Dev.D- The Look and the style
A lot of questions came forth about how we shot Dev.d. Well, I didn’t know how to go about it either, like i always do, with every film. It’s the film that always decides the shooting style. Style is always a happenstance. It’s never predecided. Locations, where i am shooting always plays a major role, what i am shooting, the subject, it’s soul decides how i have to go about it. The film was set in various places, various moods, cities and areas. The film begins in Punjab, and i wanted to capture punjab. The question i asked myself is what punjab is all about. It is the richest state in India, reason- farming, and land which is so rich. Most of the people in punjab are farmers and family memebers who are in either UK or other parts of the world. I wanted to capture punjab like it is, still, the farming season, the harvest season, the farms, the jaggery units, the sugar mills, and lots of liquid cash. Big cars, hot wheels and people in punjab talking punjabi, music very rooted , punjabi. Paro is parminder, a rustic punjabi girl, who handles family and farms, household and it’s men with the same elan. She can be like a man when it needs to be and delicate like a woman when it needs to be. That is the reason I cast Mahie Gill. Mahie has been an actress in punjabi films for sometime now. I saw her at a party. I was with Imtiaz ali and we saw a girl dancing like there’s no tomorrow and then we spoke to her she was rustic, you knew from the way she talked that she was earthy. I immediately told her i wanted to meet her and told her she is my Paro whenever and if I get to do this film. That was a year before we actually started. There was a lot of resistance initially against her , but today UTV loves her so much that she is doing, Aagey se Right with shreyas and Kaykay and Paan Singh Tomar opposite Irrfan for UTV and my Gulaal.
The entire Punjab chunk in the movie is the way the place is. Still and picturesque. A lot of people who saw the film, their first reaction when the movie begins is, “this can’t be you,this is so yashraj, mustard fields and all, punjabi songs and wedding and all” etc. Then the zone changes. Story moves from Paro a.k.a parminder to chanda. It moves to delhi, south delhi, CP, shanti path Delhi, the public schools, then to canada and punjab during the harvest season and further to Delhi we know little about. The delhi of the nights, of dariyaganj etc. The style , we decided with which we will shoot her story has to be intimate, close and hand held, just follow her around. See her journey, what makes her what she becomes, and why?
Finally we move to Dev’s story. Dev.D a.k.a devender singh dhillon. Son of a rich industrialist from Punjab, the sugar baron and his wandering, his self destruction. This part of the story i wanted to shoot in various places. My choices were the places where people come from all over the world to find themselves. In india they are Goa, Dharamshala, Malana, Auroville in pondicherry , Leh and Pahadganj in Delhi.
Pahadganj normally being the first stop, on a street popularly known as the Israeli street. It looks like either Mongkok or some back street of Hongkong. A neonlit street infested with foreigners mostly israeli’s. You have the street food from all over the world, from shawarmas to momos to tempuras to shushis to whatchmacallit. That is where all the drug peddlers are and all the guys who want to end up with a white woman are found. All the white woman looking for nirvana end up here with some junkie or a peddler or a pimp. This place is like none else. This is where all the rich kids land up to have the white experience. That is where Dev lands up to find himself and he floats. This place has it’s own atmosphere and it is seductive. The shooting style changed with the place.
Dev’s interiors of the room in Delhi and Chanda’s interiors were predesigned. My production designer Sukant Panigrahy(Chak De) and his art director cum actress wife Helen Jones brought in the pink in Chanda’s house. She went and got every property from the mosquito nets to the che guevara ashtrays and mannequins and the various wigs. Similarly the also brought in the graffiti on the wall of Dev’s room. The idea being , a lot of artists and musicians have passed through this room and have left something behind in a way that’s permanent, like art.
Dev’s clothes and the bag and even the underwears were handpicked by Abhay himself. Rest of the looks were designed by Shubhra. For chanda we went on the net, picked a lot of Twiggy photographs and that of Gia Carnegie for reference, because Chanda plays a fantasy girl, she is a different character everyday. Paro we wanted to be as rustic and raw as possible so one could see the transformation when the story needed it. Designing Chunni was special, he stands out. Dubyendu has a beautiful shiny black skin and we wanted to put garishly loud colours on him, primary colours, was the brief given. That is how the look of the characters came together.
It was difficult to shoot on the crowded streets. During the day the approach was very Black Friday, hide the camera and shoot. A nightmare for the sound guys. Rajiv Ravi, my partner in crime, my DOP was game for anything, he loves risky shoots. We went for it. Shooting nights were a nightmare. We couldn’t light up, it attracted crowds in thousands. One day someone floated around a rumuor saying SRK is shooting here, the crowd just refused to go. We couldn’t shoot. We had to take a decision, either go on like that for days and inflate the budget or find a solution or relocate. Relocating was out of the question so Rajiv said lets shoot early mornings for night. And we did just that, Ajay would go individually to every hotel to put on their neons at 4 in the a.m. and we waited for the sky to turn slightly blue and we shot the night scenes. A lot of style came from the twilight players. The way they are, the way they dress up and generally be. We got our wim wenders frames and lots of gangsta look that came with the twilight players. We just let them all be and captured them.
I did not want to show drugs in the film. But the script demanded it, so I had to find a way to do it. That is where Danny Boyle came in handy.
Instead of showing the drugs , we just show Dev going for it and then the camera starts tripping very well aided by Amit Trivedi’s music. Dev.D is two short stories and a novella. A journey, infact three journeys of three characters and how they crisscross each other. It is about the times we live in of fast food, fast cars, fast cash, where love is confused with lust and viceversa. Where one doesn’t know what they want, drifting is the name of the game and people are living from one high to another and everyone is looking for the next fix.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
I’m curious about things like,color and Tints
Did you prepared Pre.Visualization technique;Concept Art before shooting the scenes,
Color treatment and all.
Because some of the scenes in trailer looks fantastic color wise,
And you are keeping that thing through out your website, posters and Dev D logo.
Same question but bit rephrased – is the toxic pink/red dominant in some of the scenes?
There was a design to the interiors of Chanda, like the one you see in that shot where chanda crosses her legs. All done by Sukant panigrahy and helen jones.. Rest of the design preexists, we did not alter a thing, we just found those places.. no colour filters were used on camera, yes Rajiv did use them liberally in interiors on lights at chanda’s and delhi interior night chunks.
pink is chanda’s interiors and red in dev’s house in punjab..
Anurag; Thanks for the Information .
sir,who has written the screenplay of dev.d
Have updated that bit in the post too..
sir was it a deliberate attempt to skip the number five from the emotional attyachar song at the start where he sings ek,do teen chaar che……
unfortunately i have not been able to get a copy of the film paanch
i hope th dvd copy of paanch is available…
Hmm..must say, that white wig, and Chanda’s get up give her a very bizarre, at times scary look. She intrigues me in one moment, and leaves a shrill through my spine in the next. It wouldn’t be far from the mark to assume that she has a stronger role of the two, would it!!
