away from Paro when he suspects her of sleeping with someone else. He moves away from Chanda when she’s visited by a client and he realises that, this plaything too, isn’t fully his and his alone.)
Dev is an emotional infant because he needs, above all else, to be mothered. In one remarkable sequence, Paro storms into Dev’s dingy hotel room and transforms, in the blink of an eye, from paramour to parent. She clucks at the mess, orders him to bathe, replaces his dirty linen, cleans his room, and washes his clothes and hangs them out to dry. Elsewhere, when Dev drops off in Chanda’s bed, she unlaces his boots and looks on indulgently as she strokes his hair (thus, very literally becoming some sort of Madonna-whore). We’re informed that, as a child, Dev was coddled by his mother, and frequently in Dev.D, it appears that he’s merely looking for a replacement bosom in his lovers.
Is it any wonder, then, that Dev gradually becomes impotent? He checks into the room of a prostitute, and when she begins to disrobe, he enquires why she’s taking her clothes off. Drinks and drugs are all the excitement he can handle. Even his love is impotent. He whines to Paro about wanting to love her, and she shoots back witheringly that perhaps instead of simply wanting, he should go ahead and do something about it. (The line stings like a whiplash: “Log pyaar karte hain. Karna chahna kya hota hai?”) With his little-boy whine and that slow-spreading smile suggesting a head filled with naughty thoughts, Deol is perfectly cast as Dev. Even his lethargy as an actor suits the part (though it will be interesting to see what he’s capable of once he finally lands a non-slacker character).
And yet, perhaps it’s a bit much to expect uninterrupted audience investment when a lethargic actor settles a little too comfortably into a lethargic part. About two-thirds of Dev.D works marvellously, but once Dev is cut loose from his heroines, once he hits the road in vaguely introspective voyages of discovery (in other words, you could say Dev is battling his asuras), it appears that the film itself has been cut loose.
On their own, these portions constitute a significant chapter in the story of a man whose life is on the fast track to nowhere. But soon, Kashyap tethers these free-floating vignettes to disappointingly tangible motivational ends. At this point, he tweaks the original story structurally – earlier, the tweaks were more conceptual – and I didn’t buy these changes. I could go along with the public accident that Dev causes and his subsequent conviction – where, earlier, Devdas was a menace merely to himself and the ones he loves, Dev is now a menace to society – but the wake-up call, at the end, is an insult, a dreadfully inappropriate encroachment of morality and responsibility in a movie that was faring so well without these patronising qualities.
But despite these questionable choices – along with the occasional longueurs and the oddly rom-com-like will-Boy-and-Girl-get-together plotting – Dev.D is a very satisfying and engaging work of cinema. Like any self-respecting art film, it plays mystifying mind games with you. (The origami birds, the three men in hats, the face painted like a clown, the dog named after a brother, the nod to Alberto Moravia’s Contempt, which formed the basis for the Godard film – I’m sure all these mean something; I just haven’t decided what!) And like any self-respecting commercial film, it understands that it’s the emotions that are going to pull us into a story, and it doesn’t stint with scenes that make us feel. Despite the cold cleverness of its craftsmanship, Dev.D is suffused with warmth – not just from the loins, but also the hearts that lunge so nakedly at love.
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Awesome write up. Loved the first half, felt the second half was a bit scattered, and to me the climax was dissapointing. But overall it was a different experience altogether. And as you said am sure amit trivedi is going to be totally go unnoticed at the awards, for his mindblowing soundtrack. thought the cinematogrpahy was awesome too..
will you be reviewing Naan Kadavul any soon. Would love to read that too.
>>I could go along with the public accident that Dev causes and his subsequent conviction
Probably the 1st time I came across first person in your review. Right? Or simply the case of me noticing it for the 1st time? I think even Rajeev Masand had a somewhat first person type review of the movie…
Havent seen the movie. Meaning to catch it pretty soon.
Absolute stunner of a film. Refuses to leave my mind even after 6 hours.
Loved what Anurag Kashyap has done with the female characters. And it works very well to contrast with the Dev’s apprently weak and spineless character.
