Dev.D- When me and Abhay fought.
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Abhay deol is the face of “independent” cinema , not just according to Man’s world but lots of others. Rightfully so. He is so independent that he can be very difficult to work with if you don’t know what you are doing. Why? because the man asks questions. Pointed questions. My first instinct whenever i am asked questions or made suggestions to, is to dismiss them, then i can’t help but think over them , about them and sometimes try to answer them or incorporate them, but the work flow never stops. Abhay can stop your flow. His questions can bring a pause to the proceedings. As involved that he is , he sometimes ends up living the character he is playing and when he does that, it can be a nightmare sometimes. Not for me as much as it can be for the assistants. Abhay did just that on Dev.D.
He became Dev. I told him to come straight from bed, with his unwashed hair and all, he said he will not touch the hair but will wash his face, i said no , he said,
” you will get what you want fucker but hygiene is my prerogative.”
One day Abhay did not turn up on the set on time. We partied late the night before, he overslept and i screamed at him, he screamed right back, well the party was in my room. But my ego would not accept it, not that i reached the set on time, I wasn’t even there when i screamed at him. I got a call from my assistant that he has not reached and i called him and started screaming , from my hotel, i had not left it either(talk about hypocrisy). So after the screaming match he reached the sets and i did too. I wasn’t talking to him and he wasn’t talking to me. I would give him instructions without looking at him, addressing my associate nitin(presley no.2 from EA) and he would respond to him. Poor nitin didn’t know what to do. He would look at me and him. We were shooting a very difficult scene and i knew abhay could be temperamental. What if he decides to get back at me. He did the take, he improvised, he threw his legs on the ground , kept tapping and grinning, he even improvised a line that was brilliant,”what are you, florence nightangle tonight”. I wanted to say brilliant and i said O.K. So he wanted to get back to me by doing it better than expected, so i decided to get into the showoff mood too. I kept improvising takes and he stayed deeper in the character. Once he gave me a chance to reprimand him when he spoke the line in english and i said,
” please tell the actor that the dialogue is in hindi”
loudly and he continued in english. I said this is not an english film. He said the line in hindi in next take. Eventually i kept the English one. This went on for three days, the whole set was tense, Rajiv asked me,” is it alright between you two.”
I said ,”no”.
Everyone was silent on the set for those three days. Worst three days for the assistants. But the best three days for the film. The output of those three days was the best for both Abhay and me. He was brilliant and i was on my toes. Best from both of us was on those three days. I have known him forever and we always wanted to work with eachother and three days is a long time, on the third day i complimented him directly and he looked at me said thanks and went away. I went to see him in the room. His room in the hotel nearby. I knocked. He opened the door . I looked at him and said sorry, he smiled and said sorry. We hugged and let loose all the ego.
Drama is not always on screen.
Tags: Abhay Deol, Anurag Kashyap, Dev D
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’ll drink to those three days!
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Normally when 2 ppl dont get along, they tend to overshadow one other..but ur case seems to be hatkaa..like ur movies
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I bet the same tension will erupt after seeing the movies fate…
Im eager to watch it on TV…im sure it will be routed to satelite telecast within a month.
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awww… mushy
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Wow, nice one Anurag ji..
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Me first to comment :-) … I will keep tab on that scene for sure…but to compare…Anurag, can you post the other scene on youtube or on pfc?
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It is very easy to have rift between creative personalities.Sometimes a small opinion difference can make best out of pair and remaining janta piss between them during this period of cold war.It is great to see two young and vibrant man working together to make/reconstruct Devdas story in their own way.Much will be said as gossip about film depending on hit/flop of the film.But I hope that the duo of kashyap-deol can give us more in coming times.best of luck;
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Hey Anurag,
I have a question. Why is there no interview of Amit Trivedi yet about music of Dev D (I haven’t seen any on net not even on pfc)? I suppose people would want to know more about this guy..his experiences with you, his influences, inspiration etc?
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Ankit..me and tishu have done a film together. He is directing and I am acting as a gangster. It’s “Shagird”
Cherish-Amit is very shy ..all the traits of ARR i tell u
Yayaver- what a name? great title for a movie
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@cherish
Forget influences and inspirations, i dint even find his pic on Google!
