One of the wrost movies I have ever seen
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
View Moreif their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
View MoreThe storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
View MoreWhen I first saw Dev D, I was a little put off by the rawness, the realness of the movie. But when I watched it again (and again ) I realized that this was a great movie. Not just because it's a different take on the old Devdas story, but because it is one film which puts a spotlight on women's sexuality and the uneasiness of most men (and society) with it. And for that I salute Anurag Kashyap for bringing in front of us a movie which actually depicts this hypocritical attitude both subtly (Dev and PAro) and in an in-your-face style (Chanda). When Dev overhears two assholes talking in typical locker room boasting about how one of them had sex with Paro, he breaks up with her in a frenzy of disgust and humiliates her by spurning her advances and listing all her shortcomings as offensively as he can. When I first saw it, I was pretty disgusted, I mean they knew each other from childhood and they chatted and all it took was one measly slanderous conversation to completely change his opinion of her? But when I saw it the second time, I realized that Dev and Paro's attitude towards sex is completely different. When Paro sends the topless photo of herself to Dev, when she gives herself over to his love making – for her, it's all about giving herself to the man she loves. But Dev? Deep down, he cannot help but feel that a pure woman would not let him do these things to her, that maybe her boldness with him means that she may be just as bold with others. He does not see that her boldness with him is her freedom with him, that she believes that they love each other, will marry each other and that is why she permits him liberties with her person. It's all about the girl you have the fun with and the girl you bring home to see your parents – in the minds of most men, they are not the same girl. The guy who goes around with a lot of girls is a rake, a PLAYA, but a girl who does the same is a sl** and cheap, and as such it is permissible to use and discard her without regarding her feelings and emotions. In Chanda's case, she was betrayed by the guy she was with, who posted the video of her online. SHE is the victim, SHE is a school kid for God's sake, she made a mistake, all teens do. But the attitude of people around her – if it was a guy who had been caught on camera, no one would have said a word, but because it's a girl doing something privately with a guy whom she is in love with, it's like she's evil incarnate the way they try to shame her. Like she says, her name was never mentioned anywhere, but everyone knew who she was, publicly denouncing her while privately getting off on the clip. Hypocritical. While Paro wrecks vengeance on her accusers and promptly marries someone else, Chanda becomes a prostitute and decides to make men pay for what they need. Both women are strong characters who fight back whatever way they can. As for Dev, he's a brat, immature and not really likable, his whole descent into drinking and self-destruction is self-indulgent to say the least. But he does grow and by the end while he's not all that endearing, he's grown up enough that I couldn't help but have a faint respect for him in the end. Dev D is a great movie. Not perfect, mind you, but great. The acting is brilliant, especially Abhay Deol who never tried to soften his portrayal of Dev, but still conveys each layer of change in his character's mentality. The direction was great, the music loud – maybe too loud sometimes – but setting the mood to perfection. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a story with flawed characters and feminist themes.
View MoreInsanity finds a new avatar in this celluloid flux that moves like a vagabond. Erratic from the word go, the most audacious display of characterization, brazen , bold, and in your face...from the rustic fields of Punjab, to the mean streets of Delhi with a detour to London and some snow-capped destination, this voyage of voyeurism is deftly told by Mr. Debonair director , Anurag Kashyap. The message comes in Vodka bottles, in smokes and fumes, and in graffiti drenched dark dingy rooms and sometime in pink papers.We have all hell breaking loose here...with a no holds barred , dare to bare,pervert look at the contemporary Devdas...complete with Paro , Chandramukhi and Chunni Lal!God Must Be Crazy ? Otherwise, Paro is not a damsel Chandramukhi is not just a hooker...and Chunni Lal is ain't no booker ?!And what about Devdas...the quintessential lover boy who looses it all in the bottle? Well, well, well....he is out there...a Punjabi munda on the rocks! He doesn't care a damn about love...what matters is whats on the platter...Groundbreaking Music (hikknaal, mahi menu, Pardesi ), earth shattering lyrics (Emotional Attaychar, Saali Khushi), Mindbending screenplay, Earthy cinematography and topnotch performances by Abhay Deol (Dev), Mahie Gill (Paro) and Chanda (Kalki Keochlin)....this is heady cocktail of modern sociology.Mind it....the flavor is strong. Incredibly Intoxicating!
