Film review: Dev D

This is certainly one of the well made films from bollywood. Nikhat Kazmi's 5* review conveys it's impact not just on mainstream bollywood cinema, but to critic's eye as well.

The film achieves an seemingly impossible feat, by rehashing the well known story of Devdas by Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. This was the fourth version of the story.
What's different about the film then, one is prompted to ask?
The impossibility is achieved by the strong characterization and a feel of contemporariness, so much so that the film outgrows the main storyline with it's sheer energy and feel.
The BMW car sequence, the MMS case, ... it's these fine elements that imbibes a feel of contemporariness around the story line. A voyeuristic view through the microcosm of Dev's existance and yet getting a glimpse of the prevailing cosmos of his world.
The single minded hedonism and purposelessness of Dev D's reality juxtaposes against the sheer magnanimity and fragmented reality of the world around him, as he seeks assimilation.

The shoulder-strap bag does seem to convey a certain sense of purpose in his demanour, but we are offered no such insights into the same, to the effect that it's of no relevance of consequence i.e., his purposelessness is intact.

The 'happy-ending' of his union with Chanda, is a departure from the actual story line, but is not a departure from his self-indulgence and hedonism. He finally lands up with her after encountering a close-shave from certain death.
For mainstream cinema, the soundtrack is truly path-breaking, we get a feel of the true assimilation power of Indian culture through the 'Patna-ka-Presley' sequence, the Punjabi hip-hop/rap duo's performance, ...
A film that breaks many stereotypes and is path-breaking in more ways than one. Definitely not to be missed by a film-buff.