New Delhi, Apr 4: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s cult classic “Dev.D” is set to return to the big screen as PVR INOX on Saturday announced a re-release of the 2009 film, a modern-day adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 Bengali novel “Devdas”.
The film will be re-released by PVR INOX, in association with Star Studio18, on April 24, a press release said.
Set in modern-day Punjab and Delhi, the film featured Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin in lead roles. It was written by Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, and produced by Ronnie Screwvala.
The film followed Devendra Singh “Dev” Dhillon (Deol), a privileged young man who descends into alcohol and drug addiction after a failed relationship with his childhood love Parminder “Paro” Kaur (Gill).
He eventually forms an unexpected bond with Chanda (Koechlin), an escort navigating her own emotional trauma.
Released in cinemas in February 2009, the film was both a box office and critical success. Its music, composed by Amit Trivedi, also struck a chord with audiences, with tracks like “Emosanal Attyachar” and “Pardesi” gaining popularity.
Niharika Bijli, Lead Strategist, PVR INOX Limited, said the multiplex chain was drawn to the film’s enduring impact.
“We are constantly looking for definitive titles, films that have shifted something, and ‘Dev.D’ is undoubtedly one of them. It is a film meant for the big screen; the landscapes, the music, and the emotions all feel far more immersive when experienced in a cinema, shared with an audience reacting in unison.
“‘Dev.D’ is also an essential watch to understand the diversity of storytelling that Anurag Kashyap brings to his craft… This is not a film one should miss experiencing in theatres,” Bijli said in a statement.
Kashyap said the film was born out of a desire to strip away the romanticism long associated with the character of Devdas, portrayed in earlier movies by screen legend Dilip Kumar and superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
“The film was a provocation, taking a story steeped in nostalgia and tragic romance and thrusting it into the chaos of contemporary India. This Dev isn’t a romantic hero. He’s entitled, impulsive, and often deeply unlikable. His self-destruction isn’t noble; it’s reckless and painfully real.
“Paro, too, is no longer just the waiting lover. She has agency, desire, and anger; she chooses; she resists. And Chanda, shaped by the realities of today, isn’t defined by sacrifice but by survival and reinvention. To see ‘Dev.D’ return to the big screen at PVR INOX feels special,” he said.
Deol, who had originally conceived the idea for the film, said the project remained a personal triumph.
“When I narrated it to Anurag, I didn’t tell him it was a contemporary treatment of Devdas, I just narrated a love story. He did not guess what it was that I was actually narrating and when I revealed that it was a contemporary Devdas he went quiet for 20 minutes imagining it in his head.
“He was hooked and he also loved the idea of treating it with a musical score that took the story forward one song at a time. Although he went with a different ending (I
stuck to the original with Dev dying in the end), my idea was to call out Devdas’ misogyny, and highlight the women’s resilience,” he said. (PTI)
