Abhay Deol says Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D glamourised alcohol and drug addiction: ‘Idea was to call out toxic masculinity’ | Bollywood FilmyMeet

Abhay Deol recently spoke about Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D normalising drugs and alcohol. The actor who played the titular role in the film is based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas. Abhay, in an interview with Filmfare, said that when he initially signed the film, it was about empowering women, but the film eventually ended up in the glamourisation of substance abuse. (Also read: Abhay Deol makes ‘controversial’ statement about his sexuality: ‘I have embraced all experiences in my life’)

Abhay Deol on Dev D glamourising drugs

Abhay, while speaking about Dev D stated that, “That’s why Dev D came to me; the idea was to call out his toxic masculinity and empower the women. That was the idea behind it. I stuck to the book where he (Devdas; in the Anurag directorial, the character’s name is Devendra Singh Dhillon aka Dev) dies in the end; but instead of an alcohol or drug overdose, he starts dealing in drugs to support himself, the cops chase him, he doesn’t know where to go, so he runs Paro’s house and gets shot outside her door.”

He further said, “Eventually, the film kind of became cool and people saw that and wanted to do more drugs and alcohol. I was like, ‘That was not the point.’ I have literally had friends say, ‘Please tell my nephew that ecstasy is not good for them’. I also had a friend who called me saying he had finished an entire bottle of vodka. That glamourisation was entirely away from what I had envisioned.”

About Dev D

Dev D was a modern adaptation of the book as well as the earlier film versions, which were set in the backdrop of the early 1900s. While the original story is based in Bengal about the son of a zamindar (a feudal ruler of an estate), Anurag’s film was set in Punjab. Dev D marked the acting debut of Kalki Koechlin. It also featured Mahie Gill, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and others in pivotal characters.