View MoreNow that's a tall order when the film in question centers around the most boring, uni-dimensional character Indian literature could have possibly produced – the alcoholic, self-destructive romantic, Devdas. Add to that the fact that at least three Hindi films have already transported Devdas' tragic story to the screen.Still, director Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, is a fresh, original take on the subject and the characters, but it's also a long and tiresome film that is not for the fainthearted.Rooted in the real and the contemporary, Kashyap's film stars Abhay Deol as Dev, an aimless Benjamin Braddock-like drifter who returns home to Punjab after a graduation abroad, but has little in terms of future plans, except for getting into the sack with his childhood friend Paro, with whom he's spent many a long night talking dirty on the phone. On learning that she might have had a promiscuous past, Dev rejects Paro and her advances, driving her to marry a man she doesn't love, and landing himself in a downward spiral of booze and drugs and whores.Kashyap takes the basic structure of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's original story, but in setting it in the now, updates much of the film's narrative, and makes the characters' actions and motivations more relatable. So you get a back-story to the Chanda character, the hooker Dev hooks up with in his desperate, despondent phase; and sex itself becomes the invisible but omnipresent motivation that drives many an important plot-point.In its first forty odd minutes Dev D sucks you into its drama, shocking you with its brazenness, and more specifically with Kashyap's audacious re-imagination of the plot and its characters.Take that scene in which Paro (played by newcomer Mahie Gill) sends for Dev to join her in a dense field so they can get down to doing what they've been unsuccessfully trying to do for some days. Watch the manner in which she virtually attacks a reluctant Dev into submission; and then the following scene in which she heads back home, mattress folded and tied on her cycle, after Dev spurns her overtures.Watch also the fantastic song Yeh meri zindagi hai and the inventive manner in which Kashyap uses it to introduce Lenny (played by newcomer Kalki Koechlin), the character who goes on to become Chanda.But from the moment Dev's descent into despair begins, the audience too plunges into what seems like a never-ending roller-coaster ride of loud clanging music, neon lights and head-spinning camera moves. Using music instead of dialogue is a unique and interesting narrative tool, but song-after-song-after-song-after-song your patience wears thin.The film's second half is indulgent and repetitive to the point of being excessive, as it focuses much of its attention on Chanda; and let down by a disappointing performance and stilted dialogue delivery by Koechlin, it never really regains the momentum or the sheer bravura of its early parts.In comparison to Koechlin, Mahie Gill makes a more assured debut as Paro, investing both vulnerability and a cocksure attitude into her character. But it's Abhay Deol who's the real scene-stealer, holding together the film with a fearless performance that is so rare to find.Despite the clever new approach and its stylish telling, the flaw that hurts the film ultimately, is the fact that Devdas is never an engaging enough character and his story lacks soul. Speaking purely for myself, I was bored watching him repeatedly drown himself in drink and drugs. Self destruction is never an attractive quality.I'm going with two out of five and an average rating for director Anurag Kashyap's Dev D. It's one of those films that's likely to either dazzle you or drain you. There is no middle option. Watch it, and decide for yourself.
View MoreAfter waiting for month or a two, my friend ( who wants to watch it again !!) and I booked tickets. A lady just behind our seat was yelling what the hell is "Dv D". My friend and I couldn't stop smiling. When I settled in my seat to witness the spectacle, I couldn't help but feel the buzz, the excitement in the dim lit cinema hall, with people shouting hooting EA even before the movie started. I was damn sure, this was gonna be a helluva ride. And it was much much more than that. It was .. hmmm.. Read on.From where the hell should I start. The film begins with the clash of Dev and Paro. They flirt, dirty talk, make out but just before the finale the misunderstandings trigger their arrogance, temper and egos. They just hit off each other. Sparks fly here and there. And after finally bad mouthing each other they settle and decide to move on. But for Dev, the emotional Atyachaar has just begun. And then, as the age old story of Devdas goes, he drowns himself in booze, dope which finally leads to self destruction.The main 'attraction' of the movie was indeed 'Emosional Atyachaar'. And what a song. And what a 'music video' !! Patna ke Presleys kick start the song with sheer retro/whacky brilliance. Paro cuts loose on the dance floor, and apna Dev boozing to the brim vomits, then trying to walk up to Paro collapses. Whoa!!! I just cant stop gushing. EA was an event!!!!!Coming back to the movie,The detailing is phenomenal, the dialogue, the graffiti, the camera, a "real" Punjabi wedding, the abuse, the bong, the drugs,the momos,the brothels ,the black goggles and even the sex everything is so well placed and thought of that you just cant stop ur self from standing up and giving AK a bow for this work.The movie's progress was totally guided/dictated by the songs. The lovely rustic flavored Dhol Yara Dhol introduces to the world of Paro. The free spirited Yehi meri Zindagi takes us through Chanda's back story. Pardesi plays during Abhay's first real 'trip' in an underground pub. Look out for the Dev's dip in water and the visuals that follow. The movies from the west have used it often, but to see it on the Indian screen was a treat. The three break dancing dudes stuff was pure insane brilliance. Also look out for the three dudes when they sing Saali khushi. Hilarious!!!!Casting is another high point here, with ABHAY standing tall and Mahi,she was just as raw as the character wanted her to be( I wonder if a director ever before dared to show what testosterone charged young lovers talk on phone like the brilliant "have u touched yourself?" in the starting scene ,couldn't stop smiling).But that kick which we all aspire in life and mostly while boozing and doping, is here delivered by the intoxicating visuals which follow the glass break on the wall. EA rock version plays in the background and hits you like a snort of coke (just imagining..). It was a roller coaster ride.After I left the hall I couldn't find a word to describe it. I was just needing somebody who could ask me how was the movie and I could say " awesome". Luckily when I reached home my brother asked me how was it???..............
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