Devdas (2002 Hindi film)

Overview

Devdas is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It is the third major Hindi film adaptation of the 1917 Bengali novella Devdas by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, following P. C. Barua's 1935 version and Bimal Roy's 1955 version. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in the title role, alongside Aishwarya Rai as Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi, with Jackie Shroff, Kirron Kher, Smita Jaykar and Vijayendra Ghatge in supporting roles.

Produced by Bharat Shah under the Mega Bollywood banner, the film was, at the time of its release, the most expensive Hindi film ever made, with a reported budget of around ₹50 crore. It premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival in the Out of Competition section and was India's official entry to the BAFTA Awards that year.

Key facts

Plot

Set in early 20th-century Bengal, the film follows Devdas Mukherjee, the son of a wealthy zamindar, who returns home from his law studies in London to reunite with his childhood sweetheart Parvati, called Paro. Class-based opposition from Devdas's family leads to Paro being married off to an older widower of an aristocratic household. Devdas, broken by the separation, drifts to Calcutta where he is taken in by the courtesan Chandramukhi, who falls in love with him. Devdas turns to alcohol, declines steadily, and the narrative culminates in his journey back to Paro's home.

Production

Bhansali's adaptation departed from earlier versions through its emphasis on opulent visual design, large-scale sets and elaborate costumes. The film was shot largely on sets constructed at Film City, Mumbai. Art direction was handled by Nitin Chandrakant Desai, whose extensive recreations of Bengali zamindar mansions, Paro's haveli with its stained-glass interiors, and Chandramukhi's kotha became a defining feature of the production. Costumes were designed by Neeta Lulla, Abu Jani–Sandeep Khosla and Reza Shariffi. Aishwarya Rai's wedding sari for the film was reported to weigh several kilograms due to extensive embroidery.

Pre-production and shooting extended over several years, with the project having earlier been conceived around different lead pairings before Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit were cast. The producer Bharat Shah's legal troubles during the film's making created a period of uncertainty in its release schedule.

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Ismail Darbar with lyrics by Nusrat Badr and Sameer. The classical-based dance number "Kaahe Chhed Mohe" was composed and choreographed by the Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj. Notable songs include "Dola Re Dola", performed by Shreya Ghoshal and Kavita Krishnamurthy and picturised on Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit; "Bairi Piya"; "Maar Daala"; "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka"; and "Hamesha Tumko Chaha". The album was released by Universal Music India and became one of the year's bestselling Hindi soundtracks.

Release and reception

Devdas had its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2002 before its theatrical release in India on 12 July 2002. The film received largely positive reviews for its visual design, music, and the performances of the three lead actors, while some critics felt its melodrama and length were excessive. It performed strongly at the Indian box office and in overseas markets, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States, and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2002.

Awards

Devdas won five National Film Awards, including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Best Choreography (Birju Maharaj), Best Costume Design (Neeta Lulla, Abu Jani–Sandeep Khosla and Reza Shariffi), Best Audiography and Best Make-up. At the 48th Filmfare Awards (2003) it won 10 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali), Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan), Best Actress (Aishwarya Rai) and Best Supporting Actress (Madhuri Dixit). It was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and received recognition at international festivals and from critics' bodies.

Significance

The 2002 Devdas is regarded as a landmark in early 21st-century Hindi cinema for its scale, design ambition and global theatrical reach. Its success at Cannes and as the BAFTA submission contributed to a wider international visibility for mainstream Hindi cinema during that period. The film cemented Sanjay Leela Bhansali's reputation as a director associated with grand visual storytelling and helped establish a template for the high-budget period romance genre that subsequent films, including his own later works, would extend.

It is the most prominent of the more than a dozen film adaptations of Sarat Chandra's novella, which has been filmed in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese and other languages since the silent era.

Related topics

• Sanjay Leela Bhansali
• Shah Rukh Khan
• Aishwarya Rai
• Madhuri Dixit
• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
• Devdas (novella)
• Devdas (1955 film)
• Ismail Darbar
• Birju Maharaj
• Nitin Chandrakant Desai
• Cannes Film Festival
• National Film Awards
• Filmfare Awards

References

• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Devdas, 1917.
• Cannes Film Festival official selection archives, 2002.
• Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India: 50th National Film Awards announcements.
• Filmfare Awards records, 48th ceremony (2003).