Chennai, India – Director Arun Matheswaran takes the classic tragic romance of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Devdas and reimagines it as a stylish, blood-soaked gangster epic in DC. The film marks the assured acting debut of acclaimed filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj, who steps into the titular role with remarkable ease. What could have been a self-indulgent exercise instead becomes one of the most complete films of the year, a cool, kickass gangster drama that breathes fresh life into a story told a hundred times before.
Arun Matheswaran’s control over his source material is evident in every frame. He takes the three central characters of Devdas—the tragic hero, the childhood sweetheart, and the courtesan—and places them in a world of gangsters, guns, and moral ambiguity. His Devdas (Das) is just as traumatized as his predecessors, but he doesn’t have the luxury to drown in self-pity; he is a man of action, even when that action is violent. The film opens with a tender, intimate scene between Das and Parvathi (Sanjana Krishnamoorthy), where they, as strangers, bare their souls. When a cop accidentally shoots Parvathi, the broken shards of a mirror expose Das to what he’s truly lost, a sequence that showcases Lokesh’s acting chops and Arun’s inventive visual storytelling.
The film’s real magic lies in its re-imagining. DC eventually morphs into variations of two other epics—Sadma and Bonny and Clyde. Through the lens of Sadma, Chandra (Wamiqa Gabbi) remains childlike after decades of captivity, discovering the outside world with wonder. As a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, the film becomes about survival, not just living well. Das, who has lost everyone he loves, fears losing Chandra, leading to moments of surprising tenderness. Lokesh Kanagaraj delivers a stunning performance, conveying emotion without dramatic outbursts, finding a level of comfort in front of the camera that takes lesser actors years to cultivate. Wamiqa Gabbi expertly blends wide-eyed innocence with cold brutality, never seeming like two different characters. Anirudh Ravichander’s rousing score elevates the film to new heights, with sequences like the “Raga of Revenge” coming alive with visceral intensity. DC is not just a film with whistle-worthy moments; it’s an ultra-cool gangster drama that reminds you why you fell in love with the genre.