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saw Amit trivedi on a show on ndtv last night called DILLIANA, atleast i suppose it was Amit.
Anurag was also there talking about dev.d
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Parth – look for artist Amit Trivedi on last.fm.
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Abhay deol is the face of “independent” cinema – Absolutely Right
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it definitely does wonder to your system when u get pissed…it keeps you creatively more involved and stimulating…I’m saying this because i have, personally and professionally, experienced it. The end product ‘churns’out to be magical…[sorry about the last line..too much of Bourdain (his travel shows and this book that i'm reading] has gone into my head]…
thanks for posting..
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The best comes at worst time…Man will remain man…they do best when not being asked to, when not expected…
“ego cheez kya hai…aap zara jan lijiye…padh kar ye article khud se man lijiye.”
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parth,
Amit’s photo is in this interview:
Amit Trivedi – ‘I don’t believe stars are needed to make the music a hit’
He did a soul-stirring music tribute to those immortalised in 26/11 tragedy which has very subtle and meaningful lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
The video:
http://itwofs.com/milliblog/2008/12/27/khuda-ke-bandey-amit-trivedi/
Since you would have seen his photo, in the earlier link, it is easy to spot him.
Has AR Rehman ever spoken about Amit’s tryst with movies in interviews? It would be interesting to hear his opinion.
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hey ANURAG,
u said ABHAY become DEV… well i think when
1)a director is making a film mostly his leading character is part of him or he tries to visualise himself as the leading character…
2)the actor who is playing the leading character visualises himself as the leading charater & tries to live with it if he feels it interesting…
3)and finally the audience when sees the film feels & visualises itself for the leading character… (even if he is a loser…kyunki ye duniyaa badi gooool hai)
-axay
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nice. so abhay inherited dev’s ego. man that’s dangerous and brilliant method acting for you (reminds me of mithya). anurag, never piss him off if he’s playing something worse, like a serial killer or something.
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anurag i just love ur films .iam a die hard sucker of ur films.i heard critics shattering ur “NO SMOKING” but as per me that is by far the best “cinema” i had seen i said cinema not movie.and cinema hold a very great respectful position for me.the honesty in the film ,the picturization i completely had fallen down for this film.i know its hte time for DEV D but iam 100% sure about its purity, brilliance and originality despite of being adaptation of the novel.thanks anurag for the films u give me.
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@ anurag :
Have you ever thought of remaking Kamal Haasan’s Abhay with Abhay Deol ?
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Hahahhahahahahhahah…..I never thought I would be laughing so hard after reading an Anurag Kashyap’s blog :D
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Anurag, this is unrelated to Dev D, but I guess this would be a good place to mention it…I showed my kid cousins No Smoking, and the funniest thing was that my 17 year old female cousin, most unexpectedly, liked it. She knows nothing about you or Stephen King or anything – hell, she doesn’t even read anything or watch anything other than typical teenage ‘event’ movies like Ghajini and some saas bahu serials – but she actually loved No Smoking. I expected her to hate it it, but it was quite the opposite. PNU and I have this common belief that anything which holds audience interest for 2 hours is good enough for us. This case study of my cousin certainly has been enlightening.
And btw, schoolkids in Guwahati are also chanting Emosanal Atyachar. What a pity they won’t be allowed in the halls!
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i love the honesty with which this article is wrriten although it is quite sad how important “compliments” are in this friends hip
Kenny i was that kind of person and i liked no smoking too
a lot of those types liked no smoking
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Hi Anurag,
You along with Vishal Bharadwaj maybe the only true auteur of our industry,but my fear is that this industry will destroy you.
Regards,
Santosh
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heheheheh….now without ths post n place, who would know cinema is much more than those two hours…great read! just waiting for the tabloids to pick it up…hehehehe n is that the reason why aamir has got d magical touch n dosnt work with same dirctor again…atlesat in the last few years, he hasnt done so.
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I heard that acrimony on the sets often leads to good cinema. Apparently, the whole set of ‘All the president’s men’ was full of ego clashes and hissy fits. The performances speak for themselves now, I guess.
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i hope there is a “neon” fest in the movie as u have promised somewhere, as the ad shows least of it. hope hope..
