Devdas (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) (as Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay), Prakash Kapadia (screenplay)

Stars:

Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit

Top Rated Indian Movies #159 | Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 49 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shah Rukh Khan	...	Devdas Mukherji
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan	...	Parvati 'Paro' (as Aishwarya Rai)
Madhuri Dixit	...	Chandramukhi
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

Devdas Mukherji is black-listed by his multi-millionaire Zamindar father, Narayan. After completing 10 years of study; Devdas return to his home-town where his family prepares to welcome him but their happiness changes when Devdas prefers to visit his childhood sweetheart, Parvati alias Paro before paying respect to his mother. After so much years Devdas finds he is still the black spot in his father's life especially when he is prevented from marrying Paro who happen to be a lower-caste girl. Eventually time passes with Paro's family arranging her marriage to a much elderly man named Bhuvan Choudhry where she is introduce to Bhuvan's children - who happen to be within her age group. This sadness not only breaks Devdas heart but confines him to alcohol in a big way. Soon Devdas starts to frequent a brothel and catches the eyes of a courtesan named Chandramukhi - step by step Devdas starts to head towards a path of self destruction.

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Plot Keywords:

love | marriage | courtesan | letter | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

A grand saga of timeless love

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Genres:

Drama | 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:

Девдас

Filming Locations:

Aarey Colony, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR 500,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$3,500,000, 31 December 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Chillies Entertainment, 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

This is the third "Devdas" made in hindi, first with K. L. Saiigal and then with Dilip Kumar.

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Goofs

When Devdas meets Paro in the full moon night, while she was sleeping her black mole keeps changing position.

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Quotes

Devdas Mukherjee: I object!

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Connections

Referenced in Nautanki Saala! (2013)

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Soundtracks

Bairi Piya
Written by Nusrat Badr
Composed by Ismail Darbar
Performed by Shreya Ghoshal and Udit Narayan
Courtesy of Universal Music India

User Reviews

Greatest love story of all

I have to admit that as great as Devdas is, I can't watch it too often as it is far too depressing but it is ultimately the most spectacular movie I have seen in a long time. Aside from its theme, the film making process was awesome including the costumes, the cinematography, the direction, camera angles. Imagine the number of hours the extras worked their *beep* off to dance in sync. Even the soundtrack was perfectly tuned to help set the mood of the movie and hearing Paro (Aiswarya Rai's character) sing for her love lost for Devdas (Shahrukh Khan) on her wedding day was enough to make you burst into tears.

The actors chosen were perfect for their roles as they portrayed it with such heart wrenching gut, you could almost feel their sorrow along with them. I was particularly surprised how Aishwarya Rai pulled off her biggest acting role to-date, thereby quashing any doubts on her previous beauty queen title. Shahrukh Khan once again proves why he is the reigning king of Bollywood playing a heartbroken alcoholic pining for the love of his life who's been married off to another man. Madhuri Dixit was equally wonderful as the beautiful courtesan who played her role with such empathy that I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and wished Devdas would eventually reciprocate her feelings for him. Jackie Shroff has never disappointed and was excellent in his supporting role as Devdas 'brothel' companion. All in all, the cast ensemble of this movie is one of the best in cinema history.

This movie is also a perfect (and spectacular) introduction to first timers of Bollywood movies into the lives and culture of Indian/Asian people in general. How, in this modern and civilised world, old traditions and values still hold dear in certain communities and whilst it is not the most favourable of beliefs, it is the age old cultural practices that makes one culture unique to the other.

Yes, no movie is perfect but Devdas almost does it so watch it with an open mind. Being Asian myself, I dare be bold and say this is better than 'Gone With The Wind'.