The three men in a hat were very interesting. I still can’t make out what they stood for. Maybe it is Anurag’s way of saying… you found No Smoking too abstract, now I’m giving you a film you can very well understand, but let me just have a little fun and indulge myself a wee-bit
The nod to Contempt might be a very personal reference (something like the Pakhi Pakhi song in the No Smoking BGM)…A screenwriter whose marriage is not all too well…..maybe I’m just seeing too much into casual references, but that’s the beauty of such films. They keep you occupied
I guess its something which brings out all yor wounds.. all festering wounds you had thoight you’d buried deep down under… when Dev hugs Chanda, telling her all will be well, it somehow brings hot tears to your eyes… as if its not just Chanda whose world is upside down… but yours too…
Aieeeeeee! I can’t wait to watch. And I haven’t felt that way for a Hindi movie for a long time. Who knew I’d feel it for an Abhay Deol movie?!
The change in Dev’s outlook was rather badly written and executed like it was almost an afterthought. It just failed to register. Anyways, I’m ready to forgive that for this amazing movie. Over two Fridays we have two leads in a Hindi movie who are really self centered. i had made a rather passing comment that I identified to an eerie degree with vikram jai singh in Luck By Chance. And Anurag’s Dev is someone who is obsessed about self.
Absolute stunner of a write-up
@Amrita: I ALWAYS feel that way for an Abhay Deol movie.
Rangan,
I would disagree with you about the ending of the movie. The opening credit acknowledgement of Danny Boyle may explain the twist in the ending. Many of Boyle’s movies take you through hell only to have you leave the theater on an optimistic note. Also the visual brilliance of the movie is a clear ode to Boyle’s stylish cinema.
I absolutely loved the movie, though here in NYC the movie is only 190 min long.
sorry 130 minutes long!!
Totally off topic, but did you listen to Sivamani’s album Mahaleela?
I would be surprised if trivedi is ignored. Now, abhay deol – that guy might be ignored.
Ignoring will happen to ir and naan kadavul come the natl awards
I have no sympathy for bollyewood types feeling they might be ignored – pray how, even an ‘art’ film maker like kashyap is all in your face everywhere . So we may hate you but ignoring is something you cannot masochistically cry about for some time now.lot of attention, some deserved , some undeserved is showered upon bollywood films
Unfortunately for me Dev D is only playing in something like four screens in the US. But I’ve been listening to the soundtrack constantly.
KPV Balaji: Haven’t seen Naan Kadavul yet. Won’t do a review, but hopefully Between Reviews piece.
rbehemoth: I think I’ve used the first person earlier too.
Amrita: But this man has consistently made some of the most interesting choices of the past few years.
Rohit: I didn’t have a problem with the twist. What felt odd was the “sudhar jaa beta” stuff. It felt a wee bit odd in a story like this, some sort of last-minute redemptive jolt.
paadhi: Nope. Is it good?
raj: It’s truly fascinating how pretty much anything can set off a rant from you
Excellent review Rangan !!! Has been quite a fortnight eh,gettin to review LBC and DevD back to back…Guess you very rarely get to review 2 great indian movies one after the other
!
Dev D totally blew me away ! Would like to know your take on the soundtrack in more detail… I felt it was stunning…
The 3 hatted men,The Twilight Players were uber cool !
Totally awesome movie, and an equally great review – somehow, this page matches my own sensibilities most, most of the time!! It feels good to know and hear other folks also appreciating a movie that you liked so much. More so, when it’s highly likely that the movie will be a dud at the BO.
//”Dev is an emotional infant because he needs, above all else, to be mothered…”
…and ironically in another scene he hugs Chanda and says ‘jo hua so hua’ as she hopes her own father should have done…
Kalki speaking tamil got a lotta cheers from the crowd here !
! Wonder if she’d fit anywhere into the scheme of things in kollywood 
“raj: It’s truly fascinating how pretty much anything can set off a rant from you ”
Not if you try to see the logic in what I say- that wasnt much of a rant as a statement of fact.
Anurag Kashyap has got enough attention for a man who hasnt made a popular film till now – not that I am dissing his films but the discussion was on the attention they get not the films themselves.
I am pigeon holed here but that shouldnt bother me – for the same reason as above
Mind Blowing Movie!!
Its pretty obvious that Mr. Deol only chooses roles that he knows would suit his original character, but I don’t have a problem with that as far as the movie is good.
I would agree with Aditya, the movie does not leave your mind even after hours.
Hats off to Anurag Kashyap, and Abhay Deol too.
I always knew that the movie would be good after I saw “Special Thanks to Danny Boyle” , at the start of the movie..
Trainspotting was one of ma favorites, and now Dev D too is in the list…
This is the first movie after almost 2 years for which I’m going through the reviews and taking the pain to actually right a response…
Keep up the Good Work…
non-slacker character
Does not Lucky in Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye! qualify for that?
