Disclaimer: This is just a rough character sketch of the main protagonist of the show, and is not meant to victimize/white-wash him. This isn't justifying/glorifying him either.

Devrath "Dev" Dixit, epitome of a modern day tragic hero. And his name adds even more tragedy to it. "Devrath" from Mahabharata, who swore to celibacy, so that his siblings could prosper, "Dev (God)" who has to take harsh decisions; for the betterment of all, and who can forget "Devdas", that tragic romantic hero who died at his Paro's doorstep? Such a heavy weight name, isn't it? So, life wasn't going to be ever easy on him. And on top he came on ITV, to give tough competition to our bahus and betis, so he was anyway doomed.

So, whenever you saw Kuch Rang..., you couldn't help but feel for him, and most of you felt sad for him in a way or another. And he is that one character with whom I connected, and understood the most, even at times when I failed to do so with the others. I am not immune to his faults, but that's for another day, this is just for reminiscing the beautiful tragedy that Dev is...

When his father collapses, an innocent, naïve 8-year old Dev prays to God for his recovery, without knowing that his father has passed away already. And as a child does, he blames the one he had put his faith upon, and starts hating him.

The boy, who has to turn to the "man of the house" overnight. But one doesn't turn into an adult in a blink, especially one so young. The process involved is quite harsh, so every time a piece of naivety is ripped away, a hard shell takes its place.

Ishwari, upon realizing that it's only up to her now to head the household with little to no resources, is forced to delegate some of the responsibilities to her elder children. And Dev is simply chosen to be better educated because he is the brightest. But for him to assume the mantle, he has to be made compliant. She therefore, manipulates conditions, where Dev sees her being humiliated by her employers, and is made to realize that to ensure that his family will be happy, he will have to be the best.

Simultaneously, to ease her burden he takes up part-time jobs. But, the world isn't nice, and the more he sees it, the more he loses himself.

He sees his family losing everything in a blink of an eye, he sees his mother fighting the world to give them a better life, but he also sees himself helpless, for he is too small, but he is still big enough to feel guilty. And thus the transfer of faith takes place, as even after their countless prayers God wouldn't do anything, but his mother does. So, Ishwari becomes his God.

(The society we are brought up in leans towards patriarchy, but while we generally only see the autonomy it snatched from women, we ignore the repercussions it has on men. And its biggest victim is Dev. Dev may not carry the superiority complex carried by most men, but he sure does carry the guilt factor. So, every time something is snatched from his family, or a simple wish has to be forgoed, he feels the shame that he "the man" has failed. He does not take it out on anyone else, but internalizes it, blaming himself for failing and closing himself more and more. And every speck of smile he sees on his family faces, means he has succeeded, that he can then deserve to be happy.)

By the time he grows up, he has turned to this driven, successful man whose primary aim is his family's happiness. But that does not mean that he is completely cynical, he has the kindness inherited from his mother too, who believes in charity even in hard times. That despite being rich, he will not condone the poor. That despite being the breadwinner, he does not consider himself superior than others, or neglect the sacrifice done by Neha. But, he has learned to prioritize, the one who will always come first will be Ishwari, then Neha and his siblings, his work, his employees, and then charity.

But where does he, himself come in? The saddest truth is nowhere. He may have become the reason of their smiles, the balm to their pain, an ear to their complaints, and a genie for their wishes, but he doesn't really exist as an individual for them. And he himself, has hidden his individuality in a dark corner somewhere, which lies forgotten. The problems faced by his family may be his own, but his own problems are only his too.

So, when Ishwari falls ill and needs Sonakshi, he moves heaven and earth to hire her, for his Maa deserves the best. (For any other member of his family, he wouldn't have gone to these extreme lengths, and for himself even less. He was simply popping pills for his insomnia without anyone being the wiser, wasn't he?)

He may take it to his heart when someone questions his devotion to his mother, his family, his work, but he doesn't break a sweat when someone insults or questions him, as he does not matter. He may apologize for his mistakes, his family's mistake, but never expects any apology from others even when they have wronged him.