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Baki dino me kya kya hua wo bhi likh dijiye. Film to chalni nahi hai. Critics aur apne friend circle me popular rehne ke liye kuch to material chahiye. Abhay D is no doubt very talented…to…aap bhi istemal kar lijiye usko.
Try to come out of false and fake surroundings. And don’t say this movie and/or film work is your passion, every job that gives money becomes passion.
Waiting for the movie and you wait for a fair review.
Regards
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Turning a potential damper into a blast of creativity…genius, sirjee!!! I salute you.
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you are too good..
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ee toh bhaiya saari unit pe bada he emosanal atyachhar hui gava!!!
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Anurag, that song, Payaliya..is bloody good..Amit and Shruti need a pat for that..wonder how that has been picturised..even if in the background..
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The health of ‘Jaccha-Baccha’ is directly proportionate to ‘the Labour pain’
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I always thought it’s great when people get along… however you’ve proven that sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise when people *dont* get along! Human beings are such emotional fools… Thank God!
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that’s how my friendship has survived with my friends rather true friends
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Hey Anurag
Remember your words
POST : Cinema Cinema ,Nov 2
“let me say it here that this year we could possibly see an academy award for Best score for A. R. Rahman for Slumdog millionaire , definitely will see a nomination. What is sad is that it won’t be for an indian film.”
moment of truth ,A.R Rehman bagged 3 nominations now letz hope he brings home the Oscar.
And let’s not forget Resul pookuty who bagged the nomination for “Best Sound Mixing”.Congartz to both
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Hi Sir, from the incident it seems like theres a kid lies beneath you. This kind of fight used to happened with me during my school days, and I badly wanted to talk to with the fellow I fought with but you know that ego and finally fight used to end up something similar to this incident.
Anyways
Goodluck for DevD and anticipating a great film from you,
Tcr
Sachin Vinod Modi
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KAAM: Sabse achcha tab hota hai jab pet khali ho aur dimaag tang
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Anurag,
I thought Dev D was going to be the best album of the year, until I came across Delhi 6. Brilliant album.
Only a Rehman could have managed to come ahead of Amit Trivedi’s album this year.
Have you caught up with any songs yet? Apart from Masakkali (which has already become popular), I recommend Rehna Tu, Dil Gira Dafatan and above all a simple composition called Genda Phool. Great to see someone using North Indian folk music to this effect.
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hey, i m really lookin forward to a trippy experience in DevD. i have a friend who knows u who saw a screening, loved it. I m eagerly awaiting the release (wonder why its pushed back – By chance..lol)
i had a request, i don’t know if its too much to ask for, can I have the poster(on mail) with abhay and the actress’ faces overlapping. I want to print it and put it up. looks crazy.
Best of luck,
Kshitij Mehta
xitijm@gmail.com
kshitijm@yahoo.com
Existence in Non-Existence…..
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@Ajay Singh
” thought Dev D was going to be the best album of the year, …
Only a Rehman could have managed to come ahead of Amit Trivedi’s album this year”
Is this some new kind of arrogance? Am totally unfamiliar with this kind of adulation.
saal ke maheene 11 abhi baakin hai ….
I thought the OLLO trailer music (burger shurger oye wallah) was so much better in comparison.
BTW the music of “Luck by chance” is lovely too.
woh kya kehte hain…Rocking !!!
Have a listen.
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@darkndusky,
Dude, I’ve heard Luck by Chance, but it seems you’ve not gone through Dev D yet. Besides, you are talking of arrogance as if I am Amit Trivedi and promoting myself!
Am sure you are looking forward to musical masterpieces from Pritam and company! Good for you.
Also do you understand the meaning of “going to”?
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@Ajay Singh
i agree that A.R Rahman’s music esp in the current film Delhi 6 is really good….but he has years of experience behind him. he knows the industry at the back of his hand…but we should be a little courteous to people who are new to this industry..Anurag Kashyap and Amit Trivedi haven’t been in the industry for that long…instead, they r doing really good and their talent is worth the appreciation. c’mon don’t be callous towards people who are genuinely doing their best unlike Pritam. i have worked with Mr. Kashyap (not with Amit) on the production, and i know how good he is. i wish i could do the same, but i’m glad i had the opportunity to work with him.
