Devdas for Gen X

I happened to watch Anurag Kashyap's Dev D last week....

Anurag Kashyap is a talented film maker who made gem of a film called Black Friday about Mumbai blasts. His next movie No Smoking were he tried a Kafkaesque approach of story telling didn't went down well with mass audiences and many critics, who accused him of self indulgence. But many celebrities like Rahul Bose has this movie in their personal favorite list.

After the debacle of No Smoking Kashyap decided to make a movie with more commercial elements. He selected remaking Devdas, an age old love story by Sarath Chandra Chatterjee, told and retold many a times by many film makers, the last one being Bhansali, who made it a costume drama with huge sets and period setting. Kashyap has taken Dev from traditional Bengali setting and made him a contemporary Punjabi youth who flirts with Paro on phone and compels her to send him her nude pics.

Paro is more bolder than original and the decision to abandon Dev is taken by herself. But the show stealer is Chanda (Chandramukhi), who allows Dev to share her room and supports him when he slowly drifts towards self destruction by alcoholism and drug addiction. Contemporary Devdas rechristened DevD is stylish takes the aspirations, madness and mental agonies of today's youth.

Kashyap's best contribution is the twist in ending where, Dev who inches slowly towards death by addiction when confronted with sudden death decides to change his fate and returns to life and Chanda, thereby making the film to end in positive note. Kashyap has not allowed his Dev to die, may be he feels todays youth is much more practical in approach than their counterparts 50 years back.

Acting department is too good, Abhay Deol is superb as Dev, Kalki who did Chanda's role is a real talent box, she is too convincing for the role, other supporting cast is also good. Music is excellent and contributes much to story telling. I think Rock music in its true sense has entered Bollywood now with Nayan Tarase, and rock version of Emotional Atthyachaar.

All in all I will recommend Dev D for all who hate Davdas and pity him for being the drunken loser that he is.