Dev.D

Dev D
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Anurag Kashyap
Produced by	Ronnie Screwvala
Written by	Anurag Kashyap Vikramaditya Motwane
Based on	Devdas by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Starring	Abhay Deol Mahie Gill Kalki Koechlin
Music by	Amit Trivedi
Cinematography	Rajeev Ravi
Edited by	Aarti Bajaj
Production company	UTV Motion Pictures
Release date	6 February 2009 (2009-02-06)
Running time	144 min
Country	India
Language	Hindi, Punjabi, English, French, Tamil
Budget	₹11.3 crore (US$1.7 million)
Box office	₹49.87 crore (US$7.4 million)

Dev.D is an Indian romantic black comedy drama film released on 6 February 2009. Written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, it is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali novel Devdas, previously adapted for the screen by P.C. Barua and Bimal Roy and more recently by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.Dev.D was embraced by the media, critics and public. The film is set in contemporary Punjab and Delhi, where familial ties are negotiated by the traditions of patriarchy and marriages are reduced to a game of power and "honour".

The film is divided into three parts from the view of characters:

Dev (Abhay Deol), the son of a rich businessman, is an insecure narcissist. He and Paro (Mahi Gill) are childhood sweethearts. Instead of acknowledging her affection and care, Dev nudges Paro over frivolous things. He is sent to London for higher studies when his father senses how spoilt his son is. While separated by distance, Paro and Dev's youthful love only blossoms more. After finishing his studies, Dev returns to Chandigarh and meets Paro. Their endeavor to make love makes for some dark comic moments. When Dev hears rumours about Paro, he immediately believes them and ditches her. The seeds of suspicion are sown here, which the couple are never able to weed out. What makes them fall apart is mutual suspicion and an essentially male vision of how a woman should conduct herself sexually. Paro turns her back on him when she hears him insult her and agrees to marry a man of her parents' choice. On her wedding day, Dev learns that the rumors were false but his ego doesn't let him accept his mistake, and he lets Paro marry someone else.

Leni (Kalki Koechlin) is a Delhi student of half-European descent. A date with her much older boyfriend lands Leni in an MMS scandal. Her father commits suicide out of shame. She is disowned by her family. Refusing to live a life of shame and ridicule, she returns to Delhi where she works as a prostitute at night, while continuing with her studies during the day. She adopts the name 'Chanda' for her profession. Her 'foreign' looks mean her services are reserved for the highest-paying customers and she finds some dignity and independence in the new way of living. One night a customer is brought to her room in half-conscious state — it turns out to be Dev.