There's
a
major
difference
between
K.L.
Saigal,
Dilip
Kumar,
Shahrukh
Khan
and
Abhay
Deol's
Devdas.
The
first
three
films
were
faithful
to
Sarat
Chandra's
legendary
novella,
while
Anurag
Kashyap's
deviant
take
on
Devdas
is
contemporary
and
in
the
process,
differs
from
the
original
work.
In
Kashyap's
Dev
D,
Dev
is
into
drugs
and
vodka.
Paro
sends
her
nude
pic
to
Dev
via
email
and
later,
wants
Dev
to
have
sex
with
her
in
the
fields.
Chanda,
a
hooker,
indulges
in
phone
sex
mainly.
Clearly,
Kashyap's
Dev,
Paro
and
Chanda
are
audacious
and
rebellious.
There's
no
harm
if
you
pick
up
an
enticing
story
and
tell
it
your
way,
but
Kashyap
goes
a
bit
too
far,
crosses
all
limits
and
tends
to
get
abstract
once
again.
And
that's
the
reason
for
Dev
D's
downfall.
To
Kashyap's
credit,
a
number
of
individualistic
scenes
are
interestingly
handled.
Unfortunately,
the
proceedings
gyrate
from
absorbing
to
boring
to
yawn-inducing.
The
writing
[screenplay:
Anurag
Kashyap,
Vikramaditya
Motwane]
lacks
consistency.
So
what's
the
final
word?
Does
Kashyap
redeem
himself
after
the
boring
and
listless
NO
SMOKING?
Unfortunately,
he
doesn't.
Watching
Dev
D
is
akin
to
doing
atyachaar
on
oneself!
Son
of
a
rich
industrialist,
who
is
sent
away
to
London
when
he
was
12,
Dev
[Abhay
Deol]
returns
to
his
hometown
and
to
Paro
[Mahi
Gill],
his
childhood
sweetheart.
Inseparable
as
they
seem,
a
misunderstanding
puts
their
lives
in
a
tizzy;
Paro
is
married
off
to
someone
else
and
Dev
goes
into
severe
depression.
Not
one
to
take
on
responsibilities
for
his
acts,
Dev
Digs
deep
into
drugs
and
alcohol
for
salvation.
He
stays
away
from
home,
but
his
finances
still
come
from
a
doting
father.
Lenny
[Kalki]
likes
to
live
her
life
on
the
edge
a
rich
student
with
a
penchant
for
adventure.
After
a
devastating
MMS
scandal,
she's
abandoned
by
her
family
and
is
forced
into
isolation.
As
a
runaway,
she
finds
shelter
with
Chunni,
a
pimp.
With
great
determination
and
inner
strength
she
adopts
an
alter
ego
Chanda.
As
Chanda,
she
gets
to
be
a
high
profile
escort
by
night,
while
Lenny
remains
a
college
student
by
day.
At
this
juncture,
Dev
enters
her
life…
Despite
the
fact
that
you
know
the
basic
plotline
of
Dev
D
even
before
the
reels
begin
to
unfold,
what
you're
keen
to
know
is,
how
has
Kashyap
executed
the
subject?
The
sequences
between
Dev
and
Paro
at
the
start
are
captivating
and
the
volatile
relationship
they
share
makes
you
realize
that
Kashyap
is
on
the
right
track.
Note
the
altercation
between
Dev
and
Paro,
which
prompts
Paro
to
marry
Bhuvan,
who's
much
older
to
her,
besides
being
a
father
of
two.
Post
Paro's
marriage,
Dev
D
starts
going
downhill.
Lenny/Chanda's
MMS
scandal
is
straight
out
of
life
and
the
reasons
that
make
her
turn
into
a
hooker
are
well
explained.
But
the
sequences
between
Dev
and
Chanda
lack
fizz.
Equally
sad
are
the
scenes
between
Dev
and
Chunni.
Besides,
there's
not
much
movement
in
the
story
after
a
point
and
the
goings-on
get
boring.
The
journey
to
the
climax
is
prolonged
and
tedious.
Amit
Trivedi's
music
sounds
good
to
the
ears.
'Emosanal
Attyachaar' is
already
popular,
besides
a
couple
of
other
songs
['Nayan
Tarse'
and
'Pardesi'].
But
there're
too
many
songs
in
the
narrative.
Rajeev
Ravi's
cinematography
captures
the
rustic
look
of
North
India
well.
Abhay
Deol
is
natural.
Mahi
is
decent,
while
Kalki
shows
sparks
in
a
few
scenes
only.
The
balance
cast,
including
the
actor
playing
Chunni,
are
strictly
okay.
On
the
whole,
Dev
D
is
No
Smoking
II.
Does
one
elaborate
more?