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Movie Review: Devdas(Hindi Movie 2002)


Movie Review: Devdas(Hindi Movie 2002)

Introduction:

The movie is based upon one of the most popular romantic tragic novella of 1917s Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay published in Bengali by GCS on 30th June 1917 with the Title(Bengali: Debdas; Hindi: Devdas). This novella powerfully shows the then prevalent societal customs in Bengal in the early 1900s, which were responsible for preventing the happy ending of a sincere love story.

Journey from 1917 Debdas novella to the 2002 Devdas movie and beyond:

The answer to, “What can be more glorious than to die for love?” is what makes Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s tragic novella hero Devdas an interesting subject for the Indian filmmakers, to name a few Naresh Mitra(Director of 1928 Devdas(Silent Film)), P. C Barua, Bimal Roy, Sanjay Leela Bhansali(the Director of 2002 Devdas).
The novella has been made into a film in many Indian languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Telungu, Tamil, Urdu, Assamese and Malayalam. It is the most filmed non-epic story in India.

Some of the notable film versions of the novella include:
  • ·       1927 Silent Film Devdas Directed by Naresh Mitra.
  • ·       1935 Bengali Film Devdas Directed by P. C Barua.
  • ·       1936 Hindi Film Devdas Directed by P.C Barua.
  • ·       1937 Assamese Film Devdas Directed by P.C Barua.
  • ·       1953 Telungu/Tamil Film Devdas(Devadasu) Directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah.
  • ·       1955 Hindi Film Devdas Directed by Bimal Roy.
  • ·       1965 Urdu Film Devdas Directed by Khawaja Sarfaraz.
  • ·       1989 Malayalam Film Devadas Directed by Crossbelt Mani.
  • ·       2002 Hindi Film Devdas Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
  • ·       2009 Hindi Film Dev D Directed by Anurag Kashyap.
  • ·       2013 Bengali Film Devdas Directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam.



Devdas 2002 Hindi Movie:

The Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2002 film of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 novel Devdas titled the same starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aiswarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit has been ranked Eighth among the ten greatest movies of the millennium by The Times Magazine quoting, “Devdas is a visual ravishment, with sumptuous sets, fabulous frocks and beautiful people to fill them; having a grandeur the old Hollywood moguls would have loved. The piece is played with such commitment that the tritest plot twists seem worth believing. But the fervid emotion is what makes the thing sing”.
Devadas is a 2002 Indian Romantic film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali based upon the 1917 Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas. This is the third Hindi version and first color version to be done in Hindi. The film was screened retrospective, during the 2014 International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian Cinema section. Devdas was declared a hit in India by Box Office India and won the Filmfare Award for Best Film. It also won 5 National Awards and 9 other Filmfare Awards, one of the most Filmfare Awards any film had won at the time. It was received well by Western audiences alike and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film and also India’s submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Times Magazine named Devdas as the best movie made all around the world in the year 2002.
The acting was seen by many as the primary success factor, with Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aiswarya Rai all wining Filmfare Awards for their performances. The film’s success was also attributed to the dance performances with Dixit’s “Maar Daala” considered one of the most iconic of her career and the song “Dola Re Dola” becoming a hit due to the unique dance duet between Madhuri Sixit and Aiswarya Rai, two of the leading actresses of the era. At the time of the release of film, it was the most expensive Bollywood film ever produced with a reported budget of 50 crores. The film was a huge commercial success in India and abroad becoming the highest grossing Indian film of the year.

Location and Sets:

The Major part of the movie was filmed at Dharavi, Mumbai, recreating the early 20th century Culcutta. Chandramukhi’s kotha was constructed next to an artificial lake, to make it look like a set in Benaras on the Ganges. A temple city surrounded he set, for which inspiration was taken from the Dilwara Temples in Rajasthan. For the creation of Paro’s room in a haveli 12,20,00,008 pieces of strained glass were used.

