Dev D:Review

Was it really a Bollywood film? I still can't comprehend how an Indian Director could churn out such a film and get away with it. It was the first 'Anurag Kashyap' film I saw and the guy has a new die-hard fan. Whether it is the characterization, the storyline, the music score, the cast: every single aspect of the film is breathtaking. The first five minutes of the film are enough to make you realize that it isn't an ordinary bollywood flick. (I dare you to watch the film and not say "What the hell!" out aloud :P) I can understand why many people found the whole concept offensive but frankly, it isn't. Yes it is bold, but not obscene. It doesn't reduce your memories of the original devdas to tatters but merely helps you create new ones. (There are moments in the film that bring a smile on your face even when you're done watching it) The ironic part is that the (so-called) offensive tone doesn't lie in the visual graphics-but the dialogues (which maybe the reason why the censor board gave a free rein to it) I'll just list up the pros and cons:

Pros:
*They're not overstating the term "Coming of the age Cinema" when they relate Dev D to it. It is different-and it is brilliant.
*The three main leads are superb. Abhay Deol surpasses himself (yet again!) and the gal who played Chanda morphs from a school girl to a sex worker with such ease that it is almost unnerving. But the surprise package was Paro. Having seen flashes of a film of Mahi (some weird Punjabi flick with its own take on 'Meri Padosan') I wasn't expecting anything extraordinary. But she is-extraordinary... and more!
*Average music that goes brilliantly in sync with the film (and how can you not love 'emotional atyachaar')
*THE ticket scene. The most phenomenal comic sequence I have seen in bollywood since ages. I had to actually pause the film because I couldn't stop laughing.

Cons:
*Too many suggestive dialogues and too many scenes that make you cringe. It is not the sort of film you can watch with your family. (Reminds me of a girl who had gone to see this film with her parents. Dad walked out the moment Dev said "Paro main aa raha hoon " :| ROFL!!)
*The 'Chanda' angle was overplayed. I loved how her story was built up but after a while I was so sick of watching it get dragged on that the only thing on my mind was "Get it over with already!"

It is a morbid film. You'll enjoy it while you're watching it, but it'll leave you with a sinking feeling. It is not Karan Johar's sugar coated romantic flick where guys are sweet and decent & girls are nice and homely. This film explores a completely different aspect of the spectrum. It is crude-but not tasteless. Stay away from it if you want a 3 hour no-brainer bubbling with romance (You might want to dig up an old Kuch Kuch Hota Hai DVD for that)
But don't bash this film if you watch similar story lines in hollywood flicks and not even wince but create a havoc when the same interpretation is given in Hindi. That is the definition of having double standards!