Directed by: Anurag
Kashyap
Starring: Abhay Deol,
Kalki Koechlin, Mahie Gill
Released: 2009
Verdict: destroy every
copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable -
good – great – amazing
Dev D has to be the most
unconventional take on the famous story of Devdas. It mocks it in a
way, disrobing it of everything nicey. The enchanting spirit of the
first love, the mystery of kothas, the purity of Paro and her regal
manner, the pain of being parted, the slow grow of another love....
If we see the story of Devdas, and its previous adaptations, as a
full human body, then Dev D puts a knife through it, dissects it and
after a painful process leaves nothing but a skeleton, upon which it
places things of its own liking. And so instead of 19th
century Kolkata we get the new age Delhi, instead of an enchanting
tawaif we get a full fledged vulgar prostitute and instead of epic
love we get lots of, well, lust.
Far away in London, Dev is
spending his time studying, but thanks to modern technologies, his
Paro back in India definitely cannot complain about lack of
communication. Online chatting and telephone calls are obviously a
daily routine. And then the happy day comes when Paro sends Dev her
nude picture and upon seeing her boobs he excitedly and immediately
calls back to tell her he is coming back. What a timing. Upon his
arrival he and his lady love both only care how and when and where to
get laid as soon as possible, but something always comes in between.
However, because Paro is that kind of girl who simply arouses male
fantasies (and more) just by being herself, one of those who are „in
love“ with her, lies to Dev she sleeps with anyone. Dev, as every
average male, immediately accepts that as a fact, and without even
bothering to ask Paro, he tells her she is a slut and he would never
marry her (indeed, there is no parental disapproval in this one,
which makes Dev even bigger ass than he usually is). The epic love
story continues with her immediately marrying the first guy who comes
her way (fortunately for her he has loads of cash) and Dev throwing
up at the wedding.
The storyline then follows
a familiar pattern. Dev is unhappy. Paro moves on. Dev is even more
unhappy. Dev drinks – and because that is not enough in our new
age, he is into drugs to REALLY show you how pitiful he is. He gets
introduced to „Chandramukhi“ and spends some time with her, finds
out she is also just a human etc etc etc..... True enough, in the end
this particular doomed lover (read: sex obsessed junkie) DOES move on
as the only Devdas in history, which is one of the few better moments
of the film. First half of it was actually quite good, introducing
the characters and giving them some unusual layers, however the
second quickly becomes boring and it doesn´t pick up anywhere on the
way to the finish.
Abhay Deol is a good
actor, but after being spoiled by subdued and tragic Devdas by Dilip
Kumar and just as tragic even though much more loud and passionate
Devdas by Shahrukh Khan, I must say that Abhay makes a good idiotic
Dev, but he is not „Devdas“. There is nothing to his love that
would not be bound to physical, which is quite strange considering
there is supposed to be a bond with Paro from childhood. His
performance is not all that impressive as a whole anyway. At no point you would feel he is in love - with Paro or Chanda. Mahie Gill
as Paro has very little screen time and does very well, but as it
happens regularly – it is „Chandramukhi“ who steals the show.
Kalki as Leni/Chanda is excellent, and giving her character a
background was a brilliant idea – and so well made it actually
makes it difficult to watch. To make the story centred completely
around her and her story would have actually been much more inovative
and original then just stripping the story of everything that makes
it appealing and turn it into a Bhandarkar´s film set.
No comments:
Post a Comment