Plot Summary:

In the early 1990s, the neighbours Kaushalya (Smita Jaykar) and Sumitra (Kirron Kher) gets overjoyed hearing about return of Kaushalya’s younger son Devadas’s (Shah Rukh Khan) return after 10 years of law studies from England. Sumithra’s daughter “Paro” Parvathy Chakroborthy (Aiswarya Rai) and Devdas share a deep friendship rooted in the childhood. With Devdas’s return the childhood friendship between him and Paro turns to love.
Devdas’s scheming sister-in-law Kumud (Ananya Khare) reminds Kaushalya of Paro’s inappropriate maternal lineage of nautch girls and nautanki performers. When Sumitra publicly announces her desire for Devdas and Paro’s marriage, she is rejected and humiliated by Kaushalya saying that she is from a lower class. Devastated, Sumitra hastily arranges Paro’s marriage to a man from a family wealthier than the Mukherjees: Thakur Bhuvan Chaudry, a 40 year old widowed aristocrat with 3 grown children, who married her only to be mother of his children and lady of the estate.
Devdas who has completely lost Paro leaves his parent’s house and takes refuge at a brothel and becomes an alcoholic, where he also meets a good hearted courtesan Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit) who falls in love with Devdas. Eventually Devdas becomes so ill that the slightest dose of alcohol could kill him. Paro arrives at Chandramukhi’s brothel, accusing her of driving Devdas to drink, but realises Chandramukhi is in love with Devdas and invites Chandramukhi to a celebration of Durga Pooja at her husband’s home. Paro also urges Devdas to stop drinking for which he promises Paro that he would come to her doorstep one last time before he dies. Devdas tells Chandramukhi that she must let him leaveand decides to travel the country; on a train, he meets his college friend Chunnibabu (Jackie Shroff), who uges him to drink in the name of friendship. Devdas drinks, knowing well that 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 to shut the gate. Devdas sees a blurred image of Paro running towards him, but the gates close just before she can reach, leaving her sobbing inside. Devdas whispers Paro’s name with his last breath as he slowly dies.

Music:

The film soundtrack has been predominantly composed by Ismail Darbar, while lyrics have been penned by Nusrat Badr, Prakash Kapadi and Pandit Birju Maharaj. It features playback singers Shreya Ghoshal (as Parvati), Kavita Krishnamurthy (as Chandramukhi), and Udit Narayan (as Devdas).

Awards:

Filmfare Awards

Devdas won ten awards at the 2002 Filmfare Awards, and was the fourth film to win the four major awards (Best Movie, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress).
  • Best Film – Bharat Shah
  • Best Actor – Shah Rukh Khan
  • Best Actress – Aiswarya Rai Bachchan
  • Best Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  • Best Supporting Actress – Madhuri Dixit Nene
  • Best Female Playback – Shreya Ghoshal & Kavita Krishnamurthy - “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.


National Film Awards

Devdas won 5 awards at the 2002 National Awards.
  • Best Popular Film providing wholesome Entertainment.
  • Best Art Direction – Nitin Chandrakant Desai
  • Best Female Playback Singer – Shreya Ghoshal – “Baire Piya”
  • Best Choreography – Saroj Khan
  • Best Costume Design – Neeta Lulla, Reza Shariffi, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla


Star Screen Awards

Devdas won five awards at the 2002 Star Screen Awards.
  •  Best Actor – Shah Rukh Khan
  • Best Actress – Aiswarya Rai Bachchan
  • Best Supporting Actress – Madhuri Dixit Nene
  • Jodi No 1 – Aiswarya Rai Bachchan & Shah Rukh Khan
  • Best Playback Male Singer – Udit Narayanan


IIFA Awards

Devdas won 6 awards at the 2003 IIFA Awards
  • Best Movie – Bharat Shah
  • Best Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  • Best Actor – Shah Rukh Khan
  • Best Actress – Aiswarya Rai Bachchan
  • Best Actress in Supporting role – Kirron Kher
  • Best Female Playback Singer – Shreya Ghoshal, Kavita Krishnamurthy – “Dola Re”
  • Best Dialogue – Prakash Kapadia


Zee Cine Awards

Devdas won six awards at the 2003 Zee Cine Awards.
  • Best Film – Bharat Shah
  • Best Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  • Best Actor – Male – Shah Rukh Khan
  • Best Actor - Female – Aiswarya Rai Bachchan
  • Best Playback Singer –Female – Shreya Ghoshal, Kavita Krishnamurthy – “Dola Re”
  • True Indian Beauty – Aiswarya Rai Bachchan


Star Dust Awards
  • New Musical Sensation – Female – Shreya Ghoshal for “Dola Re Dola”


MTV Asia Awards
  • Devdas won the 2003 Asian Film Award. 

     
      Devdas was also nominated for the BAFTA and Academy Awards 2003 for the Best Foreign Language Film. Devdas was also screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, 2002.
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