Defending artist as a young man — Dev D.

Who is Dev D.?

Everything Anurag Kashyap has done before Dev D. was a preparation to Dev D. Of course, this is what I'd like to believe whatever the case might be. Human brain is a funny thing. If you tell it you're Anurag Kashyap, and keep on repeating it, you will soon forget who you really are — the one who you want to be or the one who you already are.

— Dev D. is a hypocrite, Anurag said. He's a debauch.

If we could find words sufficient to express human condition, I suspect cinema would have had born. But they are certainly powerful enough to understand and explain to some extent human behavior, its reaction to nudity, sensuality or beauty — anything from pleasant to ugly. If you are that inexperienced young man, and of the worst kind, one who has more faith in platonic than passionate relationships, I tell you nothing will ever seal the fate of your love affair like that rarity called virginity.

— You repeat the same folly. You think woman can be a solution for woman. But you cannot force yourself to another woman, someone tells me. You cannot love this woman, you can only fuck her.

Like I said, I believe we can deceive our brain. But it's difficult. Sadly, the truth is this another woman can never be the solution for 'the one.' And if you discover that you actually love her, and you hurt the one you love so much by going out with other women — nothing can be done. You'll wallow in self-pity. And they'll tag you a hypocrite. The brain might be the worst enemy which lives on the pain it inflicts on you and one that won't let you die. In the later case, it's your unlikely friend. It'll defend you, tell you that you've done nothing wrong, and keep on repeating this until it gets into your head.

This system actually works, neurotic science proves it. Eventually, you start believing you didn't do any wrong. Because if you don't tell yourself the truth, you'll be angry with yourself. Nothing can be as self-destructive as the heady mixture of rage, regret and retrospection. You cannot stop loving your woman because you want to prove yourself that you still love her. It's not your fault; you've done nothing wrong; you're still faithful. You love her because you don't want to bear the guilt and mental torture of your conscience. So you're stuck in the middle — between 1.) you cannot commit yourself to another woman, 2.) you cannot go back to your love.

That's Dev D. for you. If you're Dev D., don't worry chances are your Chanda might well turn out to be a virgin [as I'll explain later], even if you are not. I repeat I'm not a hypocrite. I am not a hypocrite. I love her truly, madly and I DIDN'T screw those pretty ladies. But I'm angry with my beloved. She doesn't speak. This is my last attempt to defend Dev D. Oh, how pathetic he could get — Will you make love to me? That's Godard's Breathless. India's best!

Abhay Deol is the only 'hero' I've ever seen in 'Bollywood.' Dev D. is the best Indian film that actually goes inside the head of its characters and brilliantly captures its internal turmoil. That 'largest DVD collection' has really helped me. I can speak because I've done thing wrong. I make movies, I make truths. That's the price you pay for being an artist. Let's accept it, Dev D. is the unmistakable borderline that will divide Bollywood movies into two groups — all that preceded Dev D. and all that are to come and deal with mind games. It's a milestone in the industry.

P.S.: If the taste of human saliva hasn't made you a man-eater yet and you strongly feel one needn't be really virgin to consider yourself one — you're not alone. The Virgin Mary being the best illustrated and widely accepted case. It's just that when emotions come into play, all the tried and tested formulas stop working and you have to find a way well beyond tradition and whatever that means. And Dev D. does this beautifully. Thank you Amit Trivedi.

Further reading:
The real story behind Dev D.