Its not often that one comes across a cult film, one that becomes a benchmark for filmmakers for years to come. But the funny thing about such movies is that they very rarely appeal to the masses. Dev D is one such film in which a lot of people just could not stand and others fell in love with it, including me. It is just a question of whether the sensibilities of such a film hits the right spot in your mind or not.
Dev D for me is a beautiful film, one that is a modern age classic. Every frame, every sec, every dialogue, every song of the film is poetry in motion. I am not going to get into the story coz everyone knows what it is. But there are a lot of differences from the original Devdas as Dev in this film is not as a big a loser as described in the book, and this becomes clear by the end of the movie.
Mahi, who plays Paro is top-notch as the girl who is madly in love with Dev and would do anything to make him happy, even if it means going to a different city to get her nude photo developed or getting a mattress into the fields to have sex. Kalki is also good but her inexperience shows in crucial scenes which hold them from reaching their full potential. Evidently Abhay Deol puts in a scintillating performance as Dev. He underplays effectively with the help of subtle gestures with his eyes and gives a new dimension to this Devdas.
But all this does not make it a classic (though it plays a part), it reaches that benchmark because of the treatment given by Anurag Kashyap in adapting this saga into a modern age version. The picturization of songs is there to be seen, admired, and fall in love with, specially Pardesi. And the songs are not in there for the heck of it. All of them enhance the mood of the film and their timing is just perfect, especially Emotional Atyachaar's Rock version with the timing of its scream. The camera work is another one of its highlights. From the underwater shots to the shot of a completely drunk Dev getting up with a shaky camera, all of it is fantabulous.
If you like Dev D, you won't be able to forget it. It will stay with you and make you feel as if you are in a trans. One that you don't wanna get out of.