Background: Story:
Devdas and Paro are childhood sweethearts who are parted originally through ambition, then parted through censure and finally, through death. Devdas is a classic Indian story of great drama, great intensity, and great feeling. The issue of 'suitability' of marriage partners ... Read review
The biggest Indian film of 2002! Male and female childhood friends grow up to realise ... more
that their different social status's could prevent them from staying as close as they long to be. Former Miss World Aishwariya Rai stars in this stunningly beauti...
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Advantages: Colour, Glamour, Passion- Truly Bollywood Disadvantages: The beginning is slow, could have been better editing
Background: Story:
Devdas and Paro are childhood sweethearts who are parted originally through ambition, then parted through censure and finally, through death. Devdas is a classic Indian story of great drama, great intensity, and great feeling. The issue of 'suitability' of marriage partners is never to far away in what is portrayed as a society that judges people according to whom they marry, what their occupation is, and what caste ... ...are put in their way, Devdas and Paro's love for each other grows deeper and deeper until a truly tragic ending that is very reminiscent of Shakespeare's masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet. Indeed, although forbidden love is a common theme in many Bollywood movies, none perhaps display an individual's anguish at being denied what they believe was destined to be theirs as accurately and poignantly as Devdas.
Devdas and Paro are childhood sweethearts who are parted originally through ambition, then parted through censure and finally, through death. Devdas is a classic Indian story of great drama, great intensity, and great feeling. The issue of 'suitability' of marriage partners is never to far away in what is portrayed as a society that judges people according to whom they marry, what their occupation is, and what caste they belong to. Yet, through all the superficial obstacles that are put in their way, Devdas and Paro's love for each other grows deeper and deeper until a truly tragic ending that is very reminiscent of Shakespeare's masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet. Indeed, although forbidden love is a common theme in many Bollywood movies, none perhaps display an individual's anguish at being denied what they believe was destined to be theirs as accurately and poignantly as Devdas.
Setting:
This is by far the biggest budget Bollywood film ever made.....and it shows. The sets are simply stunning, as are the costumes, the music, the colour....literally everything is gorgeously crafted, bombastically coloured and imaginatively designed. The film is shot so as to get the most out of many of the aesthetic delights.....the viewer really gets a sense of the grand scale on which the movie had been filmed.
Performances:
The acting throughout the film is as necessarily dramatic as it needed to be. Shahrukh Khan as Devdas looks superb, initially as the dashing 'Englishman' and then later, as the broken-hearted drunk without a hope in the world. Khan's ability to display pure, unadulterated passion is incredibly moving. Some have argued that he over-acts, but to be honest if you didn't over-act in a film of such melodrama then you would look out of place! Aishwarya Rai is suitably beautiful as Paro and is convincing as the vain, conceited and naive young woman she is supposed to be. Rai also does a fine job in displaying the character's growth in maturity and inner strength as Paro's character develops throughout the film. Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi the courtesan 'with a heart' is seriously quite fabulous. Despite her obvious indignities, she manages to play the elegant with tremendous grace and charm. Her love for Devdas is so tangible that you can actually sense it. Chandramukhi's dance scenes are brilliantly seductive and really capture the environment of the exotic brothel.
Music:
The eight songs that feature in Devdas are excellently written and performed. They are equally as elaborate and breathtaking as the film itself, as are the dances that accompany them. There are some truly heart-felt love songs here as well as some more celebratory numbers. My personal favourite has to be the humorous 'chalak chalk', a drunken dance of tomfoolery that provides a light-hearted moment minutes before the films devastating climax. The song is sure to have anyone wiggling those hips (I'm sure this works best if your drunk too!).
Criticism:
The only major criticism is that the film could have been edited far better. Firstly, the opening scenes drag somewhat and are unnecessary. Cutting a bit more out would also have helped shorten the overall length of the film (it's over 3 hours). Secondly, some of the sequences between scene changes are very 'sharp'; quickly cutting from the end of one scene to the beginning of another which at times makes the film seem amateurish.
Summary:
The film as a whole however is anything but of an amateur standard. To anyone wanting to experiment with a bit of Bollywood magic, this is a superb starting point- this typifies everything that is great about the industry. This is bold, bright and beautiful: aesthetically, but also, and more importantly, emotionally and morally. It is a whirlwind ride of romance that really impacts upon the viewer the message to cherish and value love while you have it. The film's tagline couldn't have put it any better, 'a grand saga of timeless love'.
Advantages: Great Music, Beauty, Songs, Sets. Disadvantages: Bit Melodramatic and long. All in Hindi.
...in 1917, the novel of Devdas has reached such heights that the term Devdas itself has entered common usage to describe lovelorn men for that is what the story is all about - love!
To sum up the story is very difficult without giving away too much for those who haven`t seen one of the previous versions but here goes. The film is basically about the lives of three people. Devdas,played by Shah Rukh Khan, a London trained lawyer from a very rich upper ... ...that enters the life of Devdas as he descends into alcoholism and despair when he is introduced to the world of drink and dancers by his college friend Channu Babu, acted by Jackie Shroff.
No more about the plot for you really must see it for yourself and I have no wish to spoil your enjoyment of how it progresses!
