New Delhi: The Valentine's week next year will see Sudhir Mishra's "DaasDev" -- a reverse take on the original "Devdas" classic love saga -- hit the screens.

"DaasDev" -- a romantic thriller -- will release on February 16, a statement said.

Starring Richa Chadha as Paro, Aditi Rao Hydari as Chandni and Rahul Bhat as Dev, the film is a modern flip of the Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic novel "Devdas", and is set in the modern time of hinterland India against the backdrop of politics. 

The film is presented by Storm pictures and produced by Saptarishi Cinevision production, DaasDev is all set to release on 16th February 2018 in theatres worldwide.

Of the project, Mishra has said: "I think it's my right to use any work, everything is my heritage, so I can play with it as long as I admit it. I admit that I took 'Devdas', I took the three characters Dev, Paro, and Chandramukhi. As I was working, (William) Shakespeare intruded and I allowed him to, what could I do?

"Ultimately it became a film about power as it gets into the way of love. It became a reverse journey because if 'Devdas' is a journey from a noble person to a 'das', this is a journey from 'das', a person who is a slave to his addictions and the dynastic ambitions of his family, to Dev. 

"It is about how he liberates himself, how he breaks free and ultimately achieves a kind of nobility which is essentially what a 'dev' is.
Hence, 'Daasdev'."

He says in his version, Paro is "a modern, spunky, interesting woman who fights with the weapons she has and in the end, confronts Dev". As for Chandni, Mishra says, "she is as close to Chandramukhi as she can get in this day and age"

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Mumbai (PTI): The Strait of Hormuz disruptions have caused severe economic impact and energy instability in the region, Indian Navy chief Admiral D K Tripathi said on Thursday amid the war in West Asia.

Speaking at an event where INS Sunayna, an offshore patrol vessel, set sail from Mumbai as Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar, the admiral said competition at sea has no longer remained confined to oil and energy.

It is now expanding towards resources that will shape future growth - such as rare earth elements, critical minerals, new fishing grounds and even data, he said.

The West Asia crisis began on February 28 after a joint attack by the US and Israel on Iran.

Iran's strikes on its neighbours along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies with effects far beyond West Asia.

"With the conflict in West Asia well into its fifth week, the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have caused severe economic impact and energy instability in the region," Tripathi said.

There is significant increase in the marine survey, deep-sea research activity, and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), often encroaching upon the sovereign rights of littoral nations and exploiting gaps in monitoring and enforcement, he said.

Alongside these, threats such as piracy, armed robbery and narco-trafficking backed by unimpeded access of advanced technology to non-state actors, have also become more complex and challenging to counter, the Navy chief pointed out.

Last year alone, the Indian Ocean Region witnessed a staggering 3,700 maritime incidents of varying nature, the admiral said.

Additionally, narcotics seizures in the region exceeded USD 1 billion USD in 2025, highlighting the persistence and spread of such challenges in the region, he said.