Devdas

 

 

Devdas is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language epic romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced by Bharat Shah under his banner, Mega Bollywood. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Madhuri Dixit, with Kirron Kher, Smita Jaykar, and Vijayendra Ghatge in supporting roles. Based on the 1917 novel of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the film narrates the story of Devdas Mukherjee (Khan), a wealthy law graduate who returns from London to marry his childhood friend, Parvati "Paro" (Rai Bachchan). However, the rejection of their marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcoholism, ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration and him seeking refuge with the golden-hearted prostitute Chandramukhi (Dixit).

Bhansali was inspired to remake the novel into a film after reading it for a second time and announced the project in November 1999. The screenplay was written by him and Prakash Ranjit Kapadia, who also wrote the dialogue. Nitin Chandrakant Desai built the sets between August 2000 and May 2001 and spent ₹200 million (US$2.8 million). Along with Bhansali and other crews, he did extensive research on Calcuttan building design from the period of the British Raj. The principal photography was handled by Binod Pradhan from November 2000 to April 2002, taking place in Bikaner, Film City, and Filmistan. While Ismail Darbar and Birju Maharaj composed the soundtrack, Monty Sharma composed the background score.

Devdas premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2002 and was released worldwide on 12 July that year. It was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time, with a budget of ₹500 million (US$7.0 million). The film got mixed-to-negative reviews when it premiered at Cannes, but was better received when it was theatrically released. The film was a commercial success and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, earning ₹998.8 million (US$14 million) in both India and overseas. It won several awards, including five National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards; the latter included trophies for Best Film, Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actor (Khan), Best Actress (Rai Bachchan), and Best Supporting Actress (Dixit).

 

Plot

In the 1900s, Kaushalya hears that her younger son, Devdas, is about to return home after leaving ten years ago for law school in London. She tells her neighbour, Sumitra, who is overjoyed. The latter's daughter, Parvati aka Paro, and Devdas share a deep friendship rooted in childhood. When Devdas was sent to London, Paro had lit an oil lamp to prompt his return and never allowed it to extinguish. When Devdas returns, their friendship turned into love. Everyone believes that Devdas and Paro will get married, but Devdas' scheming sister-in-law Kumud reminds Kaushalya of Paro's maternal lineage of nautch girls and nautanki performers, which is inappropriate for Devdas' family. Sumitra publicly announces her desire for Devdas and Paro to marry, but Kaushalya rejects and humiliates her in public by saying that she is from a lower-class family. Devastated, Sumitra hastily arranges Paro's marriage to a man, named Bhuvan, a forty-year-old widower aristocrat with three grown children, who is wealthier than Devdas' family.

When Devdas' father also rejects Paro, Devdas leaves his parents' house and takes refuge at a brothel. He leaves a letter for Paro, falsely stating that love had never existed between them. At the brothel, he meets a good-hearted tawaif, named Chandramukhi, who falls in love with him. Soon, Devdas realizes his mistake in abandoning Paro. He returns to her during her wedding and asks her to elope but Paro refuses, reminding him of the way he had discarded her so easily. Paro tearfully is married off to Bhuvan. Paro learns from her new husband that he has married her only to be a mother to his children and lady of the estate, but that his love is only for his late first wife. She dutifully fulfills her responsibilities, while the heartbroken Devdas permanently moves to Chandramukhi's brothel and becomes an alcoholic. When Devdas' father is on his deathbed, he asks to see Devdas. The latter arrives later at his father's funeral, causing a scene and eventually passes out.

Devdas returns to the family home and discovers that his sister-in-law has stolen his mother's keys to the family safe. He confronts her but Kumud tells his mother that Devdas had stolen the keys. His mother believes her and Devdas leaves, banished. Paro arrives at Chandramukhi's brothel, accusing her of driving Devdas to drink, but quickly realizes that Chandramukhi loves Devdas. Paro urges Devdas to stop drinking, but he remains stubborn. He promises Paro that before he dies, he will come to her doorstep one last time. Paro invites Chandramukhi to a celebration of Durga Puja at her husband's home and introduces her to her in-laws without revealing Chandramukhi's profession. However, Bhuvan's ill-natured son-in-law Kalibabu, a frequent visitor to the brothel, reveals Chandramukhi's background and humiliates her in front of the guests. He later also tells Bhuvan of Paro's relationship with Devdas. As a result, Bhuvan permanently forbids Paro from leaving the mansion.

Eventually, Devdas becomes so ill that the slightest dose of alcohol could kill him. Devdas tells Chandramukhi that she must let him go, and decides to travel the country; on a train, he meets his old college friend Chunnilal, who urges him to drink in the name of friendship. Devdas drinks, knowing full well it will be fatal. On the verge of death, Devdas travels to Paro's house to honour his promise, collapsing under a tree in front of the main gate. Paro runs through the mansion, attempting to reach him. Bhuvan sees this and orders the servants to shut the gates. Devdas sees a blurred image of Paro running towards him, but the gates close just before she can reach him, leaving her sobbing inside. Devdas whispers Paro's name with his last breath as he slowly dies, and immediately Paro's lamp flickers out.

 

Cast

The cast is listed below:

·         Shah Rukh Khan as Devdas Mukherjee

·         Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Parvati "Paro"

·         Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi

·         Jackie Shroff as Chunnilal (special appearance)

·         Smita Jaykar as Kaushalya Mukherjee

·         Manoj Joshi as Dwijdas Mukherjee

·         Ananya Khare as Kumud Mukherjee

·         Milind Gunaji as Kalibabu

·         Dina Pathak as Bhuvan's mother

·         Vijayendra Ghatge as Bhuvan Choudhry

·         Kirron Kher as Sumitra Chakraborty

·         Tiku Talsania as Dharamdas

·         Jaya Bhattacharya as Manorama

·         Sunil Rege as Neelkanth Chakraborty

·         Vijay Crishna as Mr. Narayan Mukherjee

·         Amardeep Jha as Kalibabu's mother

·         Apara Mehta as Badi Aapa

·         Muni Jha as Kaka

·         Radhika Singh as Yashomati

·         Disha Vakani as Sakhi