And I just noticed now that the instrumental pieces in the OST are Dev Chanda themes!! I somehow inside my mind kept thinking that they were happier tunes of Dev and Paro’s beginning of love!!
Anurag Ji,
Did you have any trouble with post production with the SI-2K camera? Did you use a regular 35 MM camera for the non-trippy shots? Was it difficult to get the same look and feel from these two different cameras?
If this is too much, how about a detailed post by your technical team? Thanks & Regards.
atul-
vikram motwane and me
tejas hmmmmmmm you are seeing a lot.. not good
Hey..anurag jus want to let u know no smoking was gr8..i loved it.
Talking about the look and style of this film it simply amazing. I remember watching the trailer of this film a month back and I did not know initially that this movie was your take on DevDas and my first impressions were of the movie “Requiem For a Dream”. Later when i googled on this project of urs i was simply awestruck coz i myself never imagined if devdas were to be in this age where would he fit in. Awesome idea I hope it works and I really want it to.
Also had a curiousity to know that if you had seen “Requiem For a Dream” and did it help you in Dev D in any way…….I know the plots are very much different Dev D is a romantic tale and RFAD a movie on self destruction through drug abuse and much more but did it influence the portrayal of drug abuse in Dev D. I know it mayb all hypothetical coz I just thought of it all by seeing the trailer of this film.
we did not use SI-2k, we used nikon DS3.. btw there is Q labs that provides postproduction facility on SI-2K and they also have the camera.
so..are there any really trippy scenes ??
and where did u find chanda?? she looks like some foreigner…
Lol…well, I will shut up now!
But since the very first time I saw the trailer, the visuals have been evoking a film by another highly respected director in my mind. Will talk about that later after the movie is released, though. 
Dilip i have seen requim for a dream, have even read the book and loads of others on abuse and self destruction.. right from Junky to less than zero, a million little pieces, last exit to brooklyn etc. Hubert selby jr. who wrote RFAD also wrote Last exit which was made into a film, the cult of my times..
No requim has nothing to do with Dev.D, except the body rig shots which i have been trying to figure out ever since i saw Mean streets, first time Harvey Kietel walks in to the bar, that shot stayed with me.. The still camera technique i had used earlier in Paanch title sequence.. it was taken further this time because of the available equipment.
sir i have made a movie called “kash” dedicated to your no smoking and would like u to have a look on it.
There are trippy scenes trippy..
and chanda is played by kalki koechlin.. she is born to french hippy parents who came to india in the sixties. She was born in pondicherry and grew up in india, education in Ooty at hebron.. Tamil is her first language.. she speaks tamil, french , hindi and english.
sure atul
i always had this doubt..about colours…
how do u use colors?? like when do u use blue red etc?? in black friday everything had a reddish orange tinge to it..i can understand…but people generally realte lust or sex scenes with fire..or jiya jale ..then also it is red and orange yellow…but for these scenes as in no smoking and other movies people use blue ..
i simply loved mani ratnam’s way of using color in “bombay” … he uses greentinges of blue when the loving is blossimg and reds and oranges like you by the end of the movie… bu the same person mystified me in “yuva” .. he used blue for siddarth’s role green for surya’s and red for madhavan … red for madhavan is understandable..but green and blue?? blue is it to say..siddarth’s character takes life very simply cooly so blue? then green?? is he trying to get indian flag colors??
or do u use colors literally..like “he is green with envy”..so envy and jealousy is green like the onida day which used to come few years back..but jealousy and family rivalry should go with red i presume…
like “he is all blue today” he is sad so blue ..like in kieslowski’s blue she is lonely and all she is actually ‘blue’ (sad) ..so blue???
i saw 2 tarkovsky’s movies recently solaris and stalker.. stalker he seemed to ahve alternated for inside the zone and outside zone … but the color shots i felt have more to do with the story..for instance the arguments debates about life…and showing how life actually is he used color and for transcedence he used sepia..as if to say transcedence is not clear to us but it is there as a hope…in solaris he did a very good thing i feel using lots a white…white i feel is very christian spiritualty…
and coming to dev d… what is the difference betwen pink and red or any other color used??
and if u can kindly explain colors in “eyes wide shut” …
sir i will talk straight i am in my last year of chemical engg.,already placed in two big companies (sir not boasting)but i am really interested in working with u and i am sure what i want to do in future that is-film direction pls guide me to ur office
Is the film in sync sound or is it dubbed?
for some reason ‘ leaving las vegas ‘ comes to my mind.
the north indians are waiting for the ‘bizarro’ [ (c)-seinfeld/DC comics] yashraj film. i am hoping, it’ll go beyond.
Best.
@Anurag:(i’m assuming you don;t liked to be called sir….don’t know why i made that assumption:)
the trippy shots (nikon ones i think) seem to be shot at about 10 fps….nice……there seems to be quite a bit of underexposure too though not quite sure…
the body rig seems a lil cliche doesn’t it….every drug movie and its grandmother has started using it for the stoned look…..
i like the scene from Mean Streets when Harvey Kietel is dancing with the strippers, apparently scorsese put HIM on the dolly….
have you seen the king of comedy….what did you think of the visual style…all master-shots. not much fluidity with the camera…do you think you’d do that someday?
*the shot where he gets up to dance with the stripper i meant…
Mr. Kashyap, all these stuff that you are writing about Dev.D, the experiences, shoot, location,music and so many other things…moreover, the overall technical aspect of filmmaking especially the part where you wrote about Mr. Boyle suggesting you this camera that did the tricks in your film…It’s really nice of you to share all this here..Particularly for me, even though I’ve worked with u, but there were opportunities that I missed during Dev D’s shoot;reading these posts have truly helped me to understand more about your style of filmmaking…
Thank You
HI Aunrag sir! i have been reading all your posts for quite a sometime now and esp im keeping a track on Dev D. lots of things have been said about ur no smoking and blackfriday. i really liked the later one but wont deny the fact that i completely understood the former one with my own interpretation ,but its just that i was wondering whether you exaggerated the execution little to high, keeping the indian audiences in mind.
and like everyone els even im eagerly waiting for DevD to release not because its been talked about lot here on PFC but genuienly i think the traliers looks very interesting and ‘experimental’ too. and as Atul asked you about the use of colors , im very much interested to know about the whole use of them, which i have seen in most of films by some great directors. can the use of color be varied according to the situation. can the “blue’ color be used for something other then sadness?can the stereotype be changed when it comes to the use color.
thank you
sorry it’s “trippy” and not atul who has asked you about the use and interpretations of colors *
It is about the times we live in of fast food, fast cars,fast cash,where love is confused with lust and viceversa….and thats why its so important bcz if art doesnt document our life n times n cinema doesnt tell our stories,whats d point!!
