Film: Dev D

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill, Kalki Koechlin

Rating: 3.5/5

After hearing the story of Devdas and the two women in his life, one wondered how different can different really be. Kashyap as usual surprises as he brings to life the character of Devdas, Chandramukhi and Paro to life only this time with a twist.

Dev D is what you would simply call a stylish and scholarly film. It begins with a bang, it's as urban as can be and then somewhere down the line begins losing it but luckily before all is lost the film ends.

Like in all the versions in this one too Dev (Abhay Deol) and Paro (Mahi Gill) are madly in love with each other, only this time love with a whole lot of lust. The spin begins when a little slime ball ruins things between them and off Paro goes to get married with another man.

Lost in love, Dev turns to alcohol and drugs. After a lot many pills and alcohol, achieving a high, he lands up at young Lenny's aka Chanda's (Kalki Koechlin) quarters, a prostitute by profession and a student by will. What ensues is the exploration of three sinuous lives and the rediscovery of love.

What's great about Dev D is the fact that it isn't pretentious; it weaves reality, acknowledges the fact constantly that the plot is in fact motivated from Devdas and showcases an alternate youth culture.

Dev D is extremely well written and what it's evident that Kashyap knows film. In a sense Dev D is India's first recent film that can be showcased, understood and appreciated internationally. It is as stylistic just as it is well scripted.

What you see is an experimentation of different styles from various other films, which amalgamates to make one strong film. For example you see the style that Trainspotting had, you see the exploration of sexuality that Lolita or Le Mepris had, and you see the art of using song that perhaps Om Dar Ba Dar highlighted. Dev D not only celebrates various...

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