Daas Dev Review: This Film Is Strictly Restricted To A Few Sips!
Daas Dev movie review: Sudhir Mishra had an interesting concept in his hand when it came to revisiting a tale that's been a textbook for every unrequited love but things don't work out.
Reviews
oi-Madhuri
By Madhuri
Recommended
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Daas
Dev
Movie
Review:
Aditi
Rao
Hydari
|
Richa
Chadha
|
Rahul
Bhat
|
FilmiBeat
'What's
in
a
name?',
said
William
Shakespeare
and
Sudhir
Mishra's
'Daas
Dev' starring
Rahul
Bhatt,
Richa
Chadha
and
Aditi
Rao
Hydari
exactly
echoes
this
sentiment
when
you
visit
this
modern
retelling
of
Sarat
Chandra
Chatterjee's
epic
novel,
'Devdas'.
Nope,
this
film
doesn't
have
a
brooding
lover
who
takes
to
the
bottle
with
an
unflagging
passion
for
self-destruction.
Instead,
Mishra
borrows
certain
elements
from
'Devdas'
and
William
Shakespeare's
play,
Hamlet
to
narrate
a
story
of
dynasty
politics.
While
this
idea
may
sound
interesting
on
paper,
unfortunately
the
same
doesn't
translate
on
celloid.
Talking
about
the
plot,
Sudhir's
version
has
an
inebriated
Dev
(Rahul
Bhatt)
who
is
coaxed
to
turn
sober
and
step
into
the
world
of
dynasty
politics
after
his
politician-uncle
Avdhesh
(Saurabh
Shukla)
falls
ill.
His
childhood
sweetheart
Paro
(Richa
Chadha)
urges
him
to
look
into
'real
issues'.
However
things
turn
murkier
when
he
unknowingly
opens
a
can
of
worms
only
to
realize
that
politics
runs
thicker
than
blood
towards
the
end.
Meanwhile,
the
other
'woman' in
Dev's
life,
Chandni
(Aditi
Rao
Hydari)
is
a
'fixer'
who
doesn't
have
any
inhibitions
when
it
comes
to
political
gains.
At
the
same
time,
she
finds
herself
drawn
towards
Dev.
The
rest
of
the
plot
revolves
around
how
these
three
characters
turn
the
tide
in
their
favour
to
give
a
twist
to
Sarat
Chandra
Chatterjee's
old
tale.
Sudhir
Mishra's
Daas
Dev
has
an
interesting
core
but,
it's
the
weak
writing
which
makes
the
film
suffer.
He
spends
too
much
time
in
establishing
Dev's
entry
into
politics
and
how
Avdhesh
tries
to
keep
the
political
throne
within
the
dynasty.
As
a
result
of
this,
the
love
story
takes
a
backseat.
In
an
attempt
to
add
multiple
layers
to
the
plot,
the
director
gives
his
characters
various
shades.
But
in
turn,
you
never
really
end
up
connecting
with
them.
Rahul
Bhatt
gets
ample
of
moments
to
showcase
his
acting
chops.
Though
he
shines
in
some,
the
actor
falters
when
it
comes
to
portraying
emotional
ones.
His
lack
of
screen
presence
sticks
out
like
a
sore
thumb
since
he
is
essaying
a
role
that
has
been
immortalized
on
the
big
screen.
Richa
Chadha
doesn't
impress
much
and
you
wonder
where's
the
'spark'
which
she
displayed
in
films
like
Gangs
Of
Wasseypur
and
Masaan
gone!
Her
interpretation
of
the
iconic
female
character
is
totally
lacklustre
and
fails
to
interest
you.
While
Chandramukhi
is
an
allegory
of
unrequited
love
and
passion
in
'Devdas',
Aditi
Rao
Hydari's
Chandni
is
highly
underutilized
and
adds
as
a
mere
spectator
in
the
revisisted
tale.
It's
Saurabh
Shukla,
Vineet
Kumar
Raina
and
Vipin
Sharma
who
save
the
day
and
keep
you
invested
when
the
plot
loses
its
grip
and
goes
for
a
full
toss.
Anurag
Kashyap
is
passable
in
his
brief
cameo.
The
cinematography
and
editing
of
Daas
Dev
has
nothing
new
to
offer.
Most
of
the
music
tracks
are
a
part
of
the
narrative
and
hence
despite
lacking
a
recall
value,
they
do
not
act
as
a
hinderance.
In
a
nutshell,
Sudhir
Mishra
had
an
interesting
concept
in
his
hand
when
it
came
to
revisiting
a
tale
that's
been
a
textbook
for
every
unrequited
love.
Unfortunately,
the
director
tries
to
pack
in
too
many
things
but
ends
up
sinking
the
ship
instead.
There's
a
line
in
the
film
which
goes
like,
'Agar
vakai
power
ki
khwaish
ho...toh
dil
ke
maamlo
ko
door
rakhna
chahiye...aade
aate
hai'.
Sudhir
takes
these
words
a
tad
seriously
and
prefers
to
keep
the
matters
of
heart
at
bay
in
his
story-telling.
Only
if
things
worked
that
way
in
real!
I
am
going
with
two
stars
for
this
tale.