Hi Sir
I have watched some rushes of your film and i found them loud, upfront and demeaning to the very essence of social value of a human being. May be i m making a premature comment upon your yet-to-be-released film. I m making now , coz i felt like. nothing personal. I wil write one after watching the whole film, which seems interesting.
All i want to ask you is when are you going to make film for children?
@mindripper
for children he made “hanuman returns”
Hanuman Returns – have ya heard of the film, Mindripper?
@Mindripper –
You made me laugh till I cried. Do you seriously believe in those that you have written . I mean the social value and all those shit. Did you mean it????
Wow, Anurag Kashyap will read my words. The guy who coined the term ‘emosssional atyachar’. Heh.
Anyways I was already a cult follower of ‘No Smoking’ is there exists one that is, and I just saw you were the one who wrote ‘Yuva’. Hats off!
Always wanted to ask the writer of Yuva this question- Had you seen ‘Amores Perros’ before writing ‘Yuva’?
though paresh rawal did a fine job while playing baba bengali in ns but pankaj kapoor could have been a better choice
“….loud, upfront and demeaning to the very essence of social value of a human being”-what the fuck do you mean by that??and who the hell are you to tell whom to make what??”social value of a human being”….my foot!!stop bullshitting!!
u call urself “mindripper”,u should call urself mindless rotten idiot!!
……this is gonna be one helluva movie…..
and emotional atyaachar is already a part of our conversations…..
hmm by the way……u mentioned dharamsala….does it go to Mcleodgunj as well..?
Cool..AK…if i am not wrong..you have used body rig cameras in NS too right? When John is coming out of prayogshala..but guess that was just one of those shots..here we see a lot..and looks great..
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PFCOne STARTS ON MONDAY…
Dear Anurag,
Just watched d trailer of your Dev D…guess it came out just now here in US..anyways 1st emotion that i felt was of relief!!! that finally after long time you will be able to silence your critiques and this time not by ballyhooing but by his art. I am not a fan of yours frankly telling, but I know for sure that you are a great talent. So wish you luck this time that it clicks because its over due now.
Second thing i felt was that this could well be ‘role of a lifetime’ for Abhay Deol…..if he pulls it off nicely….man!!!he will be up there for sure….I sincerely hope he does.
Third and last thing…..the trailer made me feel somehow that it won’t turn out to be a No Smoking!!!I sincerely wish it doesn’t….coz to me it looked like Trainspotting in a Devdas story….Is it so??? Reading this post of yours….atleast trainspotting helped you in Dev D…so that answers a lot.
Anyways really wish u heartfelt wishes n luck this time man….May you get what you truly deserve.
Amen!!!
Mindripper wait for the film.. for kids i made a movie, this one is for grown up kids..
Sudhanshu- i saw amores perros one year before i worked on Yuva
Om- yes it was used in NS and here too what you see in the trailer is all.. Any shot is effective when used because there is an impact and goes with the mood
vineet- abhay is fantastic in the film
Atul- Pankaj was the first choice, he turned down the film, he did not agree with the philosophy of the movie.
666- who are you?
Skywalker- how one uses colours depends on the individual.. mine i can talk about only after the release.
Sags to me was always leaving las vegas..
Anurag, I am a film student from New York and a great fan of your movies… I have 2 question for you??
1) Where can I watch ‘Paanch’?? Is it available on DVD or Online?? I have been trying to watch it for quite some time now?
2) How can one apply to be an Assistant Director with you?? Is there any way to send you resume?
PS. Check out my 20 min documentary if you have time http://www.veoh.com/videos/v63269337F4pxzCF
Hi Anurag,
If u r reading this…it is my 1st sucessful attempt to post a comment…i really hope i m able to do it, coz i remember around 20th of dec’08 i wrote this complete Mahabharath about me , my admiration for u n the fact u r def. my fav. Indian Filmmaker….to add the emoticons at the end i clicked on “ref smileys”n there it went all wrong…my screen hung n i felt prob wht u wud hv felt wen the stupid censor guys stalled the release of Paanch…..my big article was my first attempt to write about wht i felt about cinema, for which i m so passionate about n here ….. it was lost in oblivion……All this started as i was looking for info about Paanch n thus i came to know about PFC…..On youtube while i was searching for ur videos i saw Smriti’s youtube a/c…. n later on the lady accepted my friend request…. i guess she is someone u know, so i requested her to tell u wht i wanted to say in the article….
Anyway, first n foremost i wud like to tell u that i must hv watched Black friday a good 50-60 times n it is one movie which i can watch anyday, anytime…..few of my fav. scenes r… Imtiaz Ghavathe’s chase n the background score playin…”amitabh’s dialogue in the background ..awesome stuff.Another thing i loved was the way the guy playing Asgar Maukadam, acted…i dont think he had a theatre or a popular hndi cinema background …but he was incredible.
I personally know Rahul Ram quite well, so i disscussed with the Indian Ocean guys hw they came up with the music for the film etc….
Anurag i really wanna thank u for recommending 13 Tzametti…it blew my mind too….!!!Lookin fwd for Dev.D.After seeing the trailer, it looks to me as if a movie on my life is being made…..n if this movie is actually about outcasts as u say…i think im rgt that its my story….only diff is that i m not Devender Singh Dhillon but Kr. Bhuvan Vikram Pratap Singh Chauhan n i m not a son of a punjabi landlord but an Army Officer’s son frm Rajasthan.Hope Abhay does justice to my character..:)
Anyway i dont think this will b published as rather than a comment this turned out to b like a private letter for Anurag…. Pls PFC guys , i sincerely request u to just fwd it to Anurag.
Sorry for taking so much time.
Cheers n Hopin this yr gives better films to our Cinema n better times to our country…
Regards,
Freeman Dyson
PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY EAGER AND CURIOUS TO SEE HOW ANURAG AS TAKEN ALL HIS SPECIAL FX SHOTS AND HIS TECHNIQUES OF GUERRILLA SHOOTING ON STREETS….LOOK FORWARD TO THIS SPACE FOR BEHIND THE SCENE FOOTAGE’S SOON..!!
AK… I always love to get to read the film maker’s mind. Can’t help it being an aspiring film maker myelf… really long to work with you some day…
With each behind the scene story and process of evolution of DEV.D the curiousity is soaring high and high !!!
With durgs and ciggeretted in Dev.D i guess there is definitely some scope for Mr Ramadoss to do the publicity!!!
And yes, I always wonder,how does a Dircctor visualizes the colour scheme for a movie!!
@Ashish : Bring it ON!!!