Currently at no.1 in the Indian cinemas, with a big star cast, multi-million rupee sets and a fantasticly beautiful film-score, do ...
bwanamdevu 16.08.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Devdas (DVD)
Advantages: Absolutely everything! The deep love, costumes, songs... Disadvantages: NONE
...the centre of Hindi movies. Devdas is a saga, a passionate emblem of unconditional love. The plot centers around the intense relationship between a high class boy, Devdas (played by Shah Rukh Khan and a middle class girl called Paro (played by Aishwarya Rai). As you might guess, the high class family of the boy objects to their marriage and the drama evolves from there. But do not be fooled, though. Like I said, it is so much more than the typical ... ...I mentioned above, Paro and Devdas share the sort of deep, intense bond which I can easily call soul-mates, and which I can even more easily rate above the legendary relationship between Romeo and Juliet. I said it once, and say it again- I have never seen such intense chemistry between two on-screen characters. The costumes! The costumes are simply outstanding and magical in all their aspects. Rich, exotic Indian Saris, jewelry which could have ...
diamond_sparkles 21.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Devdas (DVD)
Advantages: Story, Screenplay, Music Disadvantages: Frequent songs
...some great names behind Project Devdas in various times. This time, it however is Shahrukh Khan and Sanjay Leela Bansali who tried to give it a shape. **** Quick Facts ****
Story: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Direction: Sanjay Leela Bansali.
Cast:
Shahrukh Khan as Devdas.
Aishwarya Rai as Paro.
Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi.
Jackie Shroff as Chunnibabu.
Kiran Kher as Paro’s mother.
Smita Jaykar as Devdas’ mother.
**** The Story ... ...in West Bengal, where lives Devdas Mukherjee and his childhood sweetheart Paro. They grew up together and loved each other very much. At the childhood, there was always a support from both of their families. After growing up, Devdas goes to Oxford to study law. The movie begins when he comes back to his village. There is almost a festive mood among the family members and of course, in Paro’s house. All of his family wait for him eagerly with ...
s_ach_22 01.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Devdas (DVD)
Advantages: story, performance of characters, music, rich sets Disadvantages: well known story
...story is the well known Devdas story. Here Shah Ruck returns home. He remembers his love from childhood, with Aiswarya Rai and goes to meet her even before meeting his mother. There are many scenes beautifully portraying the love between the two. Shah Ruck belongs to a high class family. Aiswarya’s mother is a dancer by ancestry. Shah Rukh’s aunt plays the negative role. She uses the difference in the status between the two family to destroy the ... ...to a rich person as second wife. After this Shah Rukh gets into drinking habits. He gets a friend (Jackie Shroff) in a train. With him he also starts going to dasi (prostitute) houses. Madhuri Dixit plays the role of a dasi. Shah Rukh spends time in her house drinking all the time. Madhuri tries to correct him and starts loving him. Coming to know of this Aiswarya is also wishes that they marry and Shah gives away the bad habits. So what happens ...
danalakshmivnv 02.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Devdas (DVD)
Advantages: Feast for the eyes!! Disadvantages: Shahrukh Khan..
...The story goes like this:
Devdas the son of a zaminder falls in love with his childhood friend Paro(Parvati) who belongs to not so well to do family.But when the time comes to choose between Paro and his father(who is dead against the marriage), Devdas after much melodrama opts for his father.He then goes back to Calcutta far away from his village where they are fixing a marriage for Paro to another zaminder old enough to be her father.
But afterwards ... ...story of Devdas.
Sharat Chandra's Devdas has been immortalised in Indian languages as the Romeo of Shakespeare.
No doubt the movie have definitely captured attention with all its grandure set and beautiful costumes.Aishwarya as 'Paro' and Madhuri as 'Chandramukhi' do justice to their roles respectively.But Sharukh Khan has degraded the movie quite a lot.In none of the scenes did he portray the character of 'Devdas'.He just played 'Sharukh Khan' ...
Sukanya 07.11.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Devdas (DVD)
EROS INTERNATIONAL; FILM 2000, EROS INTERNATIONAL, CORNERSTONE MEDIA; TRILOGY LOGISTICS
Release date
20/01/2003, 09/02/2004
No of Discs
1, 3
Catalogue No
DVDE 1039, DVDE 825
Barcode
0828970103992, 0828970082594
Languages
Main Language
Hindi
Subtitle Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Theatrical Trailers, Indian Premier In Mumbai, Making Of Devdas, World Premier At Festival De Cannes, Classic Scenes Of Shah Rukh Also Aishwarya And Madhuri
DEVDAS was a Bollywood blockbuster, both costing and making more money than any Indian film before it. Devdas is a man who loses the love of his life due to his weakness for alcohol, and lives with the price of his bitter loss for many years. Finally he comes to realize for himself a place of peace and dignity, coming to terms with his life.
A "Grimm-er" Live Action (PG) Take on This Classic Brothers Grimm Tale, Directed by the Screenwriter/Co-Author of Edward Scissorhands (Caroline Thompson)
Possibly Not Suitable for Younger Children (not Disney Animation "Pretty-Pretty" version) - Miranda Richardson dominates the action and steals the show as the stepmother. (*)
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