A Restless Mind

Cast: Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Mahi Gill, Parakh Madan

Music: Amit Trivedi

Writers: Anurag Kashyap, Vikram Motwane

Director: Anurag Kashyap


Dev-D is an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous tragic love story, Devdas. If Sanjay Leela Bhansali stuck to the original and gave it all the splendour a modern budget of Rs500m could afford, Anurag Kashyap, the controversial director of Black Friday presents a modern take on the story. He kept the main characters and the bulk of the story but he moulds them into what he thinks they would have been like in the 21st century on a dark canvas. He is financed by a subsidiary of UTV, UTV SpotBoy who are known for their promotion of directors and writers who have an unconventional approach to movie making (as characterised by their low-budget successes of last year, Aamir and Welcome To Sajjanpur).


Dev (Abhay Deol), who hails from a rich Punjabi family comes back to India after his studies in London and looks forward to meeting his childhood sweetheart, Paro (Mahi Gill). But the fiery Dev, consumed by his ego and jealousy rejects Paro after hearing rumours about her loose character. Paro, outraged, marries a well-off man from New Delhi and moves there. Heart-broken Dev goes to Delhi in the hope of somehow regaining his love and ends up mired in a life of alcohol and drugs. He would also meet the prostitute Chanda (Kalki Koechlin) and develops a weird but strong bond with her. Dev's life slowly descends into wretched chaos, albeit with the occasional moment of happiness, and is left to the mercy of fate.


I initially had my reservations about this movie since I am a huge fan of Bhansali's Devdas. The first few minutes when Dev, while in London, asks Paro over the phone if she touches herself give you an idea of where the movie is going. It is not meant to be extravagant and sentimental. Dev-D is outrageously dark and in-your-face crude, with a few background tracks (which do not amaze, but do blend in well with the story) and no song sequences. The movie reflects the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll culture of the modern youth and breaks almost every boundaries of Bollywood (I have never heard the word 'c*ck' being uttered in a mainstream movie!!). But as soon as I saw Abhay Deol's swagger as carefree and arrogant Dev, I couldn't get away from the screen. The characters, even though modern and twisted are portrayed in a strong emotional way. Even Mahi Gill's characterisation of Paro carries shades of grey. On the whole the excellent cast adds to the brilliance of the dark plot. Special mention should also be made of Franco-Indian debutant, Kalki Koechlin who makes the role of Chanda (the modern Chandramukhi) her own. She has a promising future ahead.

If you are in the mood of some ground-breaking dark Bollywood 'maal' with a daring director at the helm, or if you want to catch a glimpse of the ridiculously talented rising star, Abhay Deol, then watch this flick, which is probably the best dark drama since Omkara. But if you like rosy romance where boy meets girl and never have sex before mariage, then stay away from this!! Also, it's not the best movie to watch with your family, as you might have guessed already!

Movie Rating : 3.5 out of 5