Dev D, Anurag Kashyap’s iconic 2009 film will re-release in theatres on April 24, PVR-Inox announced on Saturday. The film, which originally released in February 2009, continues to enjoy a cult classic status to date for several reasons.
Starring Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin (in her debut) and Mahie Gill in lead roles, Dev D was an adaptation of the classic Bengali novel Devdas, with the writers — Anurag and Vikramaditya Motwane, who was yet to make his directorial debut — setting the story of a doomed alcoholic Bengali man into modern-day Punjab and Delhi.
The film’s supporting casting included Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Satwant Kaur, and Anjum Batra. Nawazuddin Siddiqui too made a brief cameo in the film, appearing in the ‘Emosanal Atyachar’ song sequence.
Produced by Ronnie Screwala under UTV Spotboy Pictures, Dev D performed well at the box office, turning out to be a breakthrough film for Anurag Kashyap who hadn’t tasted box office until then. The film’s soundtrack particularly became popular among urban film-goers, with Amit Trivedi going on to win the National Award for Best Music later that year.
Interestingly, Abhay Deol and Anurag never collaborated on a film project again.
