While it is not physically possible for Anurag
Kashyap to disappoint me, this film was still not as good as I thought it would
be. Nevertheless DEV.D is a film with great visuals, some magnificent acting
especially by the good Deol, Abhay, and Punjabi powerhouse Mahie Gill. Kalki is
stilted and unconvincing though. Hindi classes, woman, take some fucking Hindi
classes.
The film plays around nicely with the elements of its classic story of Devdas the drunk romantic and his doomed love for Paro and troubled relationship with the prostitute Chandramukhi. It's fun to see Paro get down and dirty with Dev in a sugarcane field, or Chanda having phone sex in four languages. But it seems like AK did this film on a whim, spurred by his vision of a modern-day Devdas staggering drunk through the illegal watering holes of Delhi.
The film is pretentious and at 2 hrs 10 mins, it is too long. It should have been shorter by half an hour. The whole film plays like a scattered unfocused music video for Amit Trivedi's brilliant, pathbreaking, visionary soundtrack. I cannot praise the music enough. From the hit Emosanal Atyachar to Kho Gayi Hai Sari Khushi, each song is fantastic. But there is just too much of it. It is so good that AK got greedy and tried to use all of it, in situations which should have been left with diegetic sound effects or no sound at all. Also, Chanda's backstory involving a leaked MMS and a suicidal father, is badly done, with cringe-inducing dialogue.
On the good side, Dev and Paro's romance is something Indian screens have rarely seen. They sext each other, they make out in dark corners during a wedding, they have amorous rendezvouses in the middle of fields. This film should be appreciated for the demolition of the image of the demure quiet Indian woman. This is an aggressive, sexualised portrait of women, which has no room for chauvinist cliches. It is quite refreshing, actually.
This is an ambitious but immature Anurag Kashyap at work. His visual flourish cannot be denied and in shots like where Abhay screams underwater and blood spurts out of his nose and mouth for snorting too much coke, we see AK's usual masterful touch. But poor editing and unconvincing of music ruins the film.
An unfortunate 6/10.
The film plays around nicely with the elements of its classic story of Devdas the drunk romantic and his doomed love for Paro and troubled relationship with the prostitute Chandramukhi. It's fun to see Paro get down and dirty with Dev in a sugarcane field, or Chanda having phone sex in four languages. But it seems like AK did this film on a whim, spurred by his vision of a modern-day Devdas staggering drunk through the illegal watering holes of Delhi.
The film is pretentious and at 2 hrs 10 mins, it is too long. It should have been shorter by half an hour. The whole film plays like a scattered unfocused music video for Amit Trivedi's brilliant, pathbreaking, visionary soundtrack. I cannot praise the music enough. From the hit Emosanal Atyachar to Kho Gayi Hai Sari Khushi, each song is fantastic. But there is just too much of it. It is so good that AK got greedy and tried to use all of it, in situations which should have been left with diegetic sound effects or no sound at all. Also, Chanda's backstory involving a leaked MMS and a suicidal father, is badly done, with cringe-inducing dialogue.
On the good side, Dev and Paro's romance is something Indian screens have rarely seen. They sext each other, they make out in dark corners during a wedding, they have amorous rendezvouses in the middle of fields. This film should be appreciated for the demolition of the image of the demure quiet Indian woman. This is an aggressive, sexualised portrait of women, which has no room for chauvinist cliches. It is quite refreshing, actually.
This is an ambitious but immature Anurag Kashyap at work. His visual flourish cannot be denied and in shots like where Abhay screams underwater and blood spurts out of his nose and mouth for snorting too much coke, we see AK's usual masterful touch. But poor editing and unconvincing of music ruins the film.
An unfortunate 6/10.
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