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@Ajay Singh
by the way…Black Friday, No Smoking and Dev D’s songs…all are kick ass…so don’t go about dictating things…
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@triplesix,
C’mon dude. First read my comment properly and then comment man. I absolutely love Dev D songs. In fact it was darkndusky, who was trying to underplay the quality of Amit Trivedi’s music.
Read comment 39.
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@AK..
was surprised to find u in attendance at the star screen awards…
the buzz about Dev.D is really good….huge expectations from it…the music is fantastic….pls do write about the music….not everyday we get an album of 16 excellent tracks.
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Hoe can you be so self centric and write something like this? Isn’t it something really personal and also something which doesn’t means anything to Readers….Some things are kept personal and with few days left for your movie release does not mean you are under pressure to pen some kind of pandora box every now and then just for the heck of it.
Pls talk some movie….about your movies nothing crap like this. :-)
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@ajay singh
I was merely reacting to you by saying there is good music like in “Luck by Chance ” out there too…..
Yeah pritam’s music is debatable.. but I sure loved all the kickass songs in “In a metro”
so no need to kick pritam’s ass here.
BTW ajay Im not playing down Amit trivedi’s music here …just refrain from praising somebody too much and making unhealthy comparisons
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hi anurag
i want to bring to your attention to a legacy that you can possibly leave through DevD (though i doubt it is of any importance to you as a ‘creative’ filmamker)
i work for a boutique film production firm that has a slate of productions for 2009-2010.. most of the movies are small to medium budget films with good scripts, first time film makers, the works….
one of my jobs is to meet various studios based in mumbai for funding purposes and in the course of my visits with various top level professionals, a recurring theme has been how the movie DevD will fare on feb 6th? it is not because they are a fan of your work but they want to see how the audience will react to this movie (unlike No Smokin which frankly no one could understand)
the point i am trying to make (finally) is that DevD has been supported on the P&A side (publicity and advertising) in a very comphrehensive manner.. there isnt a television channel or a street corer wherein i dont get a chance to see something on DevD
as opposed to the other films like Wednesday, Oye Lucky and the like which have been worked on their own merit (basic production costs) and reasonable marketing spends.. but they pale in comparison to DevD in the P&A domain..
because if DevD works then it makes the lives of a lot of people easier (something that you tried very hard to deny with No Smokin).. i can then march into any big studio and talk to some random MBA guy siting in his leather upholstered seat and air conditioned office and tell him that in addition to basic production costs you need to invest in marketing…otherwise the movie will only be a ‘critically acclaimed’ venture as opposed to making money for all parties concerned…and that makes it that much harder for me to sell
you might wonder why this is any of your business?? i would like to say that maybe you should start to make it yours because a lot of people are waiting for the emotional attyachar but for various different reasons…
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this is a classic post. read like the story of a short film!
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an intersting one………well its a fact dat d shoots of a movie or d rehearsals of a play r much more intersting to quote.
I loved dis 1!
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Anurag- give us more sirjee.It was absolutely interesting to read this I must say!!!
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Both Abhay and Anurag are mavericks in their own right… none of their films have been big hits but they continue to do what they like.
Check this
http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4021244.cms
Answer no question 6 and 7 very much proves this point
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Hi there. I just saw an issue of this magazine called Time Out with Abhay on the cover! He looked super-cute as usual in a cool orange shirt. Never seen the magazine before but it had a lot of interesting articles on indie movies. They were calling it “Hindie”!!
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AK,
Why there are no Preview shows on 5th of Feb. Most of the movies have a preview on Thursday,then why didn’t you plan it for Dev D??
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Hey amit’s interview was in platform a while ago.in fact they’ve been covering a lot of the other cast and crew from Devd…twilight playrs too
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So Mr Kashyap,
DEV D seems to have failed to make a release in the Gulf countries. You think it did not make it past the censors ? Or no one touched the film in the first place?
Surprisingly, the biggest beneficiary in all this is CHAL CHALA CHAL. The poorly packaged flick from Govinda finally sees light after rotting in the cans for some time and is kinda given the 5 star treatment this week (atleast in these parts), as now it finds itself being the sole release of the week.
So…back to DEV D….it is disappointing that it did not make it here. Why? What do u think went wrong? I was waiting to catch it quite eagerly…but alas….
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Hi Anurag,
Just watched Dev.D. I loved No Smoking so much, and I must tell you, Dev.D is even better.
