DEV D Movie Review by Times Of India

THE TIMES OF INDIA
Dev D -5/5
5 Feb 2009, 2000 hrs IST, Nikhat Kazmi, TNN

THANK God for the mavericks, the non-conformists, the infidels, the les enfant terribles. They make things happen when kitsch becomes king; when creativity crumbles; when formula pervades, fungus-like. Imagine a world without rule breakers. And then imagine, like Anurag Kashyap: unbridled, unbounded, ungrounded….

Indeed, Dev D is one such flight of fancy from the filmmaker that definitely defies all conventions and demolishes all moulds. Not only does it rewrite the technique of the artistic medium, with its unusual cinematography, dizzy editing, non-linear plot narration, turn-of-the-century dialogues and breathtakingly bizarre audio track (music: Amit Trivedi, lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya), it completely revises the ancient text which has already made its mark in its various avtars , the latest being the high-pitched rendition of the self-destructive hero by Shah Rukh Khan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas.

Kashyap has always been a contrarian filmmaker, consciously steering away from traditional Bollywood with films like Black Friday, Paanch, No Smoking. However, while his earlier films were an innovative search for his groove and rhythm, Dev D is like that heady cocktail which has the vodka pitched perfectly with the tang. (Incidentally, Dev D likes his vodka with thumbs up, washed down in unlimited portions, morning, noon and night!) Set against the rich rural backdrop of Punjab and Paharganj (Delhi), the film traces the self-destructive sojourn of a young, contemporary hero who mirrors the existential angst of the proverbial outsider, made legendary in the writings of Satre, Camus, Kafka, Kerouac and the ballads of Kurt Cobain.

But Dev D (Abhay Deol), unlike Devdas, isn’t a blast from the past. In his rootlessness, his lack of purpose and his complete disconnect with the real (read traditional) world, he reflects the mindset of the archetypal new millennium 20-something who doesn’t know how to blend tradition with modernity, permissiveness with orthodoxy, Oxford with Bhatinda. And so, he asks his childhood sweetheart, Paro (Mahi Gill) to send him her nude photographs through e-mail, yet can’t handle the quandary about her virginity and pronounced sexuality. In a fit of aggrieved machismo, he spurns her wild sexual adventurism which sees her cycling to the neighbouring fields at the break of dawn with a mattress meticulously rolled up on the carrier for a clandestine tryst with him. (Ever seen the bharatiya naari do this in Indian cinema? Bravo, brave new Bollywood!) Little does he realise that Paro isn’t mere putty in his hand and is unwilling to subject herself to any kind of ‘emotional atyachar’, in the name of love.

Having given vent to her anger and pain, she simply moves on while the already disconnected Dev becomes even more dysfunctional with his alcohol and drug addiction. He moves to a seedy hotel in Paharganj and ends up after a drunken stupour in young Chanda’s (Kalki Koechlin) pink and purple boudoir. Once again, Kashyap reinterprets the self-sacrificing courtesan, Chandramukhi in completely post-modern terms. Here, she is Lenny, the schoolgirl who ends up as the sex worker, Chanda, after being disowned by family and friends because she featured in a lewd MMS, that sent the whole nation in a lustful tizzy. `And they call me a slut!’ exclaims the feisty escort who attends college by day and plays Florence Nightingale in shorts by night.

The relationship between Dev and Chanda begins with hate, scorn and derision with the decadent Dev unleashing his chauvinism and me-centrism on the hooker. But when the haze of cocaine lifts, the heartburn begins, once again. After having stooped to unimaginable lows, our hero dreams of a second chance. Will he get it or is Devdas destined to waste away forever? The last we saw him was at a non-descript momo joint in the seedy by-lanes of Paharganj, waiting for nirvana. Of course, he’s all by himself, since proud little Paro’s moved on and survivor Chanda’s too strong to play doormat, willing to give up her slutty ways, for love alone.

