Dev-D (a dissection)

I hadn't the slightest clue that the movie was a remake of Devdas! I only realized that halfway through the movie! 

The movie follows a pattern of few western movies like Romeo & Juliet  and Macbeth (the new versions set in the modern world). I found both the above to be quite palatable.

I would first commend the director for making this movie, just to show what the audiences can also expect from THE SAME OLD STORY! The story of Devdas, although quite an interesting piece of literature, would have worked great in the 90s, when showed in the same manner. But this is the 21st century & we would like some creativity in the movie.

At the risk of being thrashed by a dear friend of mine, who is an ardent Madhuri fan, i have to say that her & Shahrukh's Devdas bored me to death! I found the whole portrayal so stupid, i couldn't have found a worse way to spend my time! The performances in the movie were excellent (except for Shahrukh, who is capable of doing much better work), but the script, the art direction & the locations were absolutely wasted for this era of films! SL Bhansali must understand that even theatre needs creativity, lets not be monkeys!

To come back to DevD, the movie was absolutely stunning from the point where i realized it was a remake of Devdas. Till then, I was lost, trying to understand why this movie was even made.

Abhay Deol gives yet another great performance with his no-nonsense no-emotion acting. The non-Indian actress also gives a good performance, while Mahi Gill leaves a lot to be desired, including her wardrobe choice.

The movie moves very fast (thankfully), brashly trashing unwanted parts of the original story & adapting itself to the current society. Most of all, the director tries to give it an enormous amount of accountability (by connecting it to current events) & making it interesting, but reflecting on the society through a historic story! That part is what i liked best! That also forms the premise of the remake, and the freshness endowed with such directorial angles makes the movie lively & bewitching!

Bewitching, because although we hate some characters, although we hate some parts of the movie, it keeps us glued! As if, he director intended to bring out hate in us for some parts! That, I think is a class work of art!

Another aspect of the movie which i wanted to discuss is the way viewers are kept sub-consciously confused and drawn into the movie. The art director uses a lot of high paced, loud sequences, which keep changing the environment in a jiffy. Although it creates a shock, it does not make the viewer lose interest at any point. The repetition of a few words, characters' names, incidents from current society; all of these mixed with trance music & dazzling colours & carefully choreographed scenery create an effect of a high!

This, i think is the most important part of Devdas's story! The whole story is about a man in a trance, due to whatever reasons in life. Dev-D does justice to that aspect & hence portrays the story more realistically & in a more classy fashion than Bhansali's true-to-the-book version!