The tides have changed. Suddenly, everybody's favourite bad boy is suddenly being feted by many following the release of his Dev D, which is based on Sarat Chandra's Devdas.

The reactions to Dev D are still quite contrary. If there is a large majority which has enjoyed the movie, there are still a few who feel that it is an emotional attyachaar. But for the first time there seem to be more 'ayes' than 'nos' ringing in Kashyap's favour. And the director finally has the luxury of being able to sit back and talk about his film and not just have to sit and defend every move that he made, which is what had happened after the release of No Smoking. Much of the credit for the film's success is due to its cast of actors, headed by Abhay Deol, who actually broached the idea to Kashyap about doing Devdas. Together, they have come up with a film which is contemporary and makes sense in out confused times. The director is very generous in his praise for his cast. The female cast consisting of Mahi Gill, who plays a feisty Paro in the movie, and Kalji Koechlin, who essays the role of Chanda, also contributed to the development of the script. The director is believed to have gone on record to say that he does not understand women and hence he was helped a lot in this department by his two heroines, who gave him a lot of inputs regarding situations in the film. The director's personal life too seems to have sorted itself out with him finding companionship with Kalki. As for Mahi, this actress will also be seen in Kashyap's next, Gulaal, followed by a role in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Paan Singh Tomar opposite Irrfan Khan. As for Abhay, instead of basking in the glory of the success of Dev d, he is currently in New York learning metal welding.