What do you mean by a non-slacker character?
Pinned down ass in one frame and jumping up and fastly spinning in the immediate successive frames?
I guess, some people hate that a drunken rich spoilt rash driver is romanticised in this movie.
Double thanks to you for keeping out actors’/creators’ personal lives out of the movie reviews.
BR: Wonderful piece, as always! Was quite happy to see that the film is getting positive reviews (Subhash K Jha, Nikhat, Raja Sen)! I saw it today and found that one viewing is not sufficient to understand the layers and sub text, which brings a thought to my mind. Isn’t it indulgence on the part of film-makers to pack in so much that the viewer is not able to decipher everything first time?
Mind you, I really enjoyed the film and thought it was very engaging, but why does Anurag have to pack so much?
Off-topic alert:
What do you think about another ‘astounding’ soundtrack– Dilli-6? Surely, Rahman’s best work in recent memory. Who else can fuse jazz, latino music, rap, indian classical and sufi kawallis seamlessly into one album. One is tempted to say of Rahman, ‘Rehna Tu, hai jaisa Tu…’
Great movie, with all three leads doing great job especially Mahie gill looking beautiful and wonderfull acting. Mr Deol should get award for his performance and also Anurag Kashyap for coming up with great idea!
5* by TOI is fully justified !!! Someone needs great courage to make movie like this.
Good Movie
Great writing, I’m so glad you’re there putting so many things into words so well and helping me be able to think about them myself.
I wasn’t a fan of the SLB version, but I appreciated his including the sado-masochism that runs through the story, and then again very satisfied to see Anurag K never taking his/our eye off of that. To me all those beating, lash marks, scars in the “young love story” give it a lot of its character, so in spite of etc – I thought the movie got an essence of the book and got it good!!
And I think I agree with you in disappointment with apparently softened-up ending. Wonder why he did that.
Arun: reg. “Guess you very rarely get to review 2 great indian movies one after the other” – I swear. What an unexpected bonanza. And there’s Delhi-6 a couple of weeks away
About the soundtrack, it’s going to take me a while to put it away. Will write about it in “detail” if I get the time.
Anand: Reg. “Isn’t it indulgence on the part of film-makers to pack in so much that the viewer is not able to decipher everything first time?” But anything that aspires to be art needs to be grappled with, right? I don’t mind seeing these films over and over. Where I get frustrated is that when I write a review, I don’t have the luxury of multiple viewings and sometimes my conclusions can sound quite stupid. For instance, with further viewings, I may find that the ending is perfect for the film, but now, all I have to go with is that first impression or gut-feeling.
Vivek Gupta: I mentioned this in an earlier post. Delhi-6 is excellent stuff. But reg. “Who else can fuse jazz, latino music, rap, indian classical and sufi kawallis seamlessly into one album.” Heard the Dev.D soundtrack from Amit Trivedi? That’s equally varied, equally accomplished.
And besides, this sort of thing also depends on the film and the situations, no? I think Rakeysh Mehra is a music director’s dream, someone who knows what he wants and pushes hard for it. Earlier, there was the superb soundtrack for RDB (which I think is one of Rahman’s best ever), and even before that, Aks, which was quite surprisingly rocking for an Anu Malik album. I thought it was due to Ranjit Barot’s influence, but now I feel Mehra may have had a big hand in it too.
One director I’d like Rahman to work with is Bhansali (preferably with Gulzar as lyricist). That man, too, really knows his music and it’d be great to see what this combination produces. Btw, after the BAFTA win, we’re that much closer to an Oscar win, no?
I’ve been trying to explain Dev D.’s climax to myself in a way that makes sense. Your interpretation is the most obvious one, of course.
I think the climax is rushed – perhaps some elucidation was necessary. For the rest of the movie, the pace was fine because we knew the story. The pace didn’t work here.
But I noticed that half-way through the song ‘Ek Hulchul Si’ (which sounds like something out of RDB), Dev, wandering around the city doing exactly nothing, starts to look faintly ridiculous. He has TOLD himself he needs to wake up, but how? He does this the same way he’s done most things – throwing himself into it without real forethought. The ‘happy ending’ is merely an ending of possibility.