Great going man. Keep it up.
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Hi Anurag,
DEV D : Disillusioned Engrossing Visual Debacle ! ( Debacle only for devdas )
. Hy only thing i would say missing was a couple of blueline buses crasing here :P If u knw wat i mean, to wrap up events in the national capital!
Ok first things first i wanted to watch this movie ever since i saw u’r blog on the same some months back. Eventually the time came and the promos got released, i missed them initially and then a crazy idea came that i would see the movie without looking @ the promos. Also i drove 30 kms to watch the movie coz multiplex was full :( but on the sad part only 100 ppl in the theater :( ( sat morning show).
– But hey Grt Movie. AB Deol wonderful: Luved him in all his movies. This was again good. Devdas was Stylsih Cool Abnoxious Humorous and everything but romantic :P
– Btw Dark humor was super !!! Your take on DPS MMS scandal, BMW Hit and run !! Woah ! i was laughing like hell. Lot of humor thrown in the movie for keen observers like me
I am so glad i had to go through all the emotional Atyachar :P
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And 2 Qs:
a. Dev D’s ending sequence (since the 2nd crash) looked a bit hurried. Was it:
1. To catch people off-guard to the ending.
2. Hurried because of the stretched film-time?
3. ‘Ab bas, samajh gaya na? Show khatam, nikal le..’
Regards.
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And 2 Qs:
a. Dev D’s ending sequence (since the 2nd crash) looked a bit hurried. Was it:
1. To catch people off-guard to the ending.
2. Hurried because of the stretched film-time?
3. ‘Ab bas, samajh gaya na? Show khatam, nikal le..’
b. Watched the ‘Gulal’ trailer. Has the movie got something remotely common to ‘A Clockwork Orange’, in essence, if not the look?
Regards.
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Anurag,
I’ve never watched your movies. Believe me I was literally shitting in my pants even at the thoughts of it. Long ago, I read an interview of yours and I fell in love with you, sir! (Yessur, I’m perfectly straight anyway.) Since then I’ve read and read a lot, never watched.
I did succumb finally. Watched Dev D with my girlfriend. Both of us love you, unabashedly!
And yes, we love Kalki, as well. You are a goner!
We do love AD, as well.
I’ve watched Om Dar Ba Dar some 7-8 times thanks to some friend. It made me immensely happy. We started to remember the movie. We quoted it extensively.
Then, I heard emosanal atyachaar. It rung a bell, very distinctly.
Thanks for reminding and reassuring that all’s not lost. Mediocrity hasn’t conquered the world. If you hold out in the all pervasive gloom of the stench emanating from people’s heads passed off as works of art, you could have the sweet scent of a fresh spring’s bloom.
I’ve been on a nice elevated trip since I saw Dev D today in a small town called Kharghar in Navi Mumbai. I swear, I didn’t smoke up, today.
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BTW Anurag, Abhay claims the reason you have mentioned here for the fight is not the right one and he won’t mention that in public…so whats the real story?
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reminds me of kinski-herzog not that intense though
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hey Anurag,
congrats for dev d.
i switched on my comp yesterday morning to work and it started showing some error. so i told my husband ‘what the heck, lets catch dev d instead’
now…. i m thankful that my comp conked off.
i would not call it a movie, i will call it a piece of art instead. cos there are so many ppl making ‘movies’ that calling dev d a movie is kind of insult.
one more thing that i liked this time is that dev d is liked by a lot of people. it is actually successful on the ‘box office’ as they say. it gives me a sense of personal achievement cos i have been a fan of all ur films.
there’s something i want to ask, where do you pick up all these gems from, ur actors. abhay is tremendous and so not deol. both the girls just fabulous. and yes not forget chunni. he was there in black friday as well if i m right. he played yeda yakoob.
great going and good luck anurag. lookin forward to a lot of piece of arts from you and waiting to see a naseer-kk-anurag combo.
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What a lovely, moving story. Loved it. And I remember the line, “what are you, florence nightangle tonight?”!
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Loved the fact that dev was young, (younger than previous devdas) and i guess its good that the story takes place at point in a man’s life when he is still immature (age wise). I loved the chanda’s intro sequence, how fast it turned nightmarish…..