Has the film got an ‘A’ certification in India, which I think is very likely and very bad…
but anyways what rating has it got?
hi anurag
just watched full ea song on 9x
good video
paro dance very good
and there was a girl who stop abhay when he was going towards paro but he fall who was she
Anurag sir. aapko yaad hai jab aap no smoking ki shooting mulund maine ker rahe the. kalidas ground maine. taking shots of “k”s brother. before shoots, aap aapki van maine se nikle aur chalne lage agar aapko yaad ho toh tab aapko ek ladka mila tha joh achanak aapke saamne aaya aur aapse pucha ki Are u Anurag Kashyap? aur aapne haath milate hue kaha Yes. woh ladka maine hi hu. uss din ke baad jaise mere vichare hi badal gaye shayad maine words maine express nahi ker saketa but really want to tell u something You are “The Best” and always be. agar aapko yeh baat yad ho toh plz reply kerna.
aur ha ek baat kehna toh bhul hi gaya. uss din mujhe bahot afsos hua ki aap mujhe mile aur maine aapka ek bhi photo nahi liya aur woh afsos aajtak mere saath hai. lekin koi baat nahi next time jab milenge te movies discuss karenge.lolz. aur iska mujhe intezaar rahega.
I remember being on the set for two nights when the film was being shot in Noida at Marwah Studios. I was studying there when it happened, so my friend, who was working as a crew member, invited me over. I remember the lighting being mighty impressive as well as the set design. And after seeing the trailers, the look of the film appears to be exceptional all around as well.
Mitesh yes i remember
Vishesh- that was the pardesi song where we used the nikon
harsh, if you remember devdas , that’s the sister of the man Paro gets married to.. The actress that plays the role is Parakh Madan
Debarun- The film is yet to go for censors and we are looking at an A certificate.
arey…itni jaldi bhool gayee….anjalika..u even went through my blog before hiring me..i bet you’ve forgotten me completely…
Yeah I know for children he made hanuman returns but see the point i was trying to make was that children film doesn’t end with animation. Anyways AK will venture inlto this genre as well.
Azad and Ahmad Raza : It’s good you follow AK but my friend while following don’t forget your individuality cause at the end what matters is you.
Hi Anurag
I have been following your films since 1998. I have seen all of your films except Paanch. Pls. Get it released or tell me where can i watch it?????
hey anurag,
am totally triping on dev d trailors and music. can’t stop talking about it to people. every goddamn smoke break, i’m loading folks with new info on the movie :-) have never been so excited about a indian movie before its release. thanks man!
are paanch and gulaal also releasing this year?
Hey 666.. sorry don’t remember you as 666 anymore.. just did not occur.. apologies.
Pahargunj should be awesome..but Delhi has this smog early in the morning..without lights, how could y’ll do justice..must have done..my wishful thinking…
it’s fine,i don’t blame u….i am slowly vanishing out of your memory…
All the best Anurag.This one looks and sounds good.
Tu hi hai yaar Anurag! bas tu hi hai!! :D All the best for Dev.D
Thank you Anurag Sir. mujhe yaad rakh ne ke liye thank u very much. yeh baat maine kbhi nahi bhulunga. I can’t wait to see Dev D. pata nahi release tak kaise khudko rok paaunga.
Anurag, the poster of Dev D (with XL size red lips!) reminded me of the Discrete Charm of the Burgeoisie poster. Was it some sort of a deliberate reference or sheer coincidence?
Anyways, it gives the film a pretty unique attitude. The promos are exciting.
Count me in for the First Day First Show.
Lots of luck.
@Ajay Singh
That was a good memory recall !!!
GK
I wonder what would Shri Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay would like to say, about the transformation of his Devdas and the detailing. Incidentally Devdas would complete 100 years on 2017.
But surely one classic timeless tale for sure to experiment with by the creative minds.
“Israeli street” added to knowledge :D
Cheers!
~fe~
I had posted the same on your previous blog as well. Thought you may not be checking that one anymore.
Hi, Anurag. Today, there are only a few film-makers who have got a unique, creative and intellectual style of filmmaking, you and Dibakar Banerjee being the recognized ones. But at the same time, there are some unrecognized ones as well. I want to talk about Tigmanshu Dhulia. He has made Haasil. I personally liked the movie very very much. I have seen the movie 5-10 times, just like I have seen No Smoking and Oye Lucky! a lot of times. I wanted to know your reviews of the movie in case you’ve seen it. If not, I’d strongly recommend this movie to you.
Hey,
I might b a litle late to post a comment ovr here but i jst came across this blog… by the way i jst cant wait to c Dev D but Anurag dont u think u’ve become one of the major art house filmmakers of bollywood, so that u should try n make sme subjects whch have never been touched before like No smokin and black friday… those were 2 fantastic movies n no smokin was in true sence out of the box type may b a tribute to david lynch… i loved the way it was shot n also saw that Snorri cam technique used well n which i can c in Dev D’s promos… i’m looking forward ro watchin dev D but i hope that u make smethin really different n twisted next time…
thank you
@ Ak,
So when r u planning to release Dev.D…….waiting with baited breath….
Thanks to PFC guys i never thought my comment will b published…
Thanks,
Freeman Dyson
Hi Anurag,
I am huge fan of all the people, including you who make some realistic movies, thanks to you, indian cinema is finally arriving.
How can I become a part of your crew? Seriously, there must be a way , tell me , I will work on that.
hi anurag,
how many days of shooting for dev.d
HT CAFE GIVES 5 STAR RATING TO DEV.D MUSIC !!!
GK
@Ak
A few suggestions [ if u dont mind ]
Teasers of E.A , Duniya , Nayan Tarse are all over MTV n other channels . Dev D may b positioned as a Drug\Alcohol movi.This may backfire ..Its high time that u released full fledged videos of Dhol yaara Dhol or Paayaliya..Dev D is supposed to b romantic also .
Secondly , the music has been released , but its not comin on Radio stations ..Let it b on Radio
..The tracks will be a Rage by the time Dev D releases .
Let A.T. give a few jam sessions..
Let the music b the USP..its awesome..Just hit it in the right way..
PS – Just a thought AK ,All the best for Dev D ..
Regards
@Sid..
i don’t think you know this, but the radio guys are playing emotional attyachar..atleast it is playing in delhi.
@triplesix
Yaar,its not happening in Mumbai…if they are playing ,then not much of it …
Hey Anurag,soundtrack of DEV D is mind blowing.I was a bit apprehensive at first but when i started listening,it completely knocked me off.Great music.It seems like Amit Trivedi has put his life into this soundtrack.Rock,folk,ballad,jazz.Every genre has been included.You got lot of criticism for NO SMOKING.When i was reading the reviews i was like Anurag is one was of the finest directors we ve in Indian cinema n he is getting criticism of this kind.Keep on making movies like that.I m not exaggerating but i m more excited for watcinhg DEV D then anyone else.Keep on rocking man.!
Hello,
The first time when i saw the poster of DD (Dev-D) where two faces are getting into each other and both are transparent, I was watching it for almost 20 minutes, just to figure out what exatly are you trying to say.. well I am a great fan of ur films and writings of few films.
