AAJ KA DEVDAS
After watching Anurag Kashyapji’s DEV.D, I sat on a bench at a park thinking to drink or not to drink. At the same time the writer kida in me was bugging me repeatedly to have my own modern interpretation of Devdas. And why not, when Bhansaliji & Kashyapji can cross boundaries in their way, then why should I be a run of the mill lekhak. Sitting on a bench & going through all this thought & feelings, a girl came and asked, “Uncle may I sit here?”
“Certainly, my pleasure,” I said.
“May I talk to you?” she asked.
“Its’ double pleasure, but why do you want to talk to me?” I asked.
I presume that you must have seen all Devdas films” she said.
“I do look quite ancient. I saw all Devdas films, but my memory about P.C. Barua’s ‘Devdas’ is quite hazy” I said.
“What’s your opinion about the early movies?” she asked.
“All the films have their distinctive features. Barua’s ‘Devdas’ was strong on emotions and it had the Saigal’s crooning. Bimal Roy’s scored more on performances by actors and Vyjayantimala’s dancing. Sanjay Leela Bhansali made it a blockbuster with terrific production values and he made the innovation of Paro and Chandramukhi not only meeting but also dancing together, “I said.
“What do you think of Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Dev.D’” she asked.
“It is supposed to be a movie about to-days’ youth. How present day Devdas, Paro and Chandramukhi would behave. Your opinion should be more valuable, “I said.
“Most of the reviewers have praised the film giving it all the stars in their baskets. But it does not become a modern film by just putting a dot after Dev,” she said.
“How do you say that it is not about today’s youth?” I asked.
“The main protagonist Devdas is almost the same as in earlier films. The difference is that he had started grass & drinks before losing Paro,”. She said.
“But he had not become an addict, “ I said.
“Well, Anurag could not have changed Devdas’s character significantly, but he could have made Paro different. Here Paro is also same. While they are shown chatting on the net, it looked that Paro would emerge a different character. But it did not happen. She makes a fool of herself cycling to a sugarcane field with a mattress tied on the carrier for a rendezvous.
What was he making a sex comedy?. When Devdas turned her away, she accepted the marriage with a widower having two children, and accepted the traditional role of Bhratiya nari. How is she different from Barua’s Paro?” she asked.
“There is hardly any difference”, I agreed.
“ Kashyap’s Chandra is also basically same as the Chandramukhi of older films. The difference is that she has more education, goes to college and can do phone sex in many languages, but basically she is good hearted like other Chandramukhis and she starts loving Dev,” she said.
“You seem to have good knowledge of cinema. How would you have scripted the film? “I asked. “ Kashyap shows Paro as a Brilliant girl. She boasts that she got highest marks in the college, while Dev barely passed. The new Paro should have opted for a career and an independent life. She pursues her studies, does MBA, joins a multinational company and is posted in Delhi.” She said.
“It’s an idea,” I said.
“Chandra does not have a heart of gold. She is after gold. She throws out Dev when he has no money. Paro is returning from a party driving her Merc Benz. Devdas is lying drunk on the road. Paro sees him, stops the car and takes him home. When she sees that he has turned in to a hopeless alcoholic, Paro gets him admitted in a rehab clinic,” she said.
“It sounds like a medical idea”, I said.
“The problem of addiction was not understood in those days when Sarat Chandra wrote the novel and Barua made the film. Even today there is a lot of ignorance about it. Devdas was an addict. He needed treatment. He was not to be left alone,” she said.
“How do you say it?” I asked.
“I work as a clinical counselor” she said.
“But we are talking about a film. How do you end it?” I asked.
“Well, Devdas is cured of addiction. Devdas and Paro live happily ever after, & all this presented in a slick, stylish & vibrant manner” she said.