And so after the initial misconception, as Sonakshi slowly unravels him, she falls for him, and as viewers we fall for him too. For his selflessness, his innocence, his charm, his care and ahem... ahem... his looks and biceps.

Dev takes more time, as he has never thought about himself. He of course is attracted to her in some way, as he does share his reasons, problems and issues with her, but still has a long way to go.

Then, Mr. Gujral's proposal for the first time forces Dev to think about himself, but then also his first priority is Neha and his work. He takes quite some time, but when he realizes that he loves Sonakshi, the ground shifts below him.

As always, every speck of happiness comes with a heavy price in Dev's life. But, for the first time he chooses something solely for himself. And for a little while he experiences the joy of self-love (or selfishness in his words), but he is due for a reality check, isn't he? His mother presumably commits suicide due to his happiness. 'Oh! How could he be so self-centric?' So, he discards the only thing he had wanted for himself in ages. And while he still functions for his family, he breaks every day from within.

Then somehow, when he is given a bit of reprieve, he grabs it with both hands. While deep down he knows that it is a conditional compromise, he carries on thinking that he can make the bonds permanent. But it can never be so easy for him. Just within a few days, he learns of Sonakshi's infertility. In a blink of an eye he forfeits the right of fatherhood, but still laments that Sonakshi's dreams and Ishwari's wishes have been destroyed. And now added to his burden of responsibilities is Sonakshi too.

Initially while they try to work to keep everything together, his every smile comes with a boatload of guilt and shame. On every step forward he takes for himself and Sonakshi, he is reminded of the responsibilities they think he is leaving behind.

Finally the guilt catches him up from every side. So, he does what he knows best, he compromises without asking anyone else to do the same for him. But, he is human, so he trips now and then. Sadly he is mocked upon every stumble.

As it continues, he reaches a mirage, where everyone is happy, the Dixits, the Boses and even the Tripathis. And the only person who knows about the mirage is he, himself. But he has been reared for this very purpose to keep everyone happy, isn't he? So, he will do it all to keep them this way, and eventually when the bubble would break, maybe they will be together even if they hate him.

Alas, nothing ever can be easy for him. Too soon, reality knocks on the door, his family fragments even more, and how much desperately he may want to, they never will be one. Then, as the night falls, he starts losing everything one by one, but the tragedy is no one asked for his choice, his consent. For, they may have lost some, but he lost everything.

That night he is forcefully given the harshest lesson, that he never mattered to anyone. His duties, his responsibilities did, but he himself did not.

So, he pastes a façade of being care-free, and breaks away from everyone. He still fulfils what is required from him, but discards the emotional responsibilities, because they hurt. They hurt way more than physical wounds. And then also, he does them a favor, by removing himself, they are never reminded how much they wronged him.

And one day, a miracle happens, a little angel enters his life, a happiness that he had long forsaken. But, there always has to be terms and conditions applied. Even after him suffering so much, his Maa didn't think of his happiness while turning Sonakshi away, his Sonakshi never thought of contacting him even once personally, his Suhana thinks of him as a stranger. But he has always chased happiness, so he does this time too. Whatever he has to bear, he'll earn his daughter's affection.

As always, when a speck appears, a tragedy follows, a crime his mother did comes to light, a crime which was done to help him, reminding him how he failed as "the man of the house" at the tender age of 8. He paid for it too. And when finally there is some salvation, another shock follows, the transgressions he had been blamed for, which sent him to the darkest abyss, which broke his family apart wasn't even his fault. He was wronged then, and he was been wronged now by the same people, members of his own family.

So, even when the story ended on a happy note, I just hope wherever Dev is, he has found his share of happiness and love, this time without any tragedy. That he has learnt how to self-love.

Note: This 🥂 is to the writers, makers, channel and everyone involved, who gave such a beautiful, tragic and sometimes frustrating Dev Dixit. And  🥂to Shaheer Sheikh who brought him to life with his little nuances. And also a thanks to them, that led us to understand the men in our life more. 

Healthy discussions welcome.