I would like to know what tat poster exactly speaks ?? What is a significance of using the song such as emosional atyaachar ?? Is it a part of the film or it is jst for promotion whatevr it mite b bt the song is jst amazing…. and simply creative … before ths I cud nvr imagin a rock band with this song …
Why Abhay deol for Dev ?? his looks influence you ?? or you had any other choice for that role ? When I saw the trailor it seems like few shots are inspired by requim for a dream , and as I read in your blog u said its diffrent stories happng at diffrent places and eventually it crosses each others path and thats how their life intersects.. so I wud like to know is it something inspired from mores perros ??
I am simply impressed by the looks of the film… I am happy that there r few directors in India that can give an international look to our films and we can atlist say that this is Indian Cinema and not a bollywood film.
Thanks a lot Sir for your contribution to our Cinema.
The first time when I saw the looks of the film, I simply said in my mind this is the kind of film I would make one day…
Best of luk with this film.. and I am pretty sure this will definetly work I am doing my best to promote your film.. cos I m a vry great fan of ur Cinema…
Tcr God bless u
Sachin Vinod Modi
Who is this Amit Trivedi??
I am just blown over the music… It is AWESOME to the core…
I meant – blown over by the music… :-)
anurag – u r the best underground film-maker
more than u , dev d shd work for abhay deol
God bless you anurag
can feel all the pain uve gone thru
underground cinema rocks!
Dz!
jus watched the full version of emotional atyaachar on channel V , quite amazing, i guess its the marriage ceremony of Paro and Dev is rekindling his emotoins by drininkg Smirnoff and then proceeds to the venue ,only to fall before saying anything…cool
waiting for the release!
Hi sir catching the trailors of DevD again and agian on TV and i was really waiting for the film to be released but now i am really scared to go and watch the movie…. It seems like it will bare all truths about the love we all are so used to believing in, probably because of our Sweet and Sugary hindi cinema and being a total believer in love happily watching movies like Serendiptiy, Love Actually etc….. i am really scared to watch Dev D…. The heart break in love which is so glorified in Dev Das it seems in this Dev D. you intend to show the reality without glorification and that is scary…… btw already loving the song Emotional Atyachar….. I will surely catch up with the movie probably first day itself and see if my fears come true or i still hold on to the romantic concepts of love and heart break.I am really liking the look even loved the graphics on the music CD.
Hey Mr. Anurag Kashyap,
My friends and I have been losing it over the Dev D trailor. These days,any talk about movies invariably veers down to how badly we want watch this film.
It should be interesting to see Devdas in the present scenario of fledgeling notions of identity and love. In a generic sense, the young generation(and I confess I belong to this generation, though there are days when I have solid reasons to believe I’m almost a fossil in front of some of them) may be truculent in their defence of knowing their minds and being in touch with the times. But there is this deep-seated lack of belief somewhere, a certain vulnerability among them, which is quite a sight.A very appealing one at that.
The cinematography, from the little I’ve seen, throws you, momentarily, into a moody world that you want to know more about.
And that song- Emotional Athyachar- that’s just something special!
Shame on the producer of Dev D.. I dont think this movie needs cheap publicity..
What was the need to say that chandramukhi’s char relates to the DPS scandal when earlier you guys had denied it..The problem is not in the character of chandramukhi the way it is in DEV D..
The problem is in the statement that its inspired by DPS victim..
One woman’s pain is being utilized to promote your movie..Just coz you know that the girl is not going to come out in open and file a case against you..
Shame..
Hi Anurag! Love your work, posts and the new ‘emotional atyachar’ stuff.
Hiii…Anurag you are interacting with us…that cool….
I have never waited for a movie as much as for Dev.D.Im a big fan of requiem for a dream and i cant tell u how delighted i was to see that body rigged shot in an Indian movie. I just hope there is a lot of substance with so much style.
I would love to hear your answer on comment 71.
I have one question for Anurag kashyap. I heard you saying in some TV that “Devdas” is the most “vaahiyaat” novel of modern India. Then why are you making a film based on that ?
sir, an offbeat question?
having understood the true essence of human nature
do you also plan to make a horror movie in the near future?(i mean a real bhootia movie)
yes, comment number 88 absolutly agree with you
This is funny, sp when you think of anurag’s earlier brushes with indian ‘censors’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdzSgUn9tC0&feature=related
71, 88, 91.. apply when we are doing a new project.. which won’t be before may. Teams are decided by the associate director. Whoever he or she shall be then.
Jitendra.. however much i think it’s bad it still applies to us indians.. Devdas has become an adjective
bokojoo.. I am producing a horror movie.. don’t know if i know how to make one.. it will all depend on the script if and when it comes along.
Alone.. apologies if you feel that way.. why don’t you see the movie before judging anyone..
thanks for appreciating the music and the effort guys.. Amit trivedi will be soon here..
Sachin.there was no other choice but abhay deol.. This film is inspired from nothing but devdas.. if few shots that remind you of requiem then all i can say is if you use a snorricam on the front , the shots will look exactly the same, and it is used selectively in the film to create a desired impact.
Ankit i loved Haasil.. one of my favourite movies and Tishu is one of my favourite directors
hi anurag sir,
First of al i want to congratulate u for DEV D…bcause i knw this film will do miracles….
I just wanna ask u how much u r dependent on ur DOP mr. rajiv ravi on sets in terms of technicality…since one of my friend who is assisting u in NO SMOKING told me that u r really amazing in technical deapartment also….U exactly knw which lens focal length will giv u what effect….
sir, waiting for your next post….I’m looking forward to reading more about your personal experience on the making of Dev D..and hopefully, Gulaal too…
plez…plez..plez…reading your posts is like getting an outer sketch of cinema from a personal point of view and not textual which is very boring and less intriguing. i wanted to ask you more about cinema from your point of view, but i don’t want to harbor this space with questions that matter to me..i know I’m being selfish..but if it’s my thing, it’d rather be that way…can i just mail you, but i’m not too sure if u check them and don’t worry,those mails will have no senti shit…lol
karan.. i depend a lot on Rajiv Ravi.. however much i know, i can’t do without him. I suggest and sometimes he also rejects..
666.. soon
Anurag,
In Vasan’s Dev D diary, Vasan mention that you take ‘Single Shots’ successfully,
So I want to know that, do you prepare storyboards for that matter.
If yes, how do you go about it,
because you can’t do story board for entire Movie; right?
And please show us some boards if you have any, (apart from Animated film, because there is no such a thing like Single shots))
Thanks
***DISCLAIMER – It’s quiet long
It’s been a week since I have surfed through PFC so keenly following every comment and every blog on Dev.D & Oye lucky, lucky oye. Apart from the comments of other’s , I get to see Anurag replying personally to everyone & trust me that makes you (AK) more adorable and approachable!
Well, I heard, watched (trailers) & read a lot about Dev.D (All posts) and thought of restraining myself from commenting till I saw the movie but just couldn’t resist doing so….