Of course, all this rationalisation still leaves me with a feeling of unease. But I can like the movie better this way.
haven’t seen the film…but the soundtrack has set me on fire…nayan tarse…payaalia (the corny male backing vocal
)…pardesi…and obviously emotional atyachar…this trivedi guy is mind blowing…
What a brilliant film, and a fantastic review too, Rangan. Thanks. Unlike you, I totally bought the ending and Dev’s wake-up call — it looked so real it felt like a documentary. But I felt the back stories were a little contrived, it looked like these things were happening just to move the story along to the point where the real drama begins. I mean Dev and Paro’s childhood and subsequent Internet flirting (come on, they separated when they were kids, and that level of sexuality in their correspondence?) and also Chanda’s parent’s attitude to the scandal. It didn’t ring true for the class of society they belong to. But small quibbles aside, the film really hit me viscerally. Really can’t stop thinking about it.
What facts do we have? Three.
1. Anurag Kashyap changed the ending of the original devdas. In here, Dev lives on.
2. Anurag Kashyap’s Dev ends up staying with Chanda, and she brings redemption in a way. Then there is that line when D sees the car accident and says, “Bach gaye beta”.
3. Anurag Kashyap is going out with that girl, Kalki.
My presumptions:
1. No Smoking was about K, who was Anurag Kashyap himself.
2. No Smoking is a subset of Dev D. It is Dev’s view of the world, the nightmares that he sees.
Dev D is a far more personal film than you are giving it credit for. You cannot separate Anurag Kashyap and his film. He is the only possible director in India whose movie should carry the warning , An Anurag Kashyap Movie. Because it IS Anurag Kashyap’s movie, and it is the way it is ,interpreted the way it has been because well, it IS Anurag Kashyap’s film.
Anurag Kashyap did say that he wanted to make a love story before Dev D. This IS his love story.
Brilliant review! You do justice to the film completely.
BTW, what was the reference of joker? Heath Ledger?
Wow. Take that for a movie. This is how one should blend art and commerce in a Hindi film. Just got the kicks of watching cinema.
Naan Kadavul was kind of dissapointing. The main culprit looks like the censor board. Guess there were several cuts..i guess..making.. the editing look very hapazard. The acting was good and music/BGM by IR was awesome as usual. The story line was a very simple one..with the back drop and charectersiations kinda new . Wonder how the movie got only UA rating…the beggars part looked very realistic and documentarish. But as a movie on the whole it did not give the impact as balas other movies. Wonder why the movie was three years in the making ..Waiting to read your take on the movie
Shrabonti: It’s not the ending that bothered me so much as the way it was arrived at. There was an aspect of it that almost felt tacked on, along with a queasy “moral” element that was refreshingly absent in the rest of the film.
KPV Balaji: Just caught it today. I really liked a lot of it. The underlying conceit, I thought, was mind-blowing. I had some problems with the way it all came together, but nothing that diminished my overall experience of the film.
Not sure if you checked this out on why Danny Boyle was credited in the movie…
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2009/02/09/4824/index.html
“The story line was a very simple one..with the back drop and charectersiations kinda new”
That’s Bala’s standard formula for you.
Well, I don’t know, Anurag Kashyap might make films which are three times more watchable than Bollywood pot-boilers, but his apparent overuse of sexuality in this film is a bit unpalatable, as if it’s there just to pull in people with sleaziness and shock.
Reading this : “Kashyap can get away with these scribblings on the margins because – as with Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar films – we know the barebones of the plot at the centre.”
There’s a great possibility of people, a thousand years from now, taking all these stories, repeatedly recast and delivered, as actual events which happened! Indicating, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bible all being best sellers of their times, and sticking on because they’re such timeless stories!
Rangan,
You are crazy. Taran Adarsh the famous critic gave 1 star to this film. He calls it No Smoking II. Now that’s some thing. I loved No Smoking so I guess this will be even more enjoyable.
cheers
loony
About the ending: Any near death experience will make you analyze your past and will force to you to mend your ways. In that respect the ending can be justified.
Rohit: It is not only the near death experience – the incidents prior to that also shows a change in attitude. When Dev goes to the Himalayas, he stops the journey midway and tells the biker to ‘bas..take him back to delhi’. Also there is one scene where the bar owner beats him up as Dev does not have money to pay up. And when someone throws him the coin he leaves his arrogance aside and picks it up and uses it to call Chanda. I think all scenes have significance, like BR said I have not figured out the signigficance of a few.
BTW, how did you like the end title (upside down and turns around – it is as if to indicate that the director has turned around the Saratda novel).