Audience laughs when dev says he doesnt love paro, in the end, probably it seems cowardish on his part to find refuge with chanda, but then it gets serious when he accepts that he is a slut. loved the point at which dev needs tinted glass to read phone, a metaphor for how he needs NOT to see the real world, he always needs a screen, be it liquor or music or glasses to suppress straight thinking. also loved the fact that he names the dog – dwij. many audiences left in the middle of the film, at one point post interval it does need a bit patience. Congratulations on a release, that too of such a great masterpiece.Using devdas i believe you have brought to light pressing issues about contemporary parenting(both urban and rural), youth frustration and confusion, I wish you success in all your forthcoming films and also hope you keep your fire burning- thanx to that we will get to see good films.
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Loved Dev D . Awesome Work .
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Hi Anurag,
Went with great expectations, first day last show, enjoyed the first 30 mins. Thrilled at seeing some genious moments during that time. The scene when, paro tells Dev that she has a marriage proposal and then the Mahi Mennu song…class. After that, since tempo had already been built, was expecting something on the same lines for the remainder of the movie. But it was not to be. A group of youngsters sitting on the same row that i was, started yawing since they thought the movie was dragging. I too got rubbed by the same impression. My own expectations seemed to be brought down by other people.
Went home with no thrilling feeling except for the first 30 mins.
Three days later, things finally sank into me about the film. Its true, one cannot ignore the film.
I started reconnecting all scenes and things made sense to be called a nice movie.
Finally, a week later from my first view of Dev D, went for the movie. This time with no specific feeling. I also went to see the crowd reaction. Just to check whether, my dragging on feeling that I felt on my first view of Dev D, was it natural or induced.
To my dismay my dragging feeling was induced.
This time around, it was great to watch it. all in the theater were glued. I expected people to get up and leave in between. Nothing happened. Even after the movie, few waited to re-listen EA.
Narrative using musicals was inventive, the dizzying effect was great. A little dark, yet most youth can relate. People want instant gratification. finally, “Ramoji kare beda par……”
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Hi Anurag,
about ‘Dev D’, what disturbs me is why call it Dev D? WHAT WAS YOUR PURPOSE FOR MAKING THE MOVIE?
i can call it just by any other name (not associating with DEVDAS)would it had make any difference?
don’t mind, why do i feel it as hype
weren’t you were sure the movie would do well, if it wasn’t connected with DEVDAS.
It has its own existence as plot, as cinema, right?
Infact, if i see it as TOTALLY apart from DEVDAS, it is good…it can question so many issues.
so lovely it would have been..if it existed on its own…
i feel sad, why do i feel all the time, there was an attempt to create hype?
i may be wrong, i’ll be very obliged, if you let me see your view
Regards
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Hi Anurag,
First and foremost I liked “No Smoking” very much, it was d kind of cinema I like to watch, a bit psych, abstractness, creepiness…that was WOW!!!.
(If u were very much sad abt its fate don’t worry, just go IMDB and check a lot of people actually liked it).
Now, Dev.D…why did u toned down the abstractness in it? I expected it to be more psychedelic. This was a very good subject to show more symbolism…
To me, u are Kubrick of Indian cinema…keep it up.
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Hi,
Here is a review of the film Dev D on a anonymous blog. I couldn’t agree more with the film reviewer, given all the uncritical adulation the film has been receiving. Check out the review on this blog page
http://wideawakeandwriting.blogspot.com/
Hope one can start a dialogue on the blog page – one that calls for some sort of introspection on what cinema can/does mean to all of us.
