_top_ | Dev D 2009

"Dev D" is the definitive answer to the question: what happens when you take the most iconic tragic lover in Indian literature and throw him into the chaos of the 21st century?

Anurag Kashyap, however, had no interest in silk curtains or poetic death. Along with co-writer Vikramaditya Motwane and actor Abhay Deol (who contributed the concept), Kashyap set out to deconstruct the myth [10†L3-L5]. The result is a lean, mean, 144-minute rocket fuelled by cocaine, Vodka, and bruised ego [10†L16-L17]. dev d 2009

A student named Leni who becomes a pariah after an MMS sex scandal (inspired by the real-life 2004 DPS case) and takes on the identity of Chanda, a high-end escort. Technical Brilliance and Visual Language "Dev D" is the definitive answer to the

Drugs aren’t glamorized. They are shown as rotting teeth, vomit, psychosis, and isolation. Kashyap uses long, shaky-cam sequences to simulate a heroin nod. The drugs numb Dev, but they never heal him — they just delay the inevitable confrontation with himself. The result is a lean, mean, 144-minute rocket

Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of Dev.D is its treatment of its female leads, Paro and Chanda. In previous iterations, Paro was the symbol of purity and unrequited love, while Chandramukhi was the "fallen woman" with a heart of gold. Kashyap shatters these binaries.