‘It will be fun to relive those moments’

As Mahie Gill prepares to revisit one of the most defining films of her career, there’s a sense of nostalgia in the air. Nearly 17 years after its release, Dev D, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is returning to theatres, and for Mahie, it feels like reliving a turning point not just in her journey but in contemporary Hindi cinema itself. Currently on a shoot in Mumbai, Mahie is planning a special screening at a theatre with close friends and family. “It will be fun to relive those moments,” she says.

A film ahead of its time

When Dev D released in 2009, it broke conventions with its raw storytelling and unapologetic exploration of relationships and female sexuality. Mahie recalls that even she didn’t fully grasp the film’s layered narrative while shooting. “There were parts where I didn’t know what was happening,” she admits candidly. One such moment involved a seemingly simple instruction from Kashyap: to carry a mattress on a bicycle. “I just did it. It was only later, when I saw the film, that I thought — ‘Ye kya ho raha tha?’” she laughs.





Some fun memories

Her memories also include an unscripted moment during an intimate scene with co-actor Abhay Deol. “There was a smoking shot where he kept coming closer and no one said ‘cut’. I just kept saying ‘Shivji, Shivji, Ram, Ram’ under my breath,” she recounts, smiling at the innocence of the moment. “It was actually very cute,” she says.

Then vs now

What makes this re-release particularly emotional for Mahie is the passage of time — not just for her but for her audience. “Back then, my friends’ children were too young to watch the film. Now they’re 18, 19, 20… they’ve seen it and they love it,” she shares. For Mahie, the experience is personal — a reunion with a film that shaped her career. As she puts it, “Even today, people are calling me, making plans to watch it together. That kind of love… it means everything.”Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”