cheers
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I am an avid movie watcher, raised in the US but trilingual – english, Hindi, Gujarati. I went away to college and took hiatus from indian movies to concentrate other things – women. I know I know, I missed out on some really ground breaking cinema from 2000-2005. 2006 I came back and caught up on all and every indian movie. Night and Day, this is what I did. I had exhausted Hollywood, Japanese, French, South Korean movies at this point. I concentrated fully on Indian movies. Not one movie jumped out at me to think, “DAMN, WHY THE FCK DID I STOP WATCHING INDIAN MOVIES.” Not one movie. Until now, Dev. D. I wasn’t anticipating the movie, I didn’t care too much about the actors. I was in Mumbai for a month, I like to visit the Khar slums to teach for a volunteer school for street children (my sorry attempt to connect with India, if I really wanted to connect I should move the fck home.) I met Abhay Deol at Olive bar and kitchen and he’s what every indian parent would say, “Smart boy.” I exchanged a few casual words but not once did I mention that I was looking forward to his new movie, Dev. D coming out. I saw Dev. D last weekend, yes IN AMERICA. I gotta say, the movie is sick. It has to be up there with the ranks of Omkara and the likes that don’t get the credit it deserves. Abhay Deol is believable, the story is real. I guess I can connect to a story like that, even though I’m from the US. I can’t connect to a story about song and dance sequences that have completely no bearing on the story. But Dev. D is a piece of art which can’t be appreciated in it’s time. I actually liked it more than the SRK tear-fest Devdas, what a fckin bore. Anyways, I’m much like you Mr. Kashyp. I don’t have any formal education in film. I just have a passion for it. I don’t want to taint my passion by going to school for it. So I do what you did, I write scripts and re-write and re-write and re-write until my soul can’t take it anymore…and then I re-write some more. One day I hope the world can see my painting like they see yours. Dev. D is a great fckin painting bro. Take care.
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dear anurag,
your article actually reminded me of what my philosophy professor once told me ” once in while we must question all our thoughts, principles” and it’s something i believe in. even if we don’t, someone else should question them. and i think abhay is someone like that. questioning like that actually helps keeping the thinker in oneself alive, and is a great way to improvise. i am a great fan of yours as well as abhay’s.
about the movie, i was really looking to watching it. having seen your previous films also, i think you’ve hit the bull’s eye with Dev D. The story narration, direction, performances, the way you’ve connected it to present events, the music(it’s superb), the symbolism, cinematography all are brilliantly outstanding. i can’t help but agree with avi, there are very few people who will really appreciate the movie the way it deserves to be. the problem i realised is that people see the movie with this fixed idea about devdas, therefore failing to relate him to the present time. but i don’t care what people say, i have loved your movie and it’s the kind of movie i’ll show my kids someday and say “this is cinema!”
this film is going to be an important part of Indian Cinema’s history. great work !
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hey anurag,
i cant wait to watch dev.d, but i write from paris, and it hasnt released here. do you plan to? if no, is it possible, with your permission, of course to screen the movie here, in my college theatre perhaps. my french friends want to see a hindi movie, and i think your movie will be a nice intro for some of them.
achal
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hi anurag
I saw movie yesterday (second time) and very happy with your success. Even, I had the same fear of going it like No Smoking……But luckily it didn’t… I am very happy to see your work getting success……Cinematography was ‘faadu’ especially that round track shot of dev d and Chunni drinking……I guess people liked your work a lot because in the hall there were lot of people who were watching again…….my friend Nitish says “is movie mein nasha hai…..jitna dekhu utna chadta hai”………I really enjoyed the movie and eagerly lookig forward for ‘Gulal’
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Anuraag sirji, tussi great ho. just came back from big cinema, watching dev d for the 3rd time in last 15 days. Its the best movie I had seen this year. I used to love abhay deol’s acting since ahista ahista and socha na tha. But Dev D has just bought out the best in him. Mere hath mien oscar hota to you would had won it hands down for Dev D. keep up the great work.
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When I saw Abhay Deol for the first time..I had thought just another star kid trying to be a hero. I am so glad he did just the opposite..he is real..you are great mr. Abhay! Infact I didn’t liked you for the first 15-20 mins of socha na tha..but after that don’t know what both the movie as well as your acting improved..and in the end it was really a nice movie..enjoyable. I don’t know how to reach him so Anurag am using ur blog to say things..hope u won’t mind.
So already a lot has been said about you by Anurag and pple.. so rest is history..infact I have watched all your movies..sadly all on DVD..Dev D was my 1st on theatre..actually wanted it to be commercially sucessful once I saw the trailer with emosanal atyachar! am from patna by the way ;)..silly jokes apart, I knew the movie wud be good..and wanted it to do good very badly..honestly ..because I want to see more movies like this and i don’t want directors like Anurag to stop making movies ..u know ‘cos of lack of funds..so i hope my 100-200/- wud help..plus I push everyone I know to watch these kinda movies..in original print or on screen.
