Film: DevD
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahie, Kalki
Rating: 3.5 stars
Dippy Vankani
Anurag Kashyap's DevD is the story essentially of a male chauvinist, a loser who is absorbed in himself and his addictions much before he has any heart breaks to reason them. Unlike its predecessors, DevD does not glorify the pain of its heart broken protagonist (played by Abhay Deol with élan) but instead chooses to portray him as a drug addict who is filthy rich but once is left with nothing but going down to the gutter. No virtues, no respect, no character and hardcore ego are the traits of Dev, shows the filmmaker in his modern interpretation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's celebrated novel Devdas. But this musical is not about Dev! It offers a many 'never seen before on screen' novelties exploring the lives of two modern day girls Paro and Chanda making the movie worth watching not once but twice.
Enter Paro. Paro (Mahie) knows what she wants and she knows how to get it! She cannot be tamed by elders or the society. She decides for herself and moves on. Unlike our Hindi film heroines, Paro needs no man to protect her. She goes on the kill herself. Breaking the mould perhaps for the first time, the director's modern day Paro has orgasm over phone sex with beau Dev while the latter is shunted to London by his father and also sends him her nude picture which beings Dev back to Punjab. Sex supersedes love in the movie. Here Dev does not crave for love. What is does not get in life despite being desperate is sex. Not love!
'Delhi mein billi maarlo, khaalo par paalo mat' says the modern day Chunnilal, a pimp to Dev when he brings him for the first time to Chanda's (Kalki's) dungeon. The director chucks a kotha in Delhi or a Falkland street in Mumbai, both of which have been used extensively in hundreds of Hindi films earlier. Kashyap's Chanda is into role play, phone sex and sex slavery. Chanda dresses up like a nurse, a school student or as a mistress who whips the backs of her customers at their requests and fakes orgasms for callers in Tamil, French and English.
It is Dev who deserts Paro driven by his own ego after someone lies to him that Paro is a slut and easy to take to bed. It is much later that he realizes what he has lost. The modern town girl Paro, however, is ready to sleep with Dev even after her marriage but the latter cannot consummate it. All this while Paro never disappoints her widower husband with two kids in her duties as his wife.
From frame one to last the movie is taken forward by Amit Trivedi's compositions who has also given the background score of the film. Trivedi in one of his interviews had said that he is inspired by A R Rahman who has always broken the mould. Now Rahman certainly has his Eklavya in the making.
Watch out the choreography of song 'Pardesi' and 'Payalia' that compels you not to take your eyes off screen even for a blink. As for dialogues, Chanda, whose life shatters after her nude mms is circulated by her boyfriend, tells her father 'I am not going to suck every cock that comes my way' and 'how can you watch it?'.
The film however drags towards the end and has an unusual climax for a film of this genre.If not a box office hit, (families will surely refrain from watching the antics of a druggie), the film will surely take forward the careers of Kashyap, Deol and Trivedi. Not to forget Kalki and Mahie. P.S: For those who like to be high on spirits, gulp down a few pegs before watching the movie to go on a fantasy ride.
