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Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Nihilist Lover: From Devdas to Dev D



-by Amitaabh
Had he been alive, Sarat babu would have probably been shocked like a typical Indian middle class elder at Devendra Singh Dillon alias Dev D`s escapism, debauchery & non conformism, even though Dev D has inherited all this from his aristocratic foster father Devdas only.
After all, Sarat Chandra`s Devdas would never dare to ask a demure Paro to bare and send him a nude photograph for purely sensual purposes .Even Sanjay Leela Bhansali`s loud & outlandish Shahrukh as Devdas could not be bold enough to openly express his love for a very coquettish Paro played by Aishwarya Roy. But in reinterpreting Devdas`s nihilism, Anurag Kashyap & Abhay Deol have courageously broken some established barriers. Interestingly, of all the interpretations of Devdas, this is the only film where the Bengali bhdralok hero has been transported into a loud Punjabi socio-cultural milieu. In depicting audacious morality, remorse, regret & revenge of today's youth, Dev D should indeed be lauded as a remarkable deviation from the typical bollywood hero's characterization. Even though the Hindi cinema hero has always been an alcoholic nihilist (who can forget Dilip Kumar in Devdas, Daag & Deedar, Gurudutt in Pyasa, Amitabh Bachchan in Muqaddar ka Sikandar & later on Shahrukh khan as an obsessive lover in Darr & Anjaam) courtesy Sarat Chandra Chatterjee`s 1917 classic, Anurag Kashayp's Dev D has completely transformed the immortal character in a very wacky & ruthless manner that smacks of impertinence in every frame . Abhay Deol as Dev D would be remembered for a fantastic rendition of post modern Devdas who suffers "imosanal atyachar" because of his own insecurity & inferiority. If Bimal Roy`s Devdas was a drunkard, Anurag Kashyap`s Dev D goes miles ahead, takes refuge in cocaine & ecstacy pills to get over his love, lust & lament. Abhay Deol has very effectively conveyed through hollowness in his eyes the vacuum of Dev D's soul & his purposeless life. Both Anuran Kashyap & Abhay Deol deserve kudos for reinterpreting the nihilist hero with a very contemporary boldness.

2 comments:

  1. What do you mean by nihilist? A nihilist is person who deny everything after knowing everything. Does Dev of D knows everyting? Yes,he reads diary and some books, but does he has any concept of life? He is not a nihilist, but just an aimless character who know nothing what to do in life. And of course it is not the real character of young India. If you go through the character, you will get that the character is not vacant but the director and his creative team. You can watch all the drama in any c gread hollywod movie. Whole film revolve around sex. Dev leaves Paro because he feels she is not vergin, and stays with chandramukhi is ''Randi''(This word has been used by chandramukhi),is it not the irony of the character of the Dev? It is a sick mind film in which sexual texture has been used in distorted way. One who says it is an experimental film, I would in his thinking ability. If it is an experimental film, what is the purpose of this film? After a hell life one day Dev reliased that ''beta sudar ja...and he flies with chadramukhi. Does he think about his mother? No, then what is the importace of beta sudhar ja. Voh sudhara kanha hai? Yes it will entertain you and your girl friend, but not the massess. You cannot dare to go to theatre with famale members of your family? How can a good writer and director go away without social responsibility? If one want to earn more money,it would be better to make a porn film. How he has depicted the character of Paro's father? No fater would tolerate it in Punjab.

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  2. हम उत्तर आधुनिकता के दौर से आगे निकल चुके हैं। यहां हर चीज सापेक्ष है। शराब पीना किसी के लिए बहुत खराब हो सकता है पर दूसरे को बहुत अच्छा भी लग सकता है। हमारे मन में दोनों में से किसी के लिए कोई घृणा नहीं है। आदर्श अब निहायत ही निजी चीज है। इसलिए अनुराग कश्यप की फिल्म देव डी को सिरे से खारिज कर देना उचित नहीं है। राजनीति के खिलाफ बोलना भी एक तरह की राजनीति है उसी तरह हर चीज को खारिज कर देना एक तरह की भूल है। मैं अमिताभ जी की बातों से इतेफाक रखता हूं अनुराग और अभय बेखौफ अंदाज के लिए 'कुडोस' के हकदार हैं। आलोक नंदन जी की टिप्पणी पर एक बात कहना चाहता हूं। बहुत सारी चीजें ऐसी होती हैं जो हम परिवार के साथ नहीं देख सकते हैं। लेकिन हमारी भरसक कोशिश होती है कि येन केन प्रकारेन उसे देख जाए। राजकपूर की फिल्में सबसे ज्यादा सोशल इश्यू पर बनती रही हैं पर हर फिल्म में कुछ आपत्तिजनक सीन ज़रूर रहते थे। फिर भी फिल्में खूब देखी और सराही जाती रही हैं। विमल राय की देवदास और संजय लीला भंसाली की फिल्म में फर्क है। वजह है टाइम और स्पेस। जाहिर है देव डी एक एक्सपेरिमेंटल फिल्म है। कमियां हैं पर उसकी वजह से फिल्म की अच्छाईयों को इंकार नहीं किया जा सकता।

    धीरज सार्थक

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