Anurag, aapke baare mein fir kabhi likoonga..already lamba blog ho gaya..bas itna kehna chahoonga.. u go to place looking for something and find a new world for urself..mere sath yahi hua abhi abhi..but i read ur chat on rediff.. your answers tell a lot about u..am a fan!
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@OZ: ..me too!
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Dude!!!!!
What have you done??? Simply Awesome!!!
I am not being emotional or whteva, its just coming straight from my heart. This movie is better than the original Devdas.. makes so much more sense.. it ain’t a movie full of overwhelming dialogues, but a movie about love. A few of my friends, who watched it earlier stated that the movie is a semi-porno, better watch a porno!! But, I really can’t help them.
Like lenny said, “hypocrites” !!
Amazing stuff.. kudos to Abhay Deol for thinking about such a brilliant idea. He is my fav. and now you are too.
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Dev.D just entered IMDB Top 250 list!!!
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yup its on #246
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Dear Anurag
DEV D – What a lovely movie! No overacting, no hamming – just like a normal guy. The fact is that people in cities are more into e and coke than ‘maa ke hath ka gajar ka halwa’ and probably say ‘fuck you’ more than ‘main hoon na’. You kind of think – which planet do the mainstream bollywood actors exist? Not in Indian cities or the villages… Kudos to Abhay Deol – have loved all his movies! Keep it coming brother.
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Hey Anurag,
Saw Dev D weeks ago then life took over…but somehow it stuck to the back of my head- kindof surreal…every 2-3 days a particular scene surfaces almost compelling me to see the film again but you know life takes over, then again i’m driving and i hear emosional atyachar playing on the radio and i can’t help but smile and rush to the nearest multiplex…but i don’t and life takes over.
Kudos man!!!More power to you.
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Where were you Anurag!!! after seeing DEV-D and gulal.. i took a pledge that i will see all your films.
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haha. hilarious. nice.
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prabal study hard for bmm
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Anuragji first let me gush out a little because I cannot keep my joy pent up after I watched Dev-D. It is possibly the singular cinematic masterpiece you have created in recent times of Indian Cinema. I could not believe the way you concocted the story and visuals in a seamless dream of pure cinematic brilliance. The acting was unbelievable the songs were top notch and yeah I loved the wall of Dev’s den with the WonderWoman Graphitti. I am a big comic book buff myself and I am in the comic book business for quite some time. My primary and most important body of work was with Virgin Comics, I wrote Ramayan 3392 AD and Ramayan 3392 AD Reloaded with them alongside a slew of one shots and series like Sadhu, Virulents (Going to be made into a movie by 20th Century Fox with ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ helmer John Moore, to tell you the truth I absolutely despised his ‘Max Payne’ movie) Vargav (with UTV) and Linger (With Studio 18). By the by I have now joined hands with Pune based comic book company ‘Arkin Comics’ and writing the series ‘Irith’ for them which is about a post 26/11 initiative of the Indian Paramilitary to create a team of super commandos to fight the greatest Terror threat of all time. I was almost jumping when I came to know of you making ‘Doga’ as a movie. I am eagerly awaiting news regarding that. Please check out my own humble effort if you have time by clicking on this link which is a promotional video for Irith. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a5nyCs_3uU
Looking forward to see Gulal with bated heart.
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Just checked Dev.D on Netflix and found this description for the film which is so inaccurate! Anurag you should let someone at UTV known to fix it.
Because they come from different castes, Dev (Abhay Deol), the son of a tax collector, and his true love, Paro (Mahie Gill), are not allowed to marry. After Paro’s family sends her to Calcutta, where she marries an older, wealthy widower, Dev despairs. He soon meets prostitute Chanda (Kalki Koechlin) and gradually spirals down into a life of overindulgence in this adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s best-selling novel Devdas.
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anurag bhai..
ur films are stupendously insightful with wry humor, clever wit and smart abstractness..
i’m really in awe of ur film making style.. how can one become an apprentice/assistant director for someone like you? i know this is a broad question that you may be very often, but any suggestions/tips will be tremendously appreciated..
thanks..
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i think i have a brilliant idea. anurag should make a movie on karan johar and the likes of him.you know dig them so deep that what is left is too unbearable for them to live on.
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