Claimed as the modern remake of Sarat Chandra's Devdas this movie is obviously not for the light hearted. It is not for people who cannot take open sexual reference, recklessness and the dynamisim of life. Will not appeal to people of all genre. Drugs, drink, sex, prostitution are thrown openly in this movie.
When I talked to a couple of frens about this movie I had a very mixed reactions. Some just detested it- according to them it is too much of a play of naked sexuality, lewd comments and booze. Some felt that the movie became confused with so many things shown simulataneously and that the entire meaning got lost; while there are some who, just loved it.
Dev(Abhay Deol) is sent abroad by his parents after they realise that their son is becoming disobedient. His and Paro's (Mahie Gill) love story receives a set back after some guy from the colony remarks her as having too much of "garmi". Though Dev has stayed abroad and has no qualms about engaging in sexual games with another girl (the character of Ritika) but he expects Paro to be faithful to him thus presenting the famous Indian men mentality (if I can take the liberty to call it so). Finally Paro is married to someone else and Dev goes down the drain of drinking and drugs. Then comes Lennie/Chanda(Kalki)- a 12th standard student who gets caught up in an MMS scandal. Her parents restrict her movement, har father commits suicide and the mother then sends her away to their ancestral village. Lennie runs away from there and stumbles upon a pimp named Chunni(Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who introduces her to the world of prostitution.
Kashyap has given a very practical renderation of things here. It is like seeing a new facet of India, something which we all know exist but are afraid to acknowledge. There is rampant pre marital sex; prostitution exist in a large scale and these prostitutes are not the stereotypical characters we have been seeing in Indian television all these while; they are people who take this as a preofession and have a life beyond this. Of course there is a transition from the "randy" that we knew her to be to the "commercial sex worker". But in the minds of how many is probably a question Kashyap wants to raise!
The shift of the story from Paro to Chanda is neatly done. Unlike the original Devdas where Dev was really in love with Paro, we doubt the intensity of their love here. Dev mistrusts her and lets the relationship go which seems a little out of the way so much so that when Dev at the end of the movie claims that he never really loved Paro, it seems very believable. But unlike yester years where love was more about silent nods and sly glances, love and romance these days are more open, their love is more of a play of verbal salaciousness, desire, demand and courage with Paro openly declaring her intention to marry Dev to her parents and approachin dev directly with the proposal
The cinematography of the movie is good. There is a nice interplay between rural india where deva nd Paro stay to the dark dingy lanes of the nightclubs and brothels(if i might so call it.)
The movie has an commendable(infact... amazingggg) sound track. The music by Amit trivedi actually works wonders for the film with each track suiting the narrative perfectly and blending with it to give it a newer level. The movie does not have the typical hindi movie dance and drama..all the songs are played in the background which is a relief. Spotted with the punjabi culture..punjabi numbers which comes just at the time its supposed to, this movie is a sneek peek int the city life as it is today.. The costumes, setting, frames all are just perfect!
The ending of the movie is hopeful though some may find it unbelievable and preachy for a movie which had been unpatronizing till now. Moving from desperation to degradation Dev finally realise that life is not all about recklessness. A small moment of delay can cause you your life and after having gambled enough with it already he decides to take a grip at it.
All in all an amazing flick..excellent performance by Abhay, Kalki and Mahie.
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