Devdas
Short description
Devdas Mukherjee is the son of a wealthy landowning family in early twentieth-century India. He and Paro, a girl from a poorer neighbouring household, grow up devoted to each other, but his family refuses to accept a match across class lines, and Paro is married off to an older, wealthier man. Unable to marry the woman he loves, Devdas leaves home and sinks into heavy drinking, eventually finding refuge with the courtesan Chandramukhi, who comes to care for him as his life unravels.
The film is a Hindi-language adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali from a screenplay he wrote with Prakash R. Kapadia, and produced by Bharat Shah. Shah Rukh Khan plays Devdas, with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi; Jackie Shroff, Smita Jaykar and Manoj Joshi appear among the credited cast of twenty-one. It runs just over three hours and was made for about seven million dollars, returning roughly thirteen million worldwide. It stands first in the chronological list of Bhansali's directed features.
Audiences rate it 7.2 out of 10 on IMDb and 7.5 out of 10 on TMDB. A film critics' rating of 7.6 out of 10, drawn from twenty-one reviews, places it slightly above those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The director, Bhansali, dedicated this work to his father, who was also an alcoholic. He says that working on the film helped him forgive his father.
- The first 'modern' Indian film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition).
- The scene where Paro's mother, Sumitru (Kiron Kher), is forced to dance in front of everyone was inspired by a real-life scene from Sanjay Bhansali's own life.
- The role of Chunnilal, played by Jackie Shroff, was offered to Saif Ali Khan and Govinda.
- The role of the rebellious alcoholic is considered one of Shah Rukh Khan's best roles.
- To convincingly portray an alcoholic, Shah simply drank on set. Friends were even afraid he would become an alcoholic himself.
- In the song “Kahe Chedd Mohe,” the costume worn by Madhuri Dixit weighed 30 kg. She had many difficulties with the choreography, but ultimately she did everything as the director wanted. Kathak dance master Birju Maharaj choreographed “Kaahe Chedd Mohe” specifically for Madhuri Dixit.
- The exquisite glass house of Paro was supposed to be installed between November and June, as Bansali had calculated. During this time, four heavy rains occurred, and the colors faded with each new downpour, requiring constant retouching. Furthermore, the carts used under the floor of the house were severely damaged.
- Ismail Darbar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali spent two years composing the music for the film. Each song was revised 8-9 times, but the actual recording took only 10 days.
- Kareena Kapoor auditioned for the role of Paro, although she had turned down roles in Sanjay Bhansali's first two films.
- At the time of its release, 'Devdas' was the most expensive film in the entire history of Bollywood.
- The song “Dola Re Dola” took a week to write because the director believed it should be a spectacular sight, as the song brought together the two biggest stars of Bollywood, Madhuri and Aishwarya.
- This is the third film adaptation (the first in color) of the eponymous novel by Indian writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (also known as Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya).
- During the song 'Dola re Dola,' Aishwarya's ears began to bleed due to heavy earrings, but she continued to dance and didn't tell anyone until the scene was finished.
- The role of Devdas was initially offered to Salman Khan, but Bhansali only saw Shah Rukh Khan in the role of Devdas, and he had a reason – he considered Shah Rukh to be one of the best actors in the country who needed support at that time, and therefore Shah Rukh Khan played the role of Devdas.
- In the film, Paaro organizes a celebration in honor of the goddess Durga, who is very popular in Bengal (and "Devdas" was originally written in Bengali, as Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born in Bengal). She dances with Chandramukhi to ward off evil from Devdas, but at the same time, Devdas performs a funeral rite for himself, thereby nullifying Paaro's attempts to save him.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
