The Cinema of Art: Dev.D

In September 1900, a certain prolific Bengali author, by the name of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay pens down a great work of literature, Devdas (published 1917), the story of a heartbroken man who turns to a life of alcohol and self-destruction after not being allowed to marry his childhood sweetheart, Parvati "Paro". In 2002, Sanjay Leela Bhansali made a film off this novel, with the same name and the same title, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Madhuri Dixit, which was wildly popular, cementing itself forever in Hindi pop-culture, with Devdas becoming the term people call each other by.

And then Abhay Deol read it.

 

This was perhaps one of the most important developments in the course of this story. Because over the next year, Abhay Deol spent his time trying to get people to help him make this movie; or, more accurately, the version of it he had come up with. Most filmmakers rejected his idea, saying it's too artsy and would never work. And then he met Anurag Kashyap. Kashyap was known for his dark films (like Black Friday and No Smoking) back then and he signed on to direct. Together, with Vikramaditya Motwane, they penned a script, and voila, Dev.D was set to become a reality. 

Going back to Abhay Deol, the reason he was so fascinated by the story of Devdas was that even though the character of Devdas was "a chauvinist, a misogynist,  entitled, and arrogant ... he had been romanticized for decades!" he said in an Instagram post last year, marking the 10 year anniversary of the film's release. 

Okay enough about the history of the film, let's talk about the film itself. 

The most noticeable feature of the films is its setting. While the novel and all subsequent stories are set in the early 20th century, Dev.D flips it out for a more relatable modern-day setting. This is a noticeable change, not only because it adds to the timeless aspect of the story, but because it implies that this is not a thing of the past, but also happens in this day and age. 

Now, don't be disillusioned by the title of the film. Even though it's called "Dev.D", the name of its protagonist, it is a film about women. Two women, to be more accurate. Paro, Dev's childhood love, and Chanda, a high-class escort. In the original story, Dev's marriage to Paro is denied because Paro's family takes dowry from the groom's family instead of the traditional way. In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's version, his marriage is denied because of the "questionable" occupation of Paro's maternal lineage, something that can be damaging for their family's reputation. What's common is that, in both versions, Devdas' mother does the rejecting.

In Dev.D, it is completely flipped. After hearing the drunken ramblings of a worker, Devdas believes that Paro has had sex with him before she had sex with Dev. This angers Dev. Now, instead of acting like a grown-up adult, Dev chooses to be a manchild and slut shames her, in the process calling her many casteist slurs. He uses the word "aukaat" here which will become relevant later. Paro, then, chooses to marry Bhuvan, a person who respects her for who she is. 

This is where Dev's emotional downfall begins and it is spectacular. The song "Emosanal Atyachar" (Emotional Torture), blazes in all its glory as Dev drinks his way to hell. Kashyap uses stunning cinematography and beautiful vivid shots to portray these parts of the story. Dev's drunken rages are honestly some of the beautiful shots I have ever seen. Especially during the song "Pardesi", when Dev drinks at the underground bar, Kashyap cites Scorcese's Mean Streets as one of his major inspirations for that scene.

Then comes in Chanda. She used to be a regular Delhi girl, but after an MMS scandal ruins her social life, forcing her to leave Delhi, she returns to the place to embrace her sexuality. She begins working at a brothel. And one of the things I love in this film is the depiction of its brothel. It is not at all like the conventional brothels we are used to. Everything in the brothel is consensual, and the person who runs the brothel, Chunni, pays for all her education, including college, and even buys her a bike. He even emphasizes the fact that she must wait until she becomes an adult to start her work and that she must complete her studies before starting work there. There is also a sense of freedom as she is never forced to do something she doesn't want to. She is also able to leave the brothel whenever she wants, without any qualms from the owner, 

There is a brilliant contrast between Dev and Chanda here. Dev lives in a fantasy world, a delusion. He falsely believes that he loves Paro and refuses to accept the reality that what he felt for her was nothing but lust. The drugs he consumes and the stupendous quantities of alcohol he consumes Chanda, on the other hand, has fully come to terms with her sexuality and her identity, leading her to become more fulfilled than Dev. 

This story has been told multiple times and often in a very tragic way, one that sympathizes with this chauvinist protagonist, and often it is the woman who is shown as being in the wrong. Films like Kabir Singh use this same narrative to justify toxic masculinity and similar behavior. Dev.D calls out its protagonist for doing the same. This is most prominent when Paro comes to visit him. She cleans up his room for him but all the while berating him and mocking him. She shows him his "aukaat", as a callback to the earlier scene.

This is a beautiful examination of an age-old tragic tale, told from a modern lens, making it more relatable to today's youth. One that not only warns people off the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse but also the male ego and how tragic Bollywood heroes sugarcoat reality behind a layer of pomp and melodrama. The film also treats its audience with maturity, not mincing words and showing the world for what it is. Together with brilliant music from Amit Trivedi, this becomes one of the best films made in the past decade. In my opinion, at least.

What about you guys? Did you like the film? Leave a comment below!