Anurag Kashyap directs with raw, documentary-like energy. Cinematographer Rajeev Ravi uses handheld cameras, desaturated colours (cold blues, greys, and sickly yellows), and jarring cuts. There are no pretty palaces. There’s only grimy hotel rooms, highway motels, and seedy bars. The famous “emotional” rain-scene from other Devdas films becomes a mud-soaked, drunken, humiliating fall here.
Abhay Deol wasn’t your typical Bollywood hero. He didn’t have six-pack abs or a romantic croon. He looked like a privileged kid who drank too much—puffy eyes, slouching shoulders, a sneer that hid deep insecurity. His Dev is not sympathetic; he is repulsive. He calls Paro a "slut" on a public road. He gets into a bar fight and loses. He cries like a baby on a toilet seat. It is, arguably, one of the bravest performances in modern Hindi cinema. dev d 2009
Dev (Abhay Deol) is an 18-year-old rich brat deeply in love with his childhood friend, Paro (Mahie Gill). When he discovers a sexually explicit MMS allegedly involving Paro, his fragile ego shatters. He rejects her out of petty pride. Paro, heartbroken, marries an older, settled man. Dev spirals into alcoholism, drugs, and aimless wandering, relocating to Delhi. There, he encounters Chanda (Kalki Koechlin), a schoolgirl-turned-high-end-escort who calls herself “LENNY” (a nod to the heroin-addicted character from The Factory’s Lenny). Their damaged, transactional relationship slowly forces Dev to confront his own rotting self. Anurag Kashyap directs with raw, documentary-like energy
Upon release, Dev D did not set the box office on fire. Made on a modest budget of approximately ₹9 crore (approx. $1.8 million), it earned roughly ₹25 crore (approx. $5 million). It was a "hit," but not a blockbuster. Abhay Deol wasn’t your typical Bollywood hero
However, its real success was measured in influence.
In 2023, the British Film Institute (BFI) included Dev D in a list of "10 Great Indian Films of the 21st Century," calling it "a punk rock rendition of a tragedy."