DevD is a movie about lust, sex, loyalty and love in all its imperfections and complexities. Abhay Deol stars as Dev, a spoilt rich boy who returns home to Punjab after a graduation abroad, but has little in terms of future plans, except for getting into the sack with his childhood friend Paro, with whom he's spent
many a long night talking dirty on the phone. On learning from a local village sleazy scumbag that she might have had a promiscuous past, Dev rejects Paro and her advances, driving her to marry a man she doesn't love, and landing himself in a downward spiral of booze, drugs and prostitutes.
As Dev and Paro part ways, a traumatized Chanda enters the equation, a teenaged girl who becomes ostracized by her family and friends due to explicit filming of her by her boyfriend. Of her own free will she becomes a hooker in Delhi's famous Pahar Ganj area and the one Dev hooks up with in his desperate, despondent phase.
There is absolutely nothing likable about the narcissist Dev. It seems that women were intrigued by his bad boy vibe and he is portrayed as the ultimate spoiled brat but how can a viewer have any sympathy for a character who doesn't even have a single likable trait about him?
I watched this movie not knowing what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised at how it captured and held my interest throughout. I found it bold, brazen and at the same time dark and depressing but I think DevD has given a new meaning to Indian movie making and creativity.
April 18, 2011
Top Critic