Shashikant: “reference of a joker” -IMO, Chanda paints him as a sad clown, like she sees him. Thats it. Dev and Chanda are two ends of the line…both of them undergo pain, and Chanda therefore emapathises with Dev(and thats the primary reason why she falls for him, even in the original), and Dev is too selfish to do so!
Waiting for your between reviews on Naan Kadavul, is that happening this week ???
@vijay
I was expecting something very abstract and totally new from this movie
Botnet: reg. “but his apparent overuse of sexuality in this film is a bit unpalatable” – But all this is so tastefully (and understatedly) done. You’d find more raunch in the average item number.
KPV Balaji: No, next week. This week, I’ve written about Nagesh.
“Delhi-6 is excellent stuff.”
Excellent?! Is that what you thought about this soundtrack? Rahman can create an excellent soundtrack or two when dozing off in the front row of the oscar ceremony while his name is being announced for the oscar nominations. This is beyond excellent, at least adorn it with an ‘astounding’:).
I haven’t had the good fortune of listening to DevD soundtrack in its entirety yet mainly because my local indian store would rather overstock Himesh Reshmiyya remixes. I caught some snippets of it and liked it. BTW, are you saying that the first time efforts of a young musician (however talented) are in the same league as that of one of Madras maestro’s best albums? This Trivedi guy must be outrageously good then or perhaps, you are just being a little overzealous on seeing an exciting new talent on the horizon;)
still havnt seen the film…but want to catch it only for the review…it reads more delicious than the film seems to be…
“Rahman can create an excellent soundtrack or two when dozing off in the front row of the oscar ceremony while his name is being announced for the oscar nominations”
Not sure. Rahman is a genius no doubt. But his whole philosophy precludes this from happening
1) He works in nights only
2) He works, reworks, juggles sounds, does QA work on the output, tries various combinations, and then selects the best out of them
Do you think this can be done in a dozing interval? I think it is someone else who is famous for forming a whole compostion in his mind including detailed notes for each instrument without even actually listening to it being played once. Now, who is that someone else? Who is it? Who is it? Guess!
Actually I should have said QC instead of QA
Baddy, did you ever get to listen to OM? The genesis is there to see…
Vivek Gupta, in response to “Rahman can create an excellent soundtrack or two when dozing off in the front row of the oscar ceremony while his name is being announced for the oscar nominations”…I’m not so sure!! That requires spontaneity, right?
Never mind, my response is out of context and you might not understand where I’m coming from!!
It’s just that I couldn’t resist 
BTW, I will be applauding vociferously when ARR gets his Oscar (or two)!
Vivek Gupta: Right, it’s astounding, c’est magnifique
That Arziyaan song slays me every time. For all of Rahman’s genius with shaping the sound of his songs, I still love his pure melodies the most. But do give a listen to the entire Dev D soundtrack. I listened to it a number of times before/after the film, and it holds up extremely well as both a standalone album and a companion piece for the film.
Shankar: Haven’t listened to OM yet. Did you say he was the lead singer?
Baddy, the lead singer was Shriram Iyer…Amit did the keyboards.
BR: Totally off topic with respect to RDB and rakesh om prakash mehra..read the movie is inspired/copied from jesus de montreal..?? how true is this piece of info ??
Raj: Judging by the numerous discussion threads that I have come across on Rangan’s blog since I started visiting this website a year ago, I would guess that the Beethovan to Rahman’s Mozart is Illayaraja. Or may be, if what you say is correct, it should be the other way around with IR being the Mozart, for it is Beethovan who is known to painstakingly carve his music with the diligence of a fine sculptor, whereas Mozart is said to have just plucked his notes from a tree of music that existed only for his eyes.
Rangan: Will you be doing a review of Dilli-6 soundtrack? It is just so ‘magnifique’, especially the song Rahna Tu which seems to have found a permanent abode in my head, refusing to leave it even for a minute.
Dil Gira Dafatan, Masakali, Rehna Tu are my top picks as of now. If at all Rahman manages to top this effort this year in any album, he might as well chuck his Oscar in the nearest bin outside Panchathan Inn.It would’nt matter.
Vivek Gupta, what raj says is 100% true…this is an amazing ability of IR. People who have seen this have been astounded by this prowess.
Why not do a special piece for the Dev D soundtrack!! It is as good as (and even better in places than) Delhi-6 soundtrack. Why not give the new kid more words of appreciation!!
Hey, thanks for the review. Yes that VO was an afterthought after the first few previews a lot of them, infact all of them didn’t get it and i was a bit scared of NS happening allover again at BO.
thanks a lot, have always looked forward to your reviews on all the movies.
