‘Daas Dev’ movie review: This twisted take on ‘Devdas’ fails to impress

Directed By: Sudhir Mishra
Produced By: Sanjeev Kumar
Cast: Richa Chadha, Rahul Bhat, Aditi Rao Hydari, Saurabh Shukla, Anurag Kashyap, Dalip Tahil
Duration: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2.5

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Devdas’ has inspired filmmakers since long. We have seen many versions of the epic drama and Chattopadhyay’s immortal character, Devdas. Sudhir Mishra has given a contemporary touch to the vintage story mixing it with ‘Hamlet’ of William Shakespear and landing it slap bang in the present age. What we have is a potpourri of stories written by two legendary writers spiced up with the drama of new age.

‘Daas Dev’ is a story of doomed love that is given a political touch where Dev (Rahul Bhat) is a reluctant heir to a political throne, the love of his life Paro(Richa Chadha) doubles up as his political rival and Chandramukhi aka Chandni(Aditi Rao Hydari) ‘the other’ woman is a fixer who loves Dev but knows where to draw the line.

The story of the movie that is supposedly taken from a classic ends up more as a political thriller rather than a love story. It is a twisted tale of relentless trickery where each character has a certain shade of grey embodied. They are ordinary people but seduced by the brutal pursuit of power.

The editing by Archit Rastogi lends pace to the narrative. Sachin K. Krishn’s play with silhouettes creating the right vision for this tale of betrayal. But the songs that are usually helpful in taking the story forward are a hamper in the film. Sudhir Mishra known for his film ‘Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi’, comes up with a mixed bag of a movie, that lacks to hold your attention in many instances.

Rahul Bhat gets ample scope to showcase his acting chops, but he falls short in pulling off the iconic character that has been immortalized on screen. Richa Chadha, as usual, walks through the role like a true professional. Aditi Rao Hydari will leave you stunned as she pulls off the character of Chandramukhi with an Elan.

The supporting cast like Saurabh Shukla as the man behind the throne, Dalip Tahil as the devious businessman. Vipin Sharma, Anil George and many more are good at their work but get bogged down with the seamless screenplay.

All in all Sudhir Mishra’s ‘Daas Dev’ lacks a voice.

Watch Trailer:

https://youtu.be/ihwimHKNTnI