'Like Devdas, I've always moped around'

Devdas is a loser and India has a tradition in self-pity. Dev.D's director Anurag Kashyap pulls no punches, even with his broken marriage and his newfound loveu00a0

Dev.D actor Abhay Deol has said he didn't much care for Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's story. What do you feel about Devdas?
I don't like it either.

Why are you making a film on a story you don't like?
Because it's applicable. Devdas has gone beyond being a book or a film. It's become an adjective. Devdas is a word in normal lingo. It gives you so much to explore. The idea of doing a film on self-destruction has always been fascinating. It's kind of a romantic thing. There are so many things that I wanted to do with the story. When Abhay told me the concept, the first thing that occurred to me was Paharganj. When I was in college, I used to hang around Paharganj in Delhi to score some dope.
We wanted to watch firangs wearing short skirts we were 16, 17 years old. The area always fascinated me you know those neon-lit streets. When I wrote Allwyn Kalicharan, it was set in Paharganj. That never got made. When this idea came, I knew where I wanted to set it.
There were lots of stories that I wanted to make into film they were real-life incidents about young people. Stories of youth that didn't find direction. I put all of them on parallel to Devdas and then wrote my script. Devdas is the medium to tell those stories.
A story like Devdas tends to get dark and I was very self-conscious about being so dark, specially post a box office disaster (No Smoking). I decided to end it on a positive note. I don't want to spell out the message I just leave it for you to figure out. With No Smoking, I was consciously trying not to be accessible. I expected the audience to get it. But I didn't do it well.

So you made it simpler this time?
The effort is to be accessible. I don't want to simplify things. I've stylised it and made Devdas a musical. The idea of it being a musical came after Amit Trivedi composed eight tracks.

Are Bengalis going to be outraged at your version?
I don't think all Devdas fans will have a problem. I'm confident about that. Everyone who's seen my film feels that this is how Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay would have approached Devdas if he were writing it today.

Which Devdas do you like?
P C Barua's. I saw it recently at a festival recently. You like Devdas in it. I had seen Bimal Roy's and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's. I preferred Bimal Roy's. I had issues with Bhansali's, but I liked Chandramukhi in it. What he did with Madhuri (Dixit) was fantastic.

Devdas is a difficult character to like.
He's a loser. Let's be honest, there's nothing going for him. But there are people like that. India is a country that has a tradition of self-pity. We've written songs on self-pity like (sings) 'Ghungroo ki tarah bajta hi raha hoon'. In small towns, if you fall for a girl, the first thing you do is listen to sad songs on Vividh Bharati. The girl probably doesn't even know you exist. And when the girl gets married, we get drunk and we cry (laughs).u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Have you ever gone off the deep end?
I have. The first time was when I was college, when I first decided to come to Bombay. That was short-lived I was just low. When Paanch got stuck, I went off the deep end again and even after No Smoking, for a short while. When my marriage broke up, I was completely lost. It took me a long time to recover. I had gone into severe drugs and alcohol. I had so many anxiety attacks.

After watching Dev.D, are we going to feel like the song, 'Emosanal athyachaar'?
I think so. I've used very few dialogues. What's beautiful about this is Abhay's internalisation of the character. When I went into depression, I went into a shell. I locked myself in a room. Dev's emotions come through music and through actions. One desperate action and you know what he's feeling. I think it's Abhay's best performance.
At the same time, I wanted the women to be stronger. Both Paro and Chanda, one village girl, the other urban. The village girl can plough the field and yet be feminine, virginal and sexual. Chanda has made mistakes. She's suffered for them, but refuses to suffer any longer. She's always trying to do something so she can escape her life.

Who would you choose, between Paro and Chandramukhi?
I've always gone for Chandramukhi, all my life. Devdas has just let himself go and Chandramukhi can understand him more. Paro knows Dev well, but he went away and became a different man. She keeps looking for the same Dev. Whereas Chanda understands the man that he has become.

How do you deal with a broken heart?
Like Devdas, I've always wallowed and moped around. Just trying to fill my life with many things, going from highs to highs. But then, it made me realise that there's nothing else but a whole lot of vomit I've collected inside. It doesn't make you feel good about anything.

How do you get over it?
I've always used anchors. It's either my work or my daughter. I just kept working. That was my biggest thing. In that effort, I've got a collage of about seven films by now (laughs).

So many people are like Devdas today they kill themselves over a failed relationship.
Yes, they put all their eggs in one basket. I don't think it's worth giving up your life, but it depends on how badly you fall in love. Deep down, if we're happy, we don't need anything. Unhappiness is a state of mind that makes you progress in life (laughs).

How was it directing someone (Kalki Dev D's Chanda) you fell in love with?
Falling in love happened later. She was always there on the shoot because it was her first time and she wanted to become comfortable with the language. And I became dependent on her. I was still in a depressive, addiction stage. And she started pulling me out of it. It wasn't until the shoot got over and I went to the US, that I realised I really missed her. We went for dinner and realised we both were feeling the same thing.

It's like Devdas she was your Chandramukhi, except that it worked out.
Yeah, today I'm so stable. Happier. I write blogs about what I like, and have learned to ignore what I don't like and not get angry. It's not possible to completely understand another person. What's important is to be tolerant and accommodating. It takes a lot of effort.

Was it difficult having your ex-wife Aarti Bajaj edit this film of yours too, just after your marriage broke up?
I can't function without Aarti. She's the best editor there is and she shapes my films the way they become. There's no escaping that. If it becomes difficult, I'll have to beg her to edit it. It's not easy. At the same time, I respect her so much.u00a0u00a0

To an outsider, it looks messy. Your ex-wife and girlfriend, both working in the same film.
If it had happened while I was still married, it's messy. For me, it happened much after. It's still... I don't know... there's a part of you that doesn't go away. There's my daughter. It is extremely difficult to talk about. The situation's definitely not easy. I want to give respect to each person.

The awards controversy between Sajid Khan and Ashutosh Gowariker what's your take?
It's all fun and games yaar. We don't have a tradition of good comic acts. We should learn how to take jokes. When you go in, you know they're going to pick on everyone. If you can't laugh when the joke is on you, don't laugh at the others. Or there should be dead silence at award functions. I was there I had attended an awards function after eight years. Farah (Khan) made fun of me, about my simple tee and jeans. Sajid Khan has a pungent sense of humour, but he made fun of his own film. He made fun of his own sister he called her a man!

Finally, are those Kalki's lips on the poster of Dev D?
Yes, gorgeous na? I'm a goner.