I was travelling back from work tonight and there were these two guys sitting with me in the office cab -In house music critic ( or the guy who covers the music beat) the other guy self acclaimed sports correspondent meet each other and start discussing music. Sports guy tells the music guy that ‘Jugni’ from OLLO is awesome & the music guy started off with his review, but it was good gyan…after this, the conversation prolonged on music but this time it was about how Guns n roses are not doing well and how Bryan adams, Bon Jovi go unoticeable despite efforts…..blah blah blah and then back to Bollywood music….
In the span of 5 mins the sports guy says I loved the Songs from ‘Paanch’, and also that Bande from ‘Black Friday’ and this time the so called music guy (critic?) was all in favour (I say so coz it seemed he was least interested in bollywood music ) and ended saying even the movies were so good.
By this time everything clicked in my mind was about Dev.D ( and AK as well) & thought of asking him about Dev.D’s Music but couldn’t. :-(
The sports guy then ended saying these days these offbeat movies are making better movies with not just good stories but good music as well…
This week the music guy has reviewed Slumdog millionaire or so but I will surely ask him about Dev.D esp. Emossanal attyachar….:-)
I guess am done with my long comment.
Thanks!
As Anurag said Amit Trivedi is soon to join PFC, I would like to tell him that Loved his work in Aamir & Dev.D looking forward for more such music. :-)
And Anurag where is the Dev.D himself? (lost in the post modern complexities!!! Lolz jst joking! )Jst saw his one post on OLLO. Would be pleased to read experience (like ur AD wrote ‘My Dev.D Diary’)
Thanx
As Anurag said Amit Trivedi is soon to join PFC, I would like to tell him that Loved his work in Aamir & Dev.D looking forward for more such music. :-)
And Anurag where is the Dev.D himself? (lost in the post modern complexities!!! Lolz jst joking! )Jst saw his one post on OLLO. Would be pleased to read his experiences (like ur AD wrote ‘My Dev.D Diary’)
Thanx
Anurag,
Iam not judging anyone.. There was an article in bombay times where in your producer said that yea chandramukhi’s character is based on the DPS girl.. This statement has nothing to do with the movie .. .. movie mai chahe jo dikhaya ho..Tell me would we say this if we see a potential threat of getting sued by the person..or yes you can say that media misquoted him.. if yes than i apologize.
Thanx sir, but i want to knw one more thing (Possibly with an incident for an example)…What r the situations wen he rejects ur(Director’s) idea….
Like he thinks it is not technically possible or will not help in adding any elements to the film, visually or aesthetically…
Bcause as far as i knw MR. Rajiv Ravi through ur blogs or by his magnificent work, i think he is a very daring and all time ready to experiment with his shots….
@AK ..
Somehow i feel that , Dev d isnt being properly promoted..not heavily …mayb budget constraints ..
2009 will b grt for u n for us …Dev d n gulaal, pls smthing abt Paanch..
Best wishes
Karan that’s when it is the lighting restrictions and exposure issues.. we push a lot of boundaries together, sometimes it gets a little to difficult to achieve.. otherwise he is game mostly..
I depend on him for execution and he always does something extra to enhance it..
Alone.. the film uses a mms scandal but does not exploit it.. we can’t lie about it not being there.. but it is a scandal.. not necessary based on some victims life..
No shekhar i don’t prepare storyboards.. because i like to explore the locations.. it all depends on the locations and most of the time they are difficult places to shoot..
Thanks Anurag.
Devdas, I think, has been one of the most common stories, rather- theme in movies… with or without the knowledge of the writer/director themselves. Some of them were pointed out by AK in one of his earlier posts in PFC about the genesis of Dev.D
One that I instantly thought of, in the category of films where the writer/director himself is, most probably not aware of using it is “Leaving Las Vegas”… at least the second part of the story about finding solace in a prostitute’s arms and instead leaving both of them destroyed in their own ways.
hey, what time does PFC follow? I posted my comment at 12:32 on the 18th.
:-(
hi sir,
Can u tell me how u used SI-2k camera and nikon DS 3 for the trippy scenes…do u have to put body rigs on abhay or there is sum other way to get that effect….
Hi. In case you have forgotten me, I am the same Haasil-promoter guy. What I wanted to ask was that after proving his talent in Haasil, why has Tishu suddenly disappeared? Has the fact that his film was viewed and appreciated by only a small population acted as a demotivating factor? If yes, Why don’t you 2 make a movie together? His characters and your story will make your movie a blockbuster. Once you reply to this post (only if you do), I have one more question for you. :-)
Thanks for the Reply Sir….
God bless you .. DEV D will rock the box office ….
Sachin Vinod Modi
Hey AK…u know wut dude..this is probably the most awaited movie of the year…awesome marketing….emosanal attyachaar is killer…..I prefer the rock version though. I have to apologize for downloading the album on the web, hope you understand…I really needed that burger for nutritional reasons.
No Smoking…alot of ppl didn’t “get it”…I thought it was insane how u got into the head of an addict…the cinematography through those gullies and huts was jst out of this world man….keep up the good work…screw the critics…the boxoffice doesn’t understand film noire yet…keep at it…ur audience is arriving!! I absolutely loved No Smoking, although it didn’t get me to quit…infact the first thing I did after I got outta the cinema was light up. Best of luck with Dev D….looking forward to more from you….I don’t have a lot of money..or I’d give you some to make a few more movies.
Seriously man, I’m curious to know more about that street. I shall probably see that place in next Delhi trip.
Hi Anurag sir…
I’m really excited about Dev. D!! Since we are talking about the look and style.. i wud like to tell u that NO SMOKING the most good looking film i have ever seen in my life!! Excellent cinematography by Rajiv Ravi.. i really love the ‘accident’ scene of John in it.. everything goes silent while the glass of the car is breaking! that’s just crazzyy!!! [May i know how did u shot that scene? Can u tell me in brief.. i saw its tehersal n take on youtube..] N about Black Friday… i think its the best film i have ever seen!!…. u must be knowing one of the critics had said about Black Friday that its shot with ‘hidden cameras’….. that’s the best compliment any director cud ever got! I completely agree with it….
what does come across in d promos abt dev d is his
lack of self pity which is to say that he doesnt look like a ‘devdas’..though he is self destructive but in a very arrogant spoilt sort of a way..to an extent that he cant feel sorry for losing paro..
even paro has dis arrogance about her and its quite a strong scene whene she dances like theres no tomm on her own wedding..can’t wait to see d film!
I saw the trailers and had one question (of the 1 million) i had in my mind … are the colors in the movie, in anyway, inspired by those from Wong Kar Wai films ?? especially 2046 or loosely from My Blueberry nights or There’s Only One Sun
.. Nevertheless I am just too eager to see the movie.
wishing you all the good luck for Dev D and more to come.
Anurag, what is Amit Trivedi background? I think he is from theater background.
