Daas Dev Review: Sudhir Mishra's film is a messy political revenge drama
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1917 Devdas has been filmmakers' favourite subject. After Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, Daas Dev (Devdas in reverse) is a contemporary treatment of the epic novel. Sudhir Mishra's brave attempt is an amalgamation of Devdas and William Shakespeare's work Hamlet and both the stories have tragedy in common. Now, why am calling it a brave attempt is because Mishra tries to paint a political thriller mixing it with Devdas and Hamlet. This reminds me of Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider, which was based on Hamlet and was set against the backdrop of Kashmir insurgency.
Set in the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh, the story revolves around a political clan whose heir to the throne (Dev, played by Rahul Bhatt) is an alcoholic. He is a spoiled brat, unaware of the grim world of power. Paro, his childhood sweetheart is the daughter of the close aide of Dev's father who later goes on to contest election against Dev. There is Dev's ambitious uncle Awadesh played by Saurabh Shukla who anyhow wants to remain in power and there is Chandni (Aditi Rao Hydari as Chandramukhi), the mistress of a powerbroker Sahay (Dalip Tahil) whose one-sided love for Dev knows no bounds.
Daas Dev is a tale of love, greed, political power, revenge and betrayal. There are a lot of characters in the movie and their introduction causes chaos. Pre-interval, the story is lost in introducing its characters, from the lead pair and the goon to the opposition party's leader, which might leave you perplexed. The movie begins with cut-to-cut events, giving you a glimpse of the dark world of power. Politics is all about betrayal and that's why most of the characters have shown to be disloyal at some point or the other. Whether it is Chandni or Paro or Awadesh, they all go against their closed ones to fulfil their own interests. Post-interval, things start getting clear and you begin understanding various sub-plots. If you have already read Hamlet, the climax won't surprise you much.
Though it is a political thriller, the film lacks thrill. Screenplay by Sudhir Mishra and Jaydeep Sarkar is the weakest element of Daasdev because it just doesn't keep you glued. Many subjects such as bauxite-mining, land acquisitions, etc have been touched upon without delving much into it. Low-angle shots and literally never-ending camera pan irritate eyes.
The only thing I liked about the movie is women in Mishra's film have not been treated as mere eye-candies. They know their game very well and act as catalysts for the story. Paro doesn't shed tears when her love refuses to help her but takes the battle to the political fray. Chandni, on the other hand, makes way for Dev to be the successor just with a phone call. She orders murder and disruption over a phone and her work is done. Daas Dev has a brilliant star cast including Vipin Sharma, Anil George and Vineet Kumar Singh. Saurabh Shukla's character lacks depth and is under-written. Though he has more screen presence, the actor like him remains under-utilised in the movie. Vineet and Vipin do justice to their parts but Richa Chadha disappoints.
Neither the 2.5-hour long movie nor any of his character strikes a chord with your heart. Daas Dev leaves you as soon as you leave the theatre. Watch it only for Sudhir Mishra's good attempt.