Dev D is indeed a coming-of-age film, not merely for the protagonist, Devender Singh Dhillon, but it is a brilliant breakthrough for Bollywood too. It really doesn’t matter whether the film ends up as a box office scorcher. What matters is the fact that for the discerning viewer, Dev D is a tryst with milestone cinema, reminiscent of Baz Luhrmann’s Shakespeare-shaken-and-stirred in Romeo and Juliet. Kashyap, however, gets even more adventurous and adds a progressive flourish to both the plot and the characters which are played to perfection by the three lead players. If Mahi and Kalki are riveting new finds, assured of a long innings in cinema, then Abhay Deol adds a whole new meaning to the term `Unconventional Hero’. Manorama Six Feet Under, Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye were just teasers. Dev D is the class act from the Deol who cleverly flew over the cuckoo’s nest. Don’t miss this film which completely reinvents the musical love story, with zany numbers like ‘emosanal atyachar’, ‘saali khushi’, ‘nayan tarse’ and the rest. More importantly, it might just go down in history as one of the most radical Indian films, at least in its delineation of male and female sexuality.

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye Movie Review– More like a docudrama on the life-story of a thief.

Dibakar Bannerjee, won millions of hearts and received worldwide appreciation for his first movie, ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’. So his next venture was eagerly awaited by comedy lovers as well as lovers of quality cinema. His present offering showed good vibes with its promos and catchy theme of life of a famous thief. But surprisingly, Dibakar chooses to go with a Documentary film-making style in “OLLO”. The movie is like a biography of a thief, an account of his childhood and youth, about his various relationships and how he manages to escape each time he is caught by the police. 

Dibakar, though not Punjabi by birth, does has a soft corner about Sikhs and Punjabi culture. His first movie had a Punjabi culture feel allover and the same is more evident in this one two. In fact in OLLO he even casts a teenage Sikh boy to play the role of young Lucky. The movie opens with the childhood of lucky. The boy (young Lucky) is well chosen and shows great confidence. It never seems to be his first movie as he is so convincing in his act. The opening scenes between him and Paresh Rawal (his father) are a treat to watch. In simple words this part of the movie showing his start as a thief, his teenage love and fights is the best portion of the movie. 

After this section, enters Abhay Deol with his cute smile and cool attitude. Here I have to say that Abhay is one of the most under-rated actors Bollywood has. His choice of films clearly shows his class cinematic thought process and he deserves praises for that. As Lucky he just floats calmly and impressively in the skin of a famous thief. He again gives a superlative performance as the famous conman of Delhi. Paresh Rawal in a triple role is competent but sadly has very less comic scenes. His best shows in his role of a Vet doctor who becomes partner with lucky for opening a new restaurant. Neetu Chandra is also impressive with her subtle persona.  Archana Puran Singh shows excellent timing for which she is known for. Another worth mentioning act comes from the actor who plays Lucky’s close friend. He is top rate and also gets excellent one liners which entertain the most.  

But despite having talented actors, brilliant performances and bright direction, the film lacks on the part of entertainment.  The movie only tells you the story of a thief, but doesn’t entertain the viewer. It doesn’t have fast unexpected turns in the story. The narration gets repetitive post interval and you know what is going to happen next. Though portrayed as a comedy, the movie doesn’t have enough comic scenes. The funny chemistry is missing which was strongly there in “Khosla Ka Ghosla”. While watching it, you can smile at certain scenes but a hearty laughter would be difficult.  

Dibakar sticks to his choice of realistic topics, having real life inspirations and also again selects Delhi for his backdrop of the story. Its nice to see that atleast he is deriving inspiration from the real life happenings around him and not copying ideas from the English flicks. His present idea of a movie on a famous conman was also interesting and had potential of becoming an interesting movie. Sadly it only remains interesting to a certain section and lacks the expected entertainment factor, which goes against the movie. 

Instead of coming out as an entertaining movie on robberies and chases, OLLO is more like a docu-drama on the life of a famous thief. There is a very limited section of viewers who will find it good enough. People in Delhi Punjab and North territory can relate to it in a better way. Dibaker is surely a director to watch out for and I am waiting for what he plans next. He also knows one thing for sure and that is not to put any song in the script if not needed. So this is another song-less movie from him, which is intelligent on his part. But one thing I would surely like to request to our film-makers here – Do give a worth watching role to Abhay Deol, the boy has got a hidden talent to explore.  

So to end, “Oye Lucky Lucky Oye” is an interesting movie with a touch of difference but don’t expect a great comedy out of it. 

Rating : 2.5 / 5