The story of India’s most famous loser, Devdas, caught Mishra’s fantasy who decided to mix it with Shakespeare’s drama and the heat and dust of hinterland politics for Daas Dev. Perhaps, this is too much ambition for any film and Daas Dev veers between a love story, a political saga, a thriller and a Shakespearean power game. It flirts with all of those different genres but never pledges its troth to any. While Mishra kept mentioning Hamlet during the film’s promotions, it is actually Othello’s world that Daas Dev finds resonance in. The frailties of Mishra’s characters find their origins in Othello - trusting the wrong person, jealousy and the like. For Bollywood filmgoers, Daas Dev may bring to mind Prakash Jha’s films. The power games that are shown in order to make a politician out of Dev evokes Prakash Jha’s style of political thriller. Sadly, the two maestros find mere glimpses in this 2.5-hour long film that remains confused and does not manage to blend it all in a perfect mix. The actors only add insult to the injury that the screenplay inflicts on the audience. Anurag Kashyap’s guest appearance in the film is not something you can talk about - he is used as a face rather than a character. While Saurabh Shukla has more screen space than Kashyap, his talent remains underused. It is only Vipin Sharma’s performance that is both powerful and convincing. He plays a small-time politician who manages to grab the best deals floating around. Unlike others in the film, he does not succumb to overacting and unnecessary melodrama. Daas Dev could have done to Vipin’s career what Newton did to Pankaj Tripathi’s, if only it was a better film.

Mishra is ambitious in setting his film on a large canvas, politics plays centrestage in the narrative and usurps what is a love story. The screenplay for a large portion of the film focusses on the family members orchestrating Dev's entry into politics and Avdhesh’s ambition to ensure that politics continues to be a dynastic game. In the process, Dev and Paro's romance gets overshadowed. Even Chandni's affection for Dev doesn't manage to pique interest. As an audience, one is not pulled into the love story of Dev and Paro sufficiently to be invested in them and their journey. While Rahul Bhat gets ample scope to showcase his acting chops which he does too, but he lacks the screen presence required to pull off a character that has been immortalized on screen.  The two leading ladies Richa Chadha and Aditi Rao Hydari, are consistent with their performances, though they underplay their parts in portions where perhaps a little theatrics could have helped uplift the energy of the film. The screenplay by Sudhir Mishra and Jaydeep Sarkar is not seamless throughout. What works is Mishra's attempt at turning the classic on its head by giving the leads far more agency than in the earlier versions of the films that have been attempted by other filmmakers. His characters don't succumb to circumstances, instead after an initial setback, they turn the tide in their favour. Also, all the characters have shades of grey and that adds a realistic edge to the film. The supporting characters especially that of Avdhesh, have an arc that’s better etched out than the protagonists. Anurag Kashyap in a brief role does the best he can. The music is strictly average and it does nothing to heighten the drama or add any depth to the emotions.  'Daas Dev' has its high points but in totality the film doesn’t grip you. For those who are expecting a film like 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi', one of Sudhir Mishra’s earlier films which artfully combined politics and love, this contemporary take on Devdas will leave you wanting for more.