Devdas (I) (2002)

After his wealthy family prohibits him from marrying the woman he is in love with, Devdas Mukherjee's life spirals further and further out of control as he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain.

Director:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Writers:

Saratchandra Chatterjee (based on the novel by), Prakash Kapadia (screenplay),

Stars:

Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 44 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shah Rukh Khan	...	Devdas Mukherji
Madhuri Dixit	...	Chandramukhi
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan	...	Parvati ('Paro') (as Aishwarya Rai)
Jackie Shroff	...	Chunnilal
Kiron Kher	...	Sumitra
Smita Jaykar	...	Kaushalya
Tiku Talsania	...	Dharamdas
Vijayendra Ghatge	...	Bhuvan Choudhry
Milind Gunaji	...	Kalibabu
Ananya Khare	...	Kumud
Manoj Joshi	...	Dwijdas
Ava Mukherjee	...	Dev's Badima (as Ava Mukherji)
Dina Pathak	...	Badima
Vijay Crishna	...	Narayan Mukherji
Muni Jha	...	Kaka

Storyline

The son of Zamindar Narayan Mukherjee, Devdas (Shahrukh Khan) was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He grew up in the lush village of Taj Sonapur, where he spent his childhood, indulged by his lovely playmate Paro (Aishwarya). They grew up sharing a special relationship, in which they existed only to each other. Oblivious of all the differences of status and background, a bond that would never break grew between them. Slowly, it changed to love but it was still unsaid. But the reverie was broken when his family sent Devdas to London for education. Paro's world crashed knowing that her Devdas would be gone and she lit a diya, for it signified the fast coming back of her loved one. Years passed and Devdas returned. Devdas was besotted by her stunning beauty and longed to have her back. But Zamindar Narayan Mukherjee (Vijay Crishna), Devdas' father, met Paro's mother Sumitra's (Kiran Kher) marriage proposal with condescending arrogance. It caused a rift between the families and even...

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Plot Keywords:

love | marriage | courtesan | friend | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

A grand saga of timeless love

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Genres:

Musical | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi Urdu Bengali

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (India)

Also Known As:

Devdas - Flamme unserer Liebe

Filming Locations:

Aarey Colony, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR 500,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£466,370 (UK) (12 July 2002)

Gross:

£1,663,692 (UK) (23 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mega Bollywood

Technical Specs

Runtime:

185 min 165 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Normally, two or three generators would have been used for this film, but this production used 42. This caused the marriages in Mumbai a lot of panic, since all the generators were used for the sets. The film also used 2,500 lights, 700 light men and an infinite number of junior artistes. By the time Zamindar Bhuvan's haveli had to be designed, Bhansali's budget was eaten up.

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Quotes

Devdas Mukherjee: Bapuji said leave the village, everybody said leave Paro, Paro said leave alcohol. Today, you said leave home. One day he'll say, leave the world.

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Connections

Featured in Dev D (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Chalak Chalak"
Written by Nusrat Badr
Composed by Ismail Darbar
Performed by Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghoshal and Vinod Rathod
Courtesy of Universal Music India

User Reviews

A Bittersweet Classic

Gloriously excessive Bollywood epic starring former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. Set in the 30s and sumptuously shot, it follows a lovelorn suitor's slide into alcoholism and despair

Bhansali's film boasts the biggest budget for an Indian film ever and boy, does it show. An extravagant tale of love, loss and serious drinking, it operates on a scale previously unseen in Bollywood.

Essentially a tragic love triangle, the story follows tortured Devdas (Khan) as he mucks things up with childhood sweetheart Paro (Rai), meets courtesan Chandramukhi (Dixit) and then drinks himself to death. A spirited anti-hero, in India his name his synonymous with a sort of heroic failure.

Everything about the film - costumes, sets, songs and sentiments - is larger than life and the sheer spectacle demands respect. The musical numbers cast Devdas and Paro as the mythical lovers Krishna and Radha. Cheeky, sexy and dizzyingly complex, the dancers display astonishing energy and precision, whole sequences shot from above to resemble the shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope.

Certainly there are moments of daftness. A half-cut Devdas resolves a financial dispute by setting fire to a sofa, for example, and nobody tries to stop him. But there's also humour, style and a conclusion that's plenty teary. As Western directors continue to look to Bollywood for inspiration this is a shining example how it should be done. Intoxicating.

Verdict Starts big, gets a whole lot bigger then gets twice as big after that, this is Bollywood at its most flamboyant. The song and dance numbers alone are worth the price of entry and whether you're familiar with the genre or not this is irresistible from start to finish.