Producer: Mega Bollywood Pvt. Ltd. 
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali 
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, Milind Gunaji, Jackie Shroff
Music: Ismail Darbar

I have not read Sarat Chandra’s novel. But I have seen P.C.Barua’s film based on this book, so also I have seen Bimal Roys film which drew its inspiration from this book. Lastly I have seen what Bhansali did to this soulful story. The number of people being inspired to make this novel into a cinematic wonder surely is instigating me to finally go out and read this book.

However I did find one person who has read the book and seen all the three movies and his one liner was ‘Better read the book then see the film.’

Now this would sound blasphemous to those hardworking people who have put in a lot more than my friend can phantom, to make these film a success. However, he has his own reasons. He askes me just one question, is Sarat Chandra’s Devdas a tragic love story or is it a story of a drunker who could never fall in love as he was chased by his own ghost. He tells me, that understanding ‘Devdas’ by itself is a tragedy. Sarat Chandra hit the bottle after writing it, so did K.L.Sehgal who played Devdas for the first time. Dilip Kumar survived Devdas, but nevertheless, King of Tragedy was a label he carried for the rest of his life. Now, that surely gets me thinking.

Anyway, they have all tried to make this as a tragic love story so lets analyse there efforts there.

I know this review come rather late, however lets catch up with the plot as told be Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Devdas is the story of a love beyond all else...even life. The saga of a man called Devdas who loved, loved and just loved... Devdas shared childhood with his lovely playmate Paro where supreme love was felt before it was understood.

When youth beckoned, the loved intensified. But, alas, a fateful moment of weakness on the part of Devdas created a permanent wall of seperation between him and his beloved Paro. On one side of the wall was a heartbroken Paro who became the wife of another. And on the other, was a completely shattered Devdas. Unable to bear the agony of a life without Paro, Devdas made alcohol his constant companion.

But that could not make him forget the piercing pain. Even the unflinching devotion of a beautiful courtesan Chandramukhi, did not ease the heartache of losing Paro. It was only when his eyes closed to a permanent sleep, did the pain begin to fade.

But even before losing the light of life, all Devdas urged, was to see his Paro just once ... Thus giving his love the greatest dignity ... It was at Paro's doorstep, that the doors of heaven opened for Devdas. He left behind a testimony of true love,that was pure, chaste, undemanding... and thus immortal. Indeed, love was his life... love makes him live on.

So, that in short is how we are supposed to digest Devdas as a lover… Now coming to Shah Rukh Khan as Devdas – he almost gets into the role with all the help he could get from Dilip Kumar. He lives up the expectations and there is a constant switch between the Devdas of Dilip Kumar and a Shah Rukh Khan in a tragic role. However this is one role Shah Rukh has done with panache.

Aishwarya Rai as Paro is effortlessly played by the actress as far as projecting the arrogant, proud and stubborn character of the ‘child-woman’ however she fails drastically in bringing out the matured Paro who is married to a man twice her age.

So who stands out in this film? Chandramukhi does. Madhuri has gotten herself deep within the skin of this character and literally breathes Chandramukhi into the role. She has added a whole new dimension to the character that seemed to have been under explored by Bimal Roy.

Similarly Jackie has outplayed the character of Chunilal which was played by Motilala in Bimal Roy’s Devdas. As a friend to Devdas, Jackie seem to have reinvented a whole new way that the character of Chunilal could be done.

Ismail Darbar’s music fails to live up to the standard of a Bhansali movie, even the popular ‘mar dala…’ seems to be screaming for the music directors inability to live upto the expectation.

Now its Bhansali’s turn…sets are out of this world and the costumes mindblowing...but do we need mind blowing costumes to tell a tale of tragedy? The costumes may be excellent and painstakingly styled, but they lack the aristocratic, understated elegance of the dresses of the same class of Bengalis in, for example, Satyajit Ray's Ghare Bhaire. Ray was an acknowledged master at recreating the ambience of the feudal period in Bengal. Every woman in Devdas looks like an overdecorated Christmas tree, except perhaps for Paro in the beginning. After the interval, Paro catches up with her mother and Devdas' mother in this respect.

As for the sets, they scream of ostentation --- every room has at least one hundred clashing colours in it. Vijayendra Ghatge's (Paro's husband) house has the most ghastly blue walls with plaster mouldings ever seen in Hindi films. The floor inlays in Chandramukhi's kotha will give you a headache. And Paro's house, with more stained glass than the Chartres cathedral, also has walls and decorations that avoid coordination with the stained glass. The sets of the three houses look like some sort of space city out of a Star Wars film, and no one can imagine anyone with taste and refinement that characterised that class in that age living in such three-dimensional cardboard cutouts.
DirectorBhansali has sucked all the actors dry, however he could have paid same attention over the expenses too. The movie is criminally expensive in all the ways, no wonder the budget hit it as the highest budgeted Hindi film ever. I presume the audience would still be satisfied with a Chandni Bar made at a fraction of that cost.
I solemnly plead that everybody should see this movie, least the producer should get back his money.