Bollywood has a special affinity with Devdas. The classic romantic novel by Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been immortalised quite a few times by our filmmakers. After KL Saigal immortalised the iconic character in 1936, Dilip Kumar earned the title of tragedy king after being heartbroken by Paro (Suchitra Sen) in Bimal Roy’s 1955 classic. When Shah Rukh Khan played the alcoholic lover in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, the viewers wept when he lay dead at Paro (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan)’s doorstep. Several years later, Abhay Deol made us go through an emotional atyachaar with him in Anurag Kashyap’s modern day adaptation Dev D.
The character became synonymous with the persona of a jilted lover which soon became a part of everyday lingo. But what if we tell you that a girl can become a Devdas pn-screen as well? Yes, the iconic character is now being played by an actress but not on the big screen. Titled Dev DD, it is a web series unveiled on digital entertainment channel ALT Balaji owned by television czarina Ekta Kapoor.
Directed by Ken Ghosh (remember Shahid Kapoor’s Ishq Vishk), the 11-episode long web series stars Aasheema Vardhan who essays the protagonist Devika Dharam Dwivedi. Devika is a 22-year-old girl from Jaipur who does not give a damn about what people think about her. She is loud, fearless and confident to the core. Unlike girls who refrain from crossing the ‘lakshman rekha’ drawn by their families and society in general, Devika unapologetically shatters the stereotypes in classy way. Even if it means going against her family. She smokes marijuana, is fond of rum and uses expletives to express emotions. Outside her house, she bashes up Romeos who talk crap about her while openly asking for sanitary pads and condoms at a chemist shop.
— Ken Ghosh (@kenghosh) April 16, 2017
Aasheema Vardhan, who plays the titular role in the series, is the one to watch out for. Both Ken Ghosh and Ekta Kapoor should give her a big hug for making their hard work successful in narrating Devdas through a female protagonist. You have Akhil Kapur who plays Parth (male version of Paro). However, the one to watch out for in the series is seasoned actor Sanjay Suri who is Anurag, in other words the male Chandramukhi.
The only reason why you should watch the series is because of the narrative. Despite being a story known since ages, it is the fresh storytelling which will keep you glued to your couch and binge watch till the end. As the story progresses, there are twists in the plot which are just awesome. Do you think we are gonna reveal the spoiler? No way.
There are portions when you feel a bit detached from the storyline. In other words, the story could have been told in less than 11 episodes.
How to watch
The first three episodes of Dev DD are available on YouTube. You can watch them right here as well.
And the second episode of the series will heighten your excitement.
Last but not the least, the third episode of the series is on offer as well.
To watch the remaining episodes, you need to purchase the subscription. Just log on to the website and check out the subscription plans.
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