Devdas (2002/I)

Director:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Writers:

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

Release Date:

11 July 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Tagline:

A grand saga of timeless love

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Marriage | Courtesan | Alcoholic | Wealthy Family

Awards:

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

Cast

Shahrukh Khan	...	Devdas Mukherji
Madhuri Dixit	...	Chandramukhi
Aishwarya Rai	...	Parvati ('Paro')
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

Runtime:

185 min | UK:182 min | France:165 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Bengali

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Philippines:PG-13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Aarey Colony, India

Company:

Mega Bollywood

Trivia:

Kathak master Birju Maharaj choreographed "Kaahe Chedd Mohe" especially for Madhuri Dixit.

Quotes:

Devdas Mukherjee: I object!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dev.D (2009)

Soundtrack:

Kahe Chhed Mohe

DEVDAS recalls the Hollywood musicals of a long-ago era

DEVDAS (2002) is a beautifully mounted romantic melodrama based on a popular Indian novel published in 1917. When I first read about the film and its enthusiastic reception at Cannes, I had high hopes that this might become the first Bollywood film to cross over to arthouse audiences in the U.S. While watching it, however, it became clear that the class-conflict narrative would be a tough sell these days with its supremely overwrought tale of parental disapproval, family honor, unrequited love, and two beautiful women's complete and utter devotion to an irredeemably dissipated man who is left with nothing. It's also more deeply rooted in Hindi culture than the other Bollywood movies I've seen and would most benefit a viewer who had more than a passing knowledge of it.

In comparing DEVDAS to MOHABBATEIN (2000) and TAAL (1999), the other Bollywood musicals I've seen, I would cite a few Hollywood parallels. DEVDAS is like a Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy MGM musical of the 1930s (e.g. MAYTIME, 1937, with which it shares some surprising similarities) to MOHABBATEIN's SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS or TAAL's BYE BYE BIRDIE. (When I saw MOHABBATEIN I also thought of WEST SIDE STORY and GREASE.)

I enjoyed MOHABBATEIN and TAAL much more, but I was still gripped by DEVDAS and its high romantic expression of love through song, dance, and incredibly rich, poetic dialogue. It's a powerfully old-fashioned film, which is not necessarily a bad thing.