Anurag Kashyap's Dev.D
A Modern Take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Classic Novel Devdas
Oct 11, 2009
Devdas is a romantic tragedy about the relationship between Devdas and Paro. Devdas is from a rich, upper class family and Paro is from a middle class background. The story starts of with Devdas and Paro as young childhood sweethearts.
After thirteen years they still feel the same and staying in accordance with Bengali tradition, where the girl’s parents have to approach the boy’s parents with a proposal of marriage, Paro's mother goes to Devdas' mother with a proposal. Devdas' mother rejects the proposal sighting her own higher status in society. Paro's mother is insulted and to prove a point to Devdas' parents she arranges Paro's marriage to a man with higher financial and social status.
Devdas is a Coward in Front of his Parents
Paro learns of her arranged marriage and talks to Devdas, hoping that he will go against his parents and marry her. However Devdas is too much of a coward to go against his parents, he leaves home and flees to Calcutta. From there he writes Paro a letter saying that they were only childhood friends and he doesn't love her.
Paro is heartbroken from the letter and in a weakened state she agrees to marry the man chosen by her parents. Devdas realises that he has made a mistake and comes back to apologise. A disgruntled Paro doesn't forgive him, she punishes him for his cowardice by rejecting him. Then a heartbroken Devdas goes back to Calcutta and forms a relationship with a courtesan, he takes to heavy drinking with the intention to drink till death.
Later Devdas senses that he only has days to live, in the hope of seeing Paro one more time he goes to her house, as he gets there he collapses at her doorstep. Paro learns of this and runs towards him but her in-laws prevent her from stepping out of the door. Devdas dies without seeing her face.
Dev.D Concentrates on the Destruction of Devdas
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's story gave a truthful depiction of the social Bengali conventions that prevented two lovers from being together. Anurag Kashyap's Dev.D is a modern day take on the story. The setting is moved from Bengal to the contemporary city of Delhi. Most of the characters and elements of the story remain the same however the theme of the film is much darker. Dev.D is presented as being insecure and arrogant. Where in the original he suffers from being separated from Paro, in this film the thought of Paro making love to somebody else is what affects him.
The change in the character of the courtesan is at the heart of the dark take on the story. Where in the original she performs classical dance numbers in a Mogul palace like atmosphere. In Dev.D she is a prostitute who for her customers re-enacts scenes from western pornographic films.
With Dev.D Anurag Kashayup doesn't concentrate on the story's theme of how love is destroyed by people abiding to centuries old social customs. Kashyaup adapts the story and looks at the negative shades of Devdas' character. Instead of showing the destruction of love he shows the destruction of Devdas. A man from a wealthy family who enjoys the finer things in life becomes confined in a world of drugs, pornography and prostitution.