Vivek Gupta: Actually, the Rahman-Mozart equation holds true when it comes to being recognised for one’s genius in one’s lifetime and so on, but in terms of prolificity or compositional STYLE, I still wonder why TIME linked Rahman with Mozart, instead of going with even someone like Schoenberg (to pick a name out of a hat), who did a lot to veer music away from pre-established styles. That is Rahman’s great achievement, that he pioneered a style that’s entirely his own (like RD Burman did earlier in Hindi, and others did in Tamil), and I don’t quite know who would be a world “equivalent”. Someone like the great Brian Eno in the pop/rock recording industry, perhaps? All things considered, I’m amazed Rahman hasn’t won a Grammy yet. That I thought would be his real big award, though I’m not complaining about the Oscar he’s surely going to get either
Tejas: I wanted to do something on the soundtrack when I first heard it – but never got around to it. I don’t want to get around to comparing it with Delhi-6, but what helped Trivedi make such a mark in a year ARR came out with easily his strongest album in a while is that he got such a diverse set of situations to work around, and such a unique story/concept. And he made masterful use of this opportunity.
“Actually, the Rahman-Mozart equation holds true when it comes to being recognised for one’s genius in one’s lifetime ”
I’m not sure if Mozart was recognisedd in his own lifetime.
BTW, no response to Anurag Kashyap? Preparing a big reply, eh?
But AK is only the second film-maker(third, if you consider Milind Rau) here. I think the Manorama guy was happy with your review, too.
If someone from Bollywood actually reads you and respects you, it had to be this guy.
BR, Zakir Hussain’s just got a Grammy! Asha Bhonsle has got one, too.
)
Oscar is mindblowing because it’s out of the blue. Given that it has to be tied to a movie, it was much less likely than Grammy, so it is only apt that Rahman being the outstanding Indian musician he is, started off with Oscar. Special people get special recognition (though some really special people get no recognition, thats a different story
“he tweaks the original story structurally – earlier, the tweaks were more conceptual – and I didn’t buy these changes”.
This is one place where I would disagree with you, the changes brought to the story worked perfectly for me-may be Anurag wanted to show that Sarathchandra’s Devdas was entirely mythical whose tale filmmakers before him(most notably Bhansali) tried presenting as a ‘hard-luck-story’, intending to create sympathy for the character.
Here, perhaps he wanted to make him seem more real, more believable. Maybe he explored his character a bit more and felt that the inherent love Dev feels for Paro was a mirage, it was only a means to satisfy his ego(here his sexual appetite).
Another way this could be perceives is-Devdas couldn’t have ended his life as such in self-destruction. Perhaps he would have felt ashamed seeing someone else acting as a mirror of his own personality and decided to move ahead.
This brought perfect poetic climax to the otherwise half-baked, sobby and insolently self-destructive Devdas we are so used to seeing.
Could you make something out of the images of women(goddess Kali, a cabre dancer, the grotesque face which would remind one of Lynch’s movies) painted on the wall sir?
“Dev is now a menace to society – but the wake-up call, at the end, is an insult, a dreadfully inappropriate encroachment of morality and responsibility in a movie that was faring so well without these patronising qualities.”
Can’t morality(in small doses) be good for the movie sir?
‘…what helped Trivedi make such a mark in a year ARR came out with easily his strongest album in a while is that he got such a diverse set of situations to work around, and such a unique story/concept. And he made masterful use of this opportunity.’
I believe I read somewhere that Anurag Kashyap was so blown by the music that Amit Trivedi composed…he decided to include all his compositions in the movie and turned Dev D into a musical…and wasn’t it a mindblowing integration.
Though its certainly coincidental that Amit Trivedi’s Dev D happened right when ARR came up with one of his best composition in a while…I still think you should come up with a piece on the music of Dev D as rarely does an Indian movie come up with such integration of music into the overall structure of the movie…where almost all the songs worked.
Cheers,
Rahul
BR: This is the second time I’m seeing a director leaving a comment on your blog….if I recall correctly, the last one was Navdeep Singh of MSFU.
Aditya/raj, I remember Gautam Menon leaving a comment as well (and lashing out on Vijay…uncalled for in my opinion!!)
Quite amusing..this…:)
http://passionforcinema.com/wtf-is-masakalli/
@Rangan sir
I have a major doubt in the basic plotting of this film….
