Daas Dev, directed by Sudhir Mishra, and adapted from the novel, Devdas, written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is a misfire. Starring Rahul Bhatt, Richa Chadha and Aditi Rao Hyadri, the movie is a modern day adaptation of the years old story of passionate love, a drunkard who takes to the bottle after he can’t be reunited with his loved one, and the tragedy of the two women who love him, and are abandoned by him in one way or another. However, Sudhir’s Daas Dev has been imagined as a political drama, that is also influenced by Shakespeare’s’ Hamlet. Dev, here is a heir to a political party, but he’s an alcoholic. He loves Paro, played by Richa Chadha, who is a social worker of sorts. Chandini, a woman using her sexuality for political gains, is the only interesting character in the movie, unfortunately played by Aditi Rao Hyadri, who doesn’t have much charisma to hold her own on the screen.
Richa Chadha fares well in comparison, although her character isn’t as exciting as it should be, while Rahul Bhatt is good as the drunk and passionate Dev, but doesn’t have that extra element which makes a character like this truly iconic.
Among the supporting actors, Saurabh Shukla is always better than the script, and gives a convincing performance. The movie is capably made, and the script has some surprises, but it just doesn’t have the seamless narrative to hold it all together. Everything is telegraphed through heavy dialogues and more than a few twists are clunky and don’t feel truthful. Better to skip this one.
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