THIS EMOSIONAL ATTYACHAR ROCKS

Normally, I'd give a full review. Not this time.

Normally, I'd say don't go in with a pre-conceived notion of the film as a remake.This time, I say do the exact opposite. Grab a copy of the old Devdas and watch it if you don't remember it. 

Then go watch Dev D. The 10th version of Devdas on celluloid. Arguably, the most iconic.

Watch it just to see how amazingly/ hilariously/ progressively/ uniquely/ amorally grungy it has been redone. I can't say more without revealing the good bits. Just be prepared to be shocked.. atleast a wee bit. There's a morbidly grey shade to all the characters, there's foul language,violence,sex,drugs, booze et al. 

The story, though ancient, still manages to surprise you at every turn with it's new interpretation. In the end though, it is a journey of 3 people discovering who they really are. They're just a lot less pious than we remember them.

Me, I'm just happy that Abhay Deol is proving himself a great asset to the Dharmendra clan. No brawn here, just pure brains ( the whole concept of Dev D is his, not Anurag Kashyap's as I would have imagined. ) His acting is at par with any of today's lead actors as far as I can see. The 2 newcomers, Mahi ( Paro ) and Kalki ( Lenny aka Chandramukhi ) are not breathtakingly beautiful as a certain Ash and Madhuri were and that helps too as we can settle down and notice their freshness and emoting skills rather than gape awestruck,besides the fact that they aren't weighed down by a 'prima and propah' public image. Both of them have unique roles and do

it more than adequately well. The contrast between Jackie Shroff and the Chunnilal character here is chalk and cheese.. I actually prefer this Chunnilal to the original.

Kudos to the director and cinematographer too who do a total 180 degree turnaround from the images we have of Devdas from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic movie. It worked guy.

No lip syncing of most of the 18 ( !!! ) songs is also a step forward as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know if this film will be a hit because you'll either hate it or love it. But I suggest you go watch it and decide which side of the fence you're sitting on. Because it's in a whole new genre of it's own, which I personally feel Bollywood needs to encourage.

( SPOILER AHEAD ) 

Me.. I'm hooked on EMOSIONAL ATTYACHAR right now.. it's probably gonna be my Valentine's anthem anyway so might as well start practising now itself. I mean, seriously, how can you resist lyrics like ...

" Bol Bol, why did you ditch me

  Jindagi bhi le le,yaar, kill me,

  Bol Bol, why did you ditch me, 

  Whoooore ? " ( the song playing as Paro gets married !!! ).