Devdas
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- For other uses, see Devdas (disambiguation).
Devdas (Hindi: देवदास) is the eponymous male protagonist of a tragic Bengali novel, written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1917.
The novel has been made into a movie in multiple Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi (thrice), Telugu (twice) and Tamil. A number of famous actors have played the role of Devdas, actors such as K.L. Saigal, Dilip Kumar, Shahrukh Khan and Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
- The first movie version was made in 1928 as a silent movie.
- The first version with sound was made in 1935, in Bengali at New Theatres Calcutta. It was directed by P.C. Barua and starred K.L. Saigal.
- It was remade in Hindi by director Bimal Roy in 1955. Mega-star Dilip Kumar played Devdas, Suchitra Sen played Parvati (Paro, the female lead), and the accomplished classical dancer Vyjayantimala played the dancing courtesan Chandramukhi.
- The most recent film version of the story was the Bollywood (Hindi) version of 2002. It was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Shahrukh Khan played Devdas in this adaptation (based on the 11th version of the novel). His co-stars included Aishwarya Rai (Paro) and Madhuri Dixit (Chandramukhi). It was one of the most expensive Bollywood movies ever made; it had a lavish budget of RS 500,000,000. The film was made to the highest industry standards, and no costs were spared for sets or costumes.
All the Devdas movies have been box-office hits.
Plot
The basic plot of all versions
The childhood friendship of Devdas and Paro (Parvati) blossoms into love as they grow up. Devdas' father does not approve of the relationship and breaks off relations between the families. Devdas realizes he cannot live without Paro and seeks her out, but she has already been married off to an older man with children. Devdas falls into despair and drinks to excess; then he meets a courtesan, Chandramukhi, who falls in love with him.
Each Devdas movie has presented a different version of this basic plot.
2002 version
Devdas returns from London where he has studied law. Devdas' and Paro's families are neighbours and it would seem that there should be no barrier to their marriage. However, Devdas' sister-in-law maliciously reminds his mother that Paro's mother was a dancer before marriage, which leads to insults and a neighborly feud.
The movie was one the biggest box-office grossers of the decade. Aishwarya Rai's performance as the sensitive yet haughty Paro, and Madhuri Dixit's as the dancer Chandramukhi were highly appreciated. Shahrukh Khan's performance as the sensitive yet rebellious alcoholic Devdas is often considered one of his best performances yet, and he has in fact won a filmfare award for the movie.