Make way for Dev D.

“Devdas!” ,Devdas…. who??” “Maaaan that idiot who drank himself to death over a failed relationship” so begins and ends the tale of Devdas these days, once an iconic lover now a sore loser. It is into these premises that Anurag Kashyap pushes his own version of Devdas into. A very gutsy step, undoubtedly. Kashyap said in a recent interview that he wanted to call his movie Devdas OD (over dose) and wanted to show the hero as a rich spoilt brat who just could not own up to his own mistakes in life. The man hits the bullseye and has in turn succeeded admirably in portraying Paro and Chandramukhi as far superior characters pushed into the trajectory of film by external forces but gracefully pick themselves up and move ahead with grit and determination.

Devdas a.k.a Dharminder Dhillon (Abhay Deol)

Devdas has everything he wants in life, love, money, u name it… everything. But yet he becomes an emotional wreck not because he is a victim of circumstances, social and family pressures but himself. Never has Devdas been portrayed in such an alienated manner. Kashyap’s Devdas does not fit anywhere, neither in London nor in his traditional household in Punjab.

In an extremely fast paced non linear first half the director establishes Dev D’s alienation, he is a London bred to his family members while in the comparatively slow paced second half he confesses his loneliness abroad to Chanda when he says he used to watch a lot of porn movies in UK.

Dev D is uncomfortable in both settings but he is not a victim of either one. He is solely responsible for his break-up with Paro. He does not bother to talk to his parents except when he wants money to support himself. In a brilliantly conceived scene the film hints that this guy is just frustrated for blowing away his chances with Paro or having her as a pillar of strength to prop himself whenever he feels like for the rest of his life! In this single scene Kashyap defines both his Paro and Devdas .

Even Chunnilal (not a friend who sets up Devdas with Chandramukhi but a pimp) here does not want anything to do with Dev Babu in the end and asks him never ever to contact him again. Dev D is also selfish and chauvinistic; he does not want to share his love, happiness or even grief with anyone but yet expects a lot from everyone around him. It’s ok for him to follow his hormones but cannot stand the possibility of Paro doing the same.

Even after Paro claim that she is in a very happy marriage, Dev D in one of his trips imagine her lying as a lump of wood on her husband’s bed still lost in her thoughts about him. Only if this sore loser had stood up to himself, he could have saved himself, Paro, his family and even those poor seven pavement sleepers who get mowed underneath his speeding BMW.Is there any scope for his redemption?? Watch the movie to find out.

Paro a.k.a Parminder ( Mahi Gill)

Parminder is a far cry from the usual lot of leading ladies of bollywood. I could see flashes of Muthazhagu, the heroine of the much acclaimed Tamil movie ‘Paruthiveeran’ (Priyamani , the actor went onto win the National award for her performance) in the sequences, especially the ones set in her village in Punjab. Both of them are two strong rural women, fighters who are miles away from the self proclaimed modern urban counterparts we encounter in run of the mill Bollywood ‘blockbusters’.

Unlike Dev D, Paro will not gulp down humiliation from anyone not even from her beloved Dev. One of the best scenes of the film is when after her marriage she goes to meet Dev D in his shady hotel room where he is gulping vodka and snorting coke into oblivion. She tries to convince him to get a grip on himself and in an extremely subtle yet defiant manner shows Dev D what all he has lost to his ego (care and affection maybe both as a mother or a partner). But she does not submit completely to him. That one sequence defines Kashyap’s Paro.

Kashyap’s Paro is a refreshing and realistic change from the glossy heroines churned out from the assembly lines of Chopra, Johar and XYZ bollywood productions. But Kashyap’s shrewdness in some of the initial bold and unconventional sequences ( atleast in Bollywood format ) involving Paro and Dev D actually comes full circle through Chanda in the second half.

Chandramukhi a.k.a Chanda a.ka Lenny. ( Kalki Koechlin)

Lenny a.ka Chanda is the only character who ends up in her position because of sheer helplessness and social hypocrisy. Both Paro and Dev D selected their paths but not Chanda, She would have continued her life as Lenny if she had a choice. So here we have Lenny who is a normal college student by day with her alter ego Chanda, an escort who likes to slip into the fantasy of her customers either in real life or over the phone.

Chanda is like this mirror that reflects everything in its raw form. Quite a number of times she shouts out that “everyone used her and had a nice time before they turned back and walked away calling her slut”. She is targeting the rampant social hypocrisy, reluctance to acknowledge and call a truce with certain aspects.

She almost came to terms with humiliation and depression of being involved in an MMS scandal, but could not fathom how her father could sit and watch it. He later commits suicide by tasting the cold barrel of a gun. Lenny says “All he had to do was to hold me and say it’s Ok. Instead he committed suicide”.

More than once Chanda says to Dev D that he is incapable of loving anyone but himself. She event taunts him saying that he should marry a mirror. The very fact that Chanda continues to pursue her education itself is an indicator that she hopes of walking back into a society which is ready to accept her as a normal person.

Kashyap is a brilliant story teller and his sympathy lies with Chanda. At various instances he effectively blurs the lines between Paro, Dev D (read as rest of the society) and Chanda. Chanda, the social outcaste, an escort, a slut by social definition indulges in phone sex, acting out fantasies but long after he shows Devdas and Paro doing these things as normal lovers residing well within the social norms. This is where the moviemaker extends a helping hand to his character in the narrative and both of them scream out in unison “And yet you turned back and called me a slut”. She is almost trying to nurse Dev D back into normal life. And the Florence Nightingale outfit given to her is not a coincidence.

As a movie Dev D is brilliant with top class performances from all three protagonists. It is also one of the few times that Bollywood decided to focus on the underbelly of a city other than Mumbai, its Delhi in Dev D. Abhay Deol does not have much to do in the movie but to remain disconnected from the proceedings as required in the script. The concept of the movie was given to Kashyap by Deol which is truly remarkable. I think its just a matter of time when Abhay Deol himself makes a film. And personally I think he should. After acting in sensible and unconventional films, he has already proven his mettle as a mature actor.

Mahi Gill and Kalki Koechlin (French theatre actor, settled in Pondicherry) are revelations as Parminder and Chanda respectively. Cinematography by Rajiv Ravi is also top notch. Special mention should be made about the music and its presentation. Amit Trivedi and the band of musicians and performers, including the Patna Presleys, are all in top form and style.

Anurag Kashyap has had a tumultuous journey as a film maker, be it the case of his first film ‘Paanch’ ( yet to be commercially released) , the well received ‘Black Friday’, or the cruelly lambasted ‘No Smoking’ and ‘Return of Hanuman’ ( animated feature presentation). I personally hope he keeps on making such movies and eagerly awaiting his next venture ‘Gulal’.

B.