Anurag
Kashyap
is
kicked
by
his
deviant
version
of
Sarat
Chandra
Chatterjee's
Devdas.
"In
Dev
D,
I've
taken
just
the
spirit
of
Devdas
and
woven
it
around
contemporary
headlines
from
the
last
10-15
years.
I
never
liked
Sarat
Chandra's
novel.
Often
mediocre
literature
makes
great
cinema.
What
I
liked
about
the
novel
was
its
honesty.
But
to
me
it's
more
Pulp
Fiction
of
its
times
than
great
literature."
Anurag
sees
his
Dev
D
as
a
bridge
between
the
original
novel
and
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali's
Devdas.
"That's
why
I
asked
Sanjay
Bhansali's
assistant
Vikram
Motwani
to
write
Dev
D.
Vikram
loves
Devdas.
I
connected
newspaper
stories
to
the
character
of
Devdas
to
explore
the
motivations
of
today's
youth."
One
of
the
major
themes
in
Devdas
was
miscommunication
in
a
relationship.
"In
this
era
of
SMS
that
wouldn't
work," explains
Anurag.
"Today
my
Dev
and
Paro
are
in
touch
regularly.
The
miscommunication
here
is
due
to
the
ego.
Also
alcoholism
was
a
major
issue
back
then.
When
Guru
Dutt's
Sahib
Bibi
Aur
Ghulam
was
submitted
for
the
Oscars
the
academy
wrote
a
letter
to
Guru
Dutt
saying
a
woman
who
drinks
was
not
a
permissible
taboo
in
their
culture.
Today
alcohol
isn't
such
a
shocking
means
of
self-destruction
in
our
society.
I
wanted
to
shoot
my
Devdas
in
a
contemporary
context.
I
shot
it
in
Delhi
and
Punjab
where
the
reckless
adrift
youth
have
a
lot
of
money
and
no
sense
of
responsibility."
Anurag
says
he
wrote
the
roles
of
Devdas
and
Paro
for
Abhay
Deol
and
debutante
Mahi
Gill.
"Today
I'm
proud
to
say
Mahi
is
working
extensively
in
the
biggest
of
films."
Speaking
on
our
market
abroad
and
how
it
has
broadened
after
Slumdog
Millionaire,
Anurag
says,
"Films
that
show
the
real
heartland
in
India
like
Johnny
Gaddaar,
Manorama
6
Feet
Under
or
my
Black
Friday
never
get
released
overseas.
Slumdog
Millionaire
is
the
first
taste
western
audiences
have
had
of
the
real
India.
That's
where
filmmakers
like
Ashutosh
Gowarikar
and
Rakeysh
Mehra
come
in.
They
shoot
big-budget
Indian
films
in
the
Indian
heartland."
"I've
mellowed.
I'm
not
angry
any
more.
I
guess
its
age.
And
I've
found
a
sense
of
belonging,"
says
Anurag
referring
to
the
other
debutante
actress
Kalki
in
Dev
D
whom
he
shares
a
relationship
with.
"I'm
very
happy
in
my
relationship
with
Kalki.
She
has
brought
great
stability
to
my
life."
So
was
she
Anurag's
muse,
like
V
Shantaram?
"No
our
relationship
started
after
Dev
D
started.
I
want
her
in
my
life,
but
not
necessarily
in
all
my
films."
Kalki
plays
a
character
derived
from
Sarat
Chandra's
Chandramukhi.
"Again
I'm
happy
for
what
Sanjay
Bhansali
did
to
Chandramukhi's
character
in
his
Devdas.
He
fleshed
her
out
and
much
stronger
than
in
the
novel."
Story first published: Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 11:42 [IST]