Anurag,
Watched Dev D y’day. Trainspotting meets a stoned-Devdas-on-Viagra. hope it’s a glimpse of the things to come.
Anurag,
just curious, but did you tweak the ending, just before release?
Just loved the movie, every part of it. Specially the shooting style. The style with which you have shown Dev “high” loved the opening song when Dev reaches Punjab. So authentic, so original.
Paro’s character’s ego, her curiousness for sex…
just cant wait for Gulaal now!
Hey,
Saw Dev D first day first show.me and my friends , we all LOVED it. Everything about it. I just hope you continue making such super awesome movies. Going for a second time this saturday !
Amit Trivedi is the next Rahman. The background score and the music is brilliant.
Photography , production designs .. just perfect.
Will watch ‘Gullal’ FDFS as well.
I saw few reviewers give it 1-2. Dont bother about them. They dont matter.
Got ‘black friday’ from bigflix yesterday. will watch it sometime soon.
Thanks !
aritra
Anurag,
I must admit that I liked Black Friday the book more than the movie. But having said that, let me say that Dev D is, for me, the best Mumbai film of the 21st century! Absolutely fabulous.
You captured Punjab, warts and all. And you captured Delhi’s seamy side so well.
What worked for me the most was the way the language seamlessly switched from English to Hindi to Punjabi (to French via Tamil too!).
Emosanal Atyachaar (and how it becomes emotional when Patna ke Presley are not singing it) was absolutely stupendous (ok, my best goofy song of the 21st century, and only the second best all time of this century, after Baawra Man of Hazaaron) and for my money, you deserve a national award for the way you handled the MMS incident. I thought it is a lesson for all in the media on how to cover a story.
I loved the way the women were strong and you managed to capture the vulnerability of the family. And how you showed the bruatality of the young kid’s daadi and chaachaa in Punjab. Absolutely bang-on depictions without getting over the top.
And the scene that cracked me up totally was the one about the taxi driver (I am tempted to say more about that here, but that would be a spoiler for all)…
Stunning performances from all the three main leads and all the support actors.
And now you have made me want to go and read every word you have written and see every film you have made and will make. OK, I had one problem: Paro’s father. But ab kyaa kahen, aakhir chaand me bhii daag hai…
Very sincere best wishes. This would be a cult hit.
Sundeep
Hi Anurag,
The movie is surreal. But i do believe that the experiece wouldn’t have been half as complete without the music. 2 questions that I would love to get a response on
1. The concept of stopping songs mid-way and then playing it again from where it stopped (with other tracks in between)- Have you been inspired with this concept or was it totally your own?
2. Why thank Danny Boyle? Is it true that he helped you shoot the paharganj club scene where dev gets high with chunni sitting opposite him?
Anurag….I watched Dev D and loved everybit of it..the movie making…the camera work…the acting…the music…the cast..this is SUPERLATIVE work …keep ‘em coming.
Anurag…Gorgeous movie!
You have earned one devout fan…can’t wait for your next! and kudos to Amit Trivedi for the brilliant music!
Dev.D is an imperfect amalgamation of the Gothic underbelly, inglorious lust, inexperienced love, internal sexuality & emosanal atyachar.
Anurag Kashyap is India’s answer to Christopher Nolan & Wong Kar Wai.
Dev.D is a psychedelic graffiti of unborn emotions.
I am proud to be born in the same era as this golden paranormal surreal period for Indian Cinema.
Put on your seat belts guys, we’re going Global!
i’ll be a chutiya to rate it but what the heck!
a fucking 5/5
Anurag,
Have been wanting to write this for some time but i held myself back till I had watched Dev D the 2nd time so i could write with more perspective, but I can only say you have made a movie where i would probably notice something new or different on the tenth viewing also.
It’s a rare joy to have a movie (not to forget the music) playing in your head for a week after viewing but you have done it here. the way you have re-imagined Bollywood’s favourite wimp is mindblowing. Technically, visually, screenplaywise, musically everywhere it’s a slam dunk. People may have extreme opinions about this too like they have with all your films ( I myself am not a fan of No smoking though I appreciate your conviction in making it) but here one can safely say you have made the kind of movie never made in Bollowood earlier, (if there is I am not aware of it) and making an unquestionable success out of it. from a converted fanboy thanks a lot and may we see even better things from you in future….
btw can one get a disc of paanch anywhere? (other countries??)
This is the best devdas i’ve ever seen..shattering all the cliched romantic concepts this film has really made a mark… it’s really diffucult to make a good film out of a bad novel.. gr8 work!!
..i thought the steady cam works added a flavour to the entire movie…weren’t u inspired from “Requiem for a dream”?..
and i loved loved looooooved the circular track shot!!!!….brilliant…
to quote Khalid “Dev D drifts into what could well be Delhi’s GB Road. Since I haven’t been there in some years, the neon boarded gullies were a revelation, photographed with a slumdoggish authenticity.”..what do you say to it?
Sorry for not expressing thanks to the reply for comment 71 in your comment 93. Here it goes…”Thanks”, hope it falls to your ears. Was very busy with work lately, got break from the work today itself, went to watch Delhi 6 …disappointing stuff. The way you have captured delhi in Dev D and as it was captured in Oye Lucky
is outstanding. While returning back from the theater I came across the poster of Gulaal, well eagerly waiting for its release, caught the trailer on You Tube and I am sure its going to rock.
Well Anurag if you are still reading I want to discuss further about comment#93 …Okay …yes I am pissed off with my work … I really want to do what I really want to do,before its too late. So is there any communication window where I can get in touch with your team? If you can write me a mail (so that I can get to know you email id) I will be really thankful to you. As there are things which I don’t think I should be writing about here. Rest assured I won’t misuse your id by floating it around. A promise. my email id is saurabh7iit@gmail.com
hey anurag,
i remember reading somewhere that you were once asked to write a script based on Kafka’s novel. i’m a great fan of Kafka, so i’d like to know what happened to it if what i read is correct. are you planning to make a Kafka movie? would love to see one made by you.
Was the protagonist of Gulaal sitting in front of Dev in the last bar, the from where he gets punched and kicked out? i am pretty sure its him, with the netted cap.
Nikhilesh
Yes.. wow.. you are the first person in the whole damn world that noticed it..
I watched the movie taking time outta prelims and it was worth it… :D
But apart from the movie,music,Abhay Deol etc. what i liked was the posters and print art work of the movie…i never saw such innovative graphics on movie posters before.
Mr.Anurag Kashyap, i would like to know who was behind the graphics?
Hi Anurag
Since you’ve been replying to this thread for a long time…hope I get a reply. Can you please tell when is DevD DVD releasing? UTV did a great job preventing piracy, we’ve a lousy camrip online .
The movie didn’t get a full release here in the US and a lot of us here are desperately looking forward to the DVD release.
