Abhay Deol in a still of Dev.D (courtesy of YouTube)
New Delhi:
The actor Abhay Deol is on a roll with his series “#makingwhatbollywouldnt” on Instagram. Saturday, 44-year-old actor chose to talk about his 2009 movie Dev.D, which was a modern version of the novel Devdas. In his legend, Abhay Deol seemed to reveal that he was the one who proposed the concept of the film, but it took him a year to get a filmmaker on board to direct it, with Anurag Kashyap finally agreeing to direct the film. “Dev.D released in 2009. I spent a year telling the idea to several people before involving Anurag to realize it. I remember the reaction of people when I heard my narration, it was always “it’s too much an art film”. Fortunately for me, Anurag understood this, “read an extract from Abhay Deol’s post.
Explain what did Dev.D different from the other Devdas movies or even the novel, Abhay Deol said he wanted to change the narrative around glorifying a “misogynistic” character – the incumbent Devdas – with his version of Dev. Abhay Deol added that the idea was to highlight the female characters as “strong” and to “empower them”. “I had read the book and I could see that the character was a chauvinist, a misogynist, titled and arrogant. Yet he had been romantic for decades! Women, on the other hand, were strong and upright, but there were still waiting for them to love their man no matter what. I wanted to change that. I wanted to empower them, spread the image of “good, dedicated, woman”. It was time to make them independent, not defined by the man they love, or by men in general. This is why Paro calls Dev’s faults and puts it in its place, “writes Abhay Deol.
While Abhay Deol played the main character in Dev.D – Dev, the Devdas equivalent of Anurag Kashyap’s film. Actress Mahie Gill has been interpreted as Parminder or Paro, who is the darling of Dev’s childhood. After Dev dismisses Parminder on business rumors, she gets married in an arranged marriage. Dev finally learns that the rumors are unfounded but cannot face Parminder and turns to alcohol and drugs for distraction. He finally seeks comfort in an escort named Chanda, the modern version of Devdas“Chandramukhi, played by Kalki Koechlin but also rejects her for her profession. However, he eventually finds Chanda, who then left his trade, and Dev begins a new life with her.
Abhay Deol’s message took an interesting turn as it revealed that he had a different end in mind for the film, which, however, was not broadcast on the big screen because Anurag Kashyap believed that a “happy ending” would appeal better to the public. Here’s how Abhay Deol would have ended Dev.D, if it was up to him: “In my version, Dev is shot by the police (he becomes a drug dealer) in front of Paro’s house and dies as in the book. Chanda does not fall in love with him, and she is not ashamed either of being a high class escort from Eastern Europe (again, in my version). She is the strongest character of the three and is not afraid of being judged. She sympathizes with Dev, seeing how broken he is, and I went with the theme “prostitute with a heart of gold” from the book. “
“Anurag felt that a happy ending would make the film more accepted by the public, and its turn was to make Dev and Chanda fall in love. My vision was too dark! I followed the movement, and I even brought my The Twilight Players buddies to, “added Abhay Deol.
“Dev.D” released in 2009. I spent a year telling the idea to several people before having Anurag on board to lead it. I remember the reaction of people when I heard my narration, it was always “it’s too much an art film”. Fortunately for me, Anurag understood this. I had read the book and I could see that the character was a chauvinist, a misogynist, authoritative and arrogant. Yet he had been romantic for decades! The women, on the other hand, were strong and upright, but there was always this expectation for them to love their man no matter what. I wanted to change that. I wanted to give them power, to spread the image of the “good, devoted, woman”. It was time to make them independent, not defined by the man they love or by men in general. This is why Paro calls Dev’s faults and puts it in its place. In my version, Dev is shot by the police (he becomes a drug dealer) in front of Paro’s house and dies as in the book. Chanda does not fall in love with him, nor is she ashamed of being a high class escort from Eastern Europe (again, in my version). She is the strongest character of the 3 and is not afraid of being judged. She sympathizes with Dev, seeing how broken he is, and I went with the theme “prostitute with a heart of gold” from the book. Anurag felt that a happy ending would make the film more accepted by the public, and his turn was to make Dev & Chanda fall in love. My vision was too dark! I went with the feed and even got my friends @twilightplayers to be there. The rest is history. #makingwhatbollywouldnt # dev.d
Abhay Deol is best known for starring in unconventional films such as Manorama six feet underground, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Ek Chalis Ki Last local and Honeymoon trips Pvt. Ltd.. He has also appeared in commercial hits such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Aisha. Abhay Deol was last seen in What are the chances?, which was released on Netflix in March.