Did Paro actually sleep with Sunil (manager) before or not ?? Was Sunil just cooking up stories ?? :O
Please clarify this one…. Really looking forward to your reply…. Regards!
This one can be attempted by others too, if they please.
The signature shot of Chanda crossing her legs in a sofa with a sutta in a hand is so Deja Vu of a 1990 international hollywood blockbluster!
Shankar, see, even I remember Bollywood directors more
@ Rohit
Starring a certain SS ?
BRangan: I second Rahul. Please, a post on Dev D. the Musical.
Hari: I’m not a big fan of moral lessons in the movies in general, and I found it especially frustrating when a gleefully iconolclastic movie gave in to such “correctness” at the end. And as I explained earlier, it’s not the end that bothered me so much as the way it was arrived at.
B.H.Harsh: It appeared that he was just cooking up stories. Hence the vehemence of her reaction.
@Rangan sir
Then What is Paro referring to when she goes to him and asks for his room’s keys ?
Her lines went something like this…
‘Saale tere liye maine….”
And she stops, as if she is about to say something secretive…
Or May be i read too much between the lines….
@Rangan sir
Another scene where that Manager is drunk and says all that..
Generally, a Person is most forthright when he is drunk. So I took that as a truth. Really strange.. !!
Even I’m kinda confused due to that particular scene, where she asks for the keys.
I wonder what Paro meant where she asks him if she has refused him for ANYTHING ever..
Makes the basic premise of the film doubtful for me… Regardless, of having loved it, still want to clarify this point.
“(though it will be interesting to see what he’s capable of once he finally lands a non-slacker character). ”
You still haven’t seen Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, have you?
Kiran: A friend of mine had the same question. She wanted to know how Paro knew Sunil had a room that was readily available. I guess I didn’t give much thought to this aspect, because Paro seemed to be asking for keys to a place just like anyone that wanted a makeout den would.
Adithya: Eeps, no!
Saw the making of the movie just now…..the final words by the maker left me mystified…..he said “I think this is my most accessible film”
I said to myself “this man is not just an intelligent filmmaker, he is also an intelligent wordsmith”
He could not have been truer to himself and to us than that:
Paanch, due the indifferent attitude of the censors and the other authorities and also many other reasons, never got released.
Black friday was lying in the cans for 3 years and when it released, not many people got to see it in the theatre as it did not find many distributors.
No smoking was a truly “catch me if you can and in the way you want to” movie, the most esoteric of the ones made by him.
“Return of Hanuman”, which in my opinion was the most intelligent Indian animation movie made(there have not been many made here anyway) was again a victim of bad timing(in terms of release) and mishandling by the distributors and the makers. That it released just 2-3 months after ‘no smoking’ didn’t help its’ cause either.
So, when I heard those words from him, which were conveyed with an intelligent smile, he surely left me gaping.
Kiran, Harsh: I’m still not sure abt Paro sleeping with Suneil. But we have this from Kashyap from the rediff chat transcript:
raghav asked, wanted to know if you really approve paru bedding with another guy in the absence of Dev
Anurag Kashyap answers, I don’t know. It’s her choice isn’t it?
And again,
hatewar asked, But I did not understand the converstaion between paro and the guy who tells Dev that he had sex with paro. It seems like u were trying to create some intimacy between paro and that Guy. but later nothing in the movie supports it.? Please explain.
Anurag Kashyap answers, I don’t know what happened between them. Paro knows best
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2009/feb/10sli1-anurag-kashyap-chat.htm
Absolutely amazing adaptation of the original Devdas to a modern day Dev D. Anurag Kashyap has done complete justice to the characters and has given us a cinematic masterpiece. Needless to say, all the actors did a great job. Abhay Deol surprises us with every film.
I was a bit ambivalent about the end but I figured AK flipped around so much of the story, why not this? This Paro seems to be in love with the thought of being in love – so she settles down matter-of-factly, unlike the earlier Paros who pined away – even her later encounter with Dev is an ego-boost (after telling him what his aukad is, she can return to her life, quite satisfied). Chanda is strong and comfortable in her skin and unlike the earlier Chandramukhis, she doesn’t try to change him or to sacrifice for him. Dev’s father is not opposed to Dev marrying Paro – that was a great touch – so he really has no one to blame but himself. The one thing he has in common with the earlier Devs is that they are all spoilt brats with a strong sense of entitlement, weak willed and needing women to look after them. I thought the BMW touch was quite unnecessary – but it also frames how his epiphany is less to do with remorse than a sudden, belated streak of self-preservation – he is horrifed at the thougt of almost dying – that he killed so many is irrelevant. Even his epiphany is a self-centred one.