“Was the protagonist of Gulaal sitting in front of Dev in the last bar”(INTERESTING!)..WOW!..seems so much i’ve missed out..layered..i like this..i do need a second viewing!
I watched DevD with a full house in Bangalore. We were overwhelmed with what we saw..thanks for taking Indian cinema to this level of expression and passion. The audience gave you, the cast and the technicians a standing ovation..we also clapped when the movie ended ..i havent experienced such a response from the audience except from a design/film school audience..
One little observation..did you tone down the role of chandramukhi while filming? the film starts with such an unexpected boldness that one opens up/ almost wishing a mountain of boldness later, which is missing in chandas treatment..
Hai Anurag,
saw Dev D, sir u really rock, im still in hangover even after seeing it for more than 4 times in a week, mein pagal hogaya… excellent portray of modern life… the way u handled the three charecters, and making of the film… no words sir, everything on place… U r proving urself in each and every attempts of urs… the one thing makes me speechless is, whatever the content of ur various films, u have an individual way of showing it right on screen… i learn a lot from ur films sir… thank u very much… By the way, im a cinematographer from south, i have done two films ( KATRADHU TAMIL & SUBRAMANIYAPURAM )and the third one on progress… im not aware whether u have seen these films, anyway nice to share few words with u… keep climbing the top! :-)
@ Kathir – your work in both these films have been much talked about and appreciated in PFC. If you have time please visit the older posts on those films (Subramaniapuram and katradhu Thamizh) and share your views.
Kathir Sir the films you have shot for have a huge following here on PFC.
Please maybe with Ram Sir and Sasi Sir write about the making of Tamil MA and Subramaniapuram.
Would love to know your thoughts on Naan Kadavul as Tamil MA too in a way has dealt with “Rudran” of Naan Kadavul……as in Jeeva’s character Prabhakar becoming “Sivan” after killing that man at the ticket counter. Assuming the power to kill or spare human lives…..with blood flowing in his hands he feels like God and being God….one can never be guilty of murder as he has the right to take lives. Would love to know more. The director’s thoughts…..and the kind of “Shandiyar” centric films made…..the cult….Paruthiveeran, Subramaniapuram, Virumandi, Seelavaperipandi…..
Am totally on loop with the song “Innum Oru Iravu”…it grips me….it scares me….puts me in a trance….the lyrics…Yuvan’s music and vocals….OUTSTANDING. !!!!!
You have been a part of 2 outstanding films….take a bow.
“Ido Ido…ithiril vandu bhaya mudutu…..”
kathir: Cinematography in both the films was excellent. I loved the shot in the final scenes of Subramaniapuram, where Kanja Karuppu takes a long walk facing the camera. It was one of the best shots conceived in the cinema that I have watched. EVER! Lots of luck to you!
Anurag, I couldn’t help noticing that Mahie Gill looks very similar to Raima Sen (Suchitra Sen’s grand-daughter). The same large almond shaped eyes, face shape and cut etc.
Did Mahie’s resemblance to the Sen ladies have anything to contribute to your hiring her.Was this some kind of tribute to Suchitra Sen? I know you have explained how you found Mahie in your post but the resemblance is still uncanny.
Wasn’t ‘Ranaji’ playing in one of the scenes?
Kathir Sir,
Your work in both movies has been discussed a lot in PFC. Believe me, you have many fans here. I myself am a die-hard lover of your work in Tamil MA. The way you have shot in many natural locations is simply outstanding.
Your use of first person camera work in Tamil MA, the way you have captured the barren Maharashtrian and the green Kerala landscape so beautifully is simply brilliant.
Please contribute by writing or commenting on PFC more often…
Thanks
Dear AK,
There is one thing that I want to ask you, and always wanted to , after I saw Black Friday. I feel the use of different lighting in your films makes it look what it has to be… There is this moving scene in BF in the interrogation room , which is lit red…and its so fuckin scary..and KK just kills you with his facial movements…
continued…
in DEV D as you said, neon lights played a big role..for shooting in pahadganj..and gulaal i guess, from the promos, talks a lot about red…cant wait for the week to get over..want to watch it badly..coz.piyush mishra’s writing is something we dont get to see often and i must say it wud have been house on fire with Danny Boyle on sets of DEV D…man that scene jus rocks…with the rock version of emotional attyachar… will get back after watching GULAAL….
hi anurag,
i saw your recent films (DevD and Gulaal). i observed that you use neon lights in the scenes at your freedom.. in some of the scenes i understand the meaning of using it.. but i am still curious to know the reason of using these neon lights.
Where one doesn’t know what they want, drifting is the name of the game and people are living from one high to another and everyone is looking for the next fix.
Wow. I would pay good money to read this in an autobiographical sort of book. Or a technical guide to the craft. To be able to peek inside a director’s (and a super one at that!) brain, this is pure gold! Thanks, Anurag.
There was some touch of “requiem for a dream” in dev d. I am talking about technical stuff like the use of snorricam. Also, the scene where dev gets lucky and escapes the car accident and realizes that he should now straighten out. That was almost like the end of ‘trainspotting’.
Saw Dev D. again last night and found some interesting references to Gulaal. The obvious one being the song written by Piyush Mishra for Gulaal (rana ji)playing in the background (maybe on radio) when Dev wakes up in Chanda’s room for the first time. The second one is more subtle and more of a director’s fancy to link the two films in a surreal setup. in the scene where Dev goes to drink and is thrown out, we can see Gulaal’s protagonist sitting at another table (specks tied with laces and all ready to go on his climactic rampage).
I will see Dev D again after watching Paanch, maybe something new will spring up.
–Copyright Sucks. Hail Copyleft.
Disclaimer: I just mentioned two as i spotted those two only. there might be more.
Mr. Kashyap will always have some connection to No Smoking in all his films just by showing a lit cigarette (a joint in case of Dev D.)
–To capture a burning cigarette on screen/stage is the most romantic thing i ever did.
Firstly, the film was superb for me. The self destruction has been shown most aptly – dont know if any other movie showed it this way. Very current but very true. Some scenes I like very much are:
a-terrace scene where dev shows paro her aukaad !
b-dev gulping the half bottle vod and trying to reach paro at her wedding
c-dev hijacking the taxi driver !
d-dev getting angry when paro comes to his shabby house but dosent allow to get physical.he dosnet every understand paro and she always has to cry.very real
e-in the end, dev seeing the stray car driven by stranger banging at the wall
However, I felt strongly that the end could not have been so nice for a self-destructor. What made you end the film in such a good yashrajish or karan-joharish manner ?
hey Anurag,
Can you please email a soft copy of Dev d’s script ??
Its a humble request !!
Thanks
Sagarika
i like DEV D a lot this movie is like modern contemporary art it looks like a modern painting with vibrant and hard colors it gave feeling of drunken state of mind and composition was i never seen before. as a fan and audience thanks for giving such beautyful collectable film in for collection. this is the best devdas depiction i seen on screen.