Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Writers: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane

Stars: Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill, Kalki Koechlin, Dibyendu Bhattacharya

Creative Quotient
Anurag Kashyap’s fourth cinematic foray following Black Friday, The Return Of Hanuman (animation film) and No Smoking is by all means unusual and hat ke. This time he trains his pen and lens on Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic novella and lends it a modern dimension.

When rich industrialist Satpal Singh, from a small town in Punjab, decides to send his errant teenaged son Devendra (Dev) to London for higher studies, young Dev takes leave of his childhood sweetheart Parminder (Paro) rather reluctantly. But the two remain in touch over the phone and the ‘Net and when Dev (Abhay) demands a nude picture from Paro (Mahi), she obliges and as the attachment of her in the buff pops up on his monitor he rushes back to India. So far so good, but soon the village men put the blossoming romance off-gear by gossiping about Paro’s sexual prowess. Incensed, Dev spurns Paro’s advances. Scorned, she marries a rich widower businessman. Hit by ground reality, Dev hits the bottle with a vengeance and soon goes spiraling down the abyss with drugs and alcohol. Wandering through Delhi where Paro is now married, Dev becomes an easy target for Chunni (Dibyendu), the local pimp purveying ‘white’ call-girls. Dev gets involved with Chanda (Kalki), a rich kid embroiled in MMS scandal and thereafter abandoned by her family. Dev mows down seven people with his drunken driving and is now on the run. Can Chanda get Dev back on track in the new and improved Dev D? Well, very cleverly the writer-director leaves much to the imagination.

A well-knit plot with appropriate dramatic turns, this is one romantic adventure that goes beyond titillation. It entertains and enthralls. There is smart writing by the ace writer and his associate Vikramaditya Motwane. Scoring high in terms of creative flight, this is a scintillating script.

Technical Expertise
As a director, Kashyap is in total command of the emotional status of his lead players. The scenes and lines are well-crafted, revealing the obvious and concealing the rest. He leads the viewer through the dark alleys of desire and lust and unravels the plot adroitly, ably supported by director of photography Rajeev Ravi who captures Dev’s meandering mind through his innovative takes and frames. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s modern verse - Emotional atyaachar gives the narrative an entirely new perspective. Amit Trivedi’s music and The Twilight Players’ well-choreographed act only add to the mood of the film. The film owes its coherence to editor Aarti Bajaj,

Abhay Deol gives himself up to the part and becomes Dev like a chameleon. Newcomers Kalki and Mahie make self-assured debuts. Through sincere performances and neat narrative skills, Kashyap redeems himself as a maker of modern cinema.