In form and content, this must be one of the most sophisticated Hind movies made.
Anurag Kashyap is single handedly altering the landscape of modern Indian Cinema. Maybe Shekar Kapoor could have done so too, provided he would have stayed back here, but Kashyap is keeping the flame burning and in trying circumstances.
First it was Satya, a tightly plotted very real underworld saga and then Kaun, a daring experiment at that time. Black Friday was an elegant and thrilling effort at documentary style of filmmaking. Paanch had no takers in the Censor Board, Gulaal took 5 years in the making, No Smoking found no takers and now finally, thankfully he has stamped the cobwebs out of our insipid, uncreative Bollywood machinery with Dev D.
Thus opening the door for a veritable cornucopia of dazzling effort that will come our way soon.
Radhika: reg. “(after telling him what his aukad is” – I loved how this word if used by different people at different times. First, Paro uses it to put Sunil in his place/station. Then she pays for her insensitivity when Dev uses the word to put her in her place (after his night with Rasika). Finally, in her final scene, Paro gets sweet revenge when she asks Dev to be in his aukad. Beautiful circular construction
@Vikas Bhargava
I am surprised you rate Shekar Kapur so high. He has directed a grand total of three Hindi films
and I dont think any of them really stand out.
Masoom – Hardly original (I liked it though)
Mr India – Utter Crap
Bandit Queen – OK.
SK is more hype than substance just like SLB and VVC.
Cheers
Loony
Re the aukaad loop – yeah, i liked that too. in the end, before dev has his epihany, he replays the latter 2 aukaads in his head and perhaps that’s when he figured he never saw Paro clearly – as he tells Chanda later. The original Devdas had a class/caste focus – I liked how AK has used aukad in both that aspect as well at a more individual level of personal ability – Dev not only refers to her father’s job but also to her looks, and she takes a potshot at his abilites in bed.
I absolutely loved your writeup, almost as much as the movie!
Props to Anurag Kashyap for taking such an audacious, unflinching look at the lives of its characters through a magnifying glass of kitsch. What’s more satifying is the spice and guts Kashyap’s Paro and Chanda are so full of, the flotsam that is Dev- the flaws are glorious! After so long, a movie takes synesthetic pleasures in characters who are far from perfect and have no qualms about it.
Found the moral compulsions built into the ending a little bothersome…but overall, what a movie!
So, so excited that film makers now have commercial outlets for such storytelling, and more importantly, we as audiences are willing to take our blinders off!
Did u observe that he uses the hotel name boards to convey something (ala kamalhaasan’s pushpak).
For example The Hotel Where chanda stays is HOTEL GRAND but Kashyap’s cameraman cut’s the G and shows only the “RAND” and later Dev and chanda talk about how people nowadays call it Commercial sex worker and not Randi
i have written more such interesting data that i found in DEV D in my blog http://www.ishallreview.tk Do check out.
ps: The blog is a wannabe brangan act
Oh , what a film. Absolute pleasure.
Anurag Kashyap and Abhay Deol continue to delight.
And whats wrong with sex,drugs and violence if flimed with such pizzaz.
Re- thanking Danny Boyle ., there was a shot in the film when Dev D collapses onto the bed not knowing where he is – its an exact replica of a shot from Trainspotting and also from a video by Prodigy.
[...] – Dope and Glory [...]
I know this board is long dead,but I saw this movie only last weekend.
First I felt that when the movie has been reproduced with such cynical,hedonist and materialistic characters, the idealistic love of Dev and Paro towards each other around which the story has been woven seems out of place.
But then I thought that may be Anurag Kashyap is trying to offer us the interpretation that Dev D did not become an alcoholic because he got spurned in love. He had other,bigger issues for eg. narcissism ,being deprived of family for a long time,whatever.
What do you think about this?
Brilliant review…my writeup here:)
http://masterpraz.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/master-prazs-thoughts-on-dev-d-hindi-2009/
i think you see metaphors where there are none. you’ve made the flick out to be something it’s not.
A year has passed since Dev D’s release and I came back to re-read your review after my nth repeat viewing of the movie…Neither Anurag nor Baradwaj can disappoint…such is the power of detailing. Watching Anurag blow a kiss to Kalki as she picked up her Filmfare award was an enormously touching moment…her so radiant and comfortable, him happy yet wan in a battle-weary kind of way.