On the surface, Dev is about the continual struggle of Muslims and Hindus to co-exist with each other in post 911 India. It highlights how narcissistic politicians play on naive constituents to create chaos, mayhem and oppression. Looking beneath the surface we can see that Dev is also about friendship and it's boundaries. It shows how two friends drift apart as one spirals towards madness brought on by shear hatred while the other finds redemption through forgiveness and tolerance. All things considered, perhaps Dev is most about how a man matures in the most adverse conditions inspired by the the woman he loves and the courage she displays.
Amitabh Bachchan gives a tour-de-force performance as Dev reminding us once again that he is in a class by himself. The rest of the cast including Fardeen Khan, Om Puri, Rati Agnihotri and Amrish Puri perform more than capably but special mention must be made of the performance turned in by Kareena Kapoor who continues to show great range. Simply put, she has IT! There are only a couple of songs, which are more background fodder than anything else. In the end, Dev is about what it means to be a human being against all odds.