The Dryden will screen Dev D (Anurag Kashyap, India 2009, 144 min., 35mm, Hindi, Panjabi, English, French, Tamil w/subtitles) as part of the Stories of Indian Cinema series.

Dev D is an atypically subversive and audacious contemporary take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1917 novel Devdas, one of the most popular non-epic Indian literary works. The existential angst of a reckless youth, inadvertently marching toward his doom, is captured poetically in this film, with the latent hope of how love (or the acknowledgement of love) can redeem oneself and impart meaning to the misery of being. The edgy score and effective use of songs (eighteen on the official soundtrack!) add thematic depth while imparting a constant rush—something that the lead character constantly yearns for. The film serendipitously gathered numerous creative artists together who continue to push the boundaries of mainstream Hindi cinema. Apart from the artistic and aesthetic achievements, the film effectively manages to raise and challenge the issues pertaining to present-day Indian society.

[source: George Eastman Museum calendar, 2018-Mar-26]