Devdas
US DVD box cover
Directed by	Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Produced by	Bharat Shah
Written by	Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Sanjay Leela Bhansali Prakash Kapadia
Starring	Shahrukh Khan Madhuri Dixit Aishwariya Rai Jackie Shroff Kirron Kher
Music by	Ismail Darbar Monty Sharma
Cinematography	Binod Pradhan
Editing by	Bela Segal
Distributed by	Mega Bollywood
Release date(s)	July 12, 2002
Running time	183 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi Bengali
Budget	Rs 500,000,000 $12.7 Million (approximately)

Devdas (Hindi: देवदास) is a 2002 Hindi film based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella Devdas. This is the third Bollywood (Hindi) version and the first colour film version of the story in Hindi. The film is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and stars Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Aishwarya Rai in the leading roles.

At the time of its release, Devdas was the most expensive Bollywood film ever produced, with a reported budget of Rs 50 crores.^[1] The film was released in six alternative language versions: English, French, German, Mandarin, Thai, and Punjabi.

Shahrukh Khan's performance as the rebellious alcoholic Devdas is often considered one of his best performances, and won him a Filmfare Award. The song Dola re Dola became a hit with its unique dance duet between Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. The video had significant airplay on MTV Asia.

The film won ten Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also India's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

[edit] Synopsis

Sir Narayan Mukherjee (Vijay Crishna), a zamindar, and his wife Kaushalya (Smita Jaykar) have heard that their younger son, Devdas (Shahrukh Khan), is coming home from a law school in England to their mansion in Tal Sonapur, Bengal. On the day of his return, Kaushalya insists everyone in the family close their eyes so that she will be the first person to see him. Her plan backfires, however, when instead of coming straight home, Devdas goes to see Parvati "Paro" Chakraborty (Aishwarya Rai), his childhood sweetheart, first. This incident ignites Kaushalya's dislike of Paro.

Paro is Devdas's neighbour and childhood friend. The years apart turned their friendship into love. When he was sent to England at the age of ten, she lit a lamp for him, which she carefully tended to over the years and never allowed to extinguish.

It seems to everyone, including Paro's mother Sumitra (Kirron Kher), that Devdas and Paro will get married, but Devdas's vindictive sister-in-law Kumud (Ananya Khare) reminds Kaushalya of Paro's maternal lineage, from a family of performing artists. This is considered inappropriate for an alliance with the Mukherjee family. When Sumitra announces her desire for Devdas and Paro to marry, Kaushalya rejects and humiliates her in public. In retaliation, Sumitra vows to ensure that Paro will get an even better marriage, and soon arranges for Paro to marry Thakur Bhuvan Chaudhry (Vijayendra Ghatge), a forty-year-old widowed aristocrat with three grown children.

Devdas gets into a fight with his father about his relationship with Paro, and flees to a brothel with his college friend Chunnibabu (Jackie Shroff). He leaves a letter for Paro, stating that love had never existed between them. At the brothel, Devdas meets a good-hearted tawaif (courtesan) named Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit), who falls in love with him. Soon, Devdas realizes his error.

Devdas returns to Paro at the time of her wedding to Bhuvan Chaudhry and asks her to elope with him. Paro refuses, remembering the way he had discarded her so easily. Having lost both Paro's and his family's love, Devdas is heartbroken. He moves to Chandramukhi's brothel permanently and becomes an alcoholic. Eventually, he becomes so ill that the slightest dose of alcohol could kill him. Chandramukhi, who cares deeply for Devdas, tries to get Paro to convince him to stop drinking; Paro attempts to persuade him, but she does not succeed. However, Devdas promises Paro that before he dies, he will come to her doorstep one last time.

Paro invites Chandramukhi, whom she has befriended, to a celebration at her husband's home and introduces Chandramukhi to her in-laws without revealing her profession. However, Bhuvan's ill-natured son-in-law Kalibabu (Milind Gunaji), who used to visit Chandramukhi's brothel on a regular basis, reveals her background and humiliates her in front of Bhuvan and the guests. He also tells Bhuvan of Paro's relationship with Devdas. As a result, Bhuvan punishes Paro by permanently forbidding her from leaving the mansion.

Devdas tells Chandramukhi that he loves her, but that she must let him go. He decides to travel the country, and takes Dharamdas (Tiku Talsania), a trusted servant, with him. While on a train, he meets his old friend Chunnibabu, who offers him a glass of wine. Devdas accepts it deliberately, knowing that it will be fatal.

On the verge of death, Devdas remembers his promise to see Paro one last time. He travels to her house, collapsing in front of the main gate. Paro learns of his presence, and, screaming his name, runs out of the house and attempts to reach him. Bhuvan sees this and orders the servants to close the gates. Devdas sees a blurred image of Paro running to him, but the gates close before she can reach him and Devdas dies. At the same time, the lamp that Paro had lit for him flickers out.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Soundtrack

Devdas
Studio album by Ismail Darbar
Released	2002
Genre	Soundtrack/Filmi
Ismail Darbar chronology
Deewangee (2002) Devdas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2002) Shakti: The Power (2002)

The film soundtrack was predominately composed by Ismail Darbar and features playback singers Kavita Krishnamurthy (as Chandramukhi), Udit Narayan (as Devdas), and Shreya Ghoshal in her debut performance (as Parvati).

[edit] Awards

• Devdas was India's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 2003.
• The film was also screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival,^[2] though it was not eligible for an award.

[edit] Filmfare Awards

Devdas won ten awards at the 2002 Filmfare Awards:

• Best Film - Bharat Shah
• Best Actor - Shahrukh Khan
• Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai
• Best Director - Sanjay Leela Bhansali
• Best Supporting Actress - Madhuri Dixit
• Best Female Playback - Kavita Krishnamurthy & Shreya Ghosal for "Dola Re Dola"
• Best Cinematographer - Binod Pradhan
• Best Art Direction - Nitin Chandrakant Desai
• Best Choreography - Saroj Khan
• Best Scene of the Year - Confrontation scene between Parvati and Chandramukhi.

[edit] National Film Awards

• 2003: National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment

[edit] Star Screen Awards

Devdas won five awards at the 2002 Star Screen Awards:

• Best Actor - Shahrukh Khan (shared with Ajay Devgan)
• Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai
• Best Supporting Actress - Madhuri Dixit
• Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 - Aishwarya Rai & Shahrukh Khan
• Star Screen Award Best Male Playback - Udit Narayan for Woh Chand Jaisi Ladki

[edit] IIFA Awards

Devdas won six awards at the 2003 IIFA Awards:

• Best Movie - Devdas - Bharat Shah
• IIFA Best Director Award - Sanjay Leela Bhansali
• Best Actor In Leading Role Devdas - Shahrukh Khan
• Best Actress In Leading Role Devdas - Aishwarya Rai
• Best Actress In A Supporting Role Devdas - Kirron Kher
• IIFA Best Female Playback Award Devdas - Shreya Ghosal, Kavita Krishnamurthy for Dola Re Dola

[edit] MTV Asia Awards

Devdas was nominated for the 2003Asian Film Award.^[3][4][5]

[edit] British Academy Film Awards

Devdas was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 2003.

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

• Music Review - Devdas at Planet Bollywood
• The Audio Visual at Devdas Official Site

[edit] External links

• SPICE info
• Devdas at India Times
• Yeh Kaisa Devdas?: The right thing for director Bhansali could have been to be inspired by Devdas, make a film on similar lines, and name it, perhaps, Ramdas, says Devinder Bir Kaur
• Devdas at the Internet Movie Database

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