Devdas (1955)

I first saw this movie in 1970 and have to this day never forgotten the haunting and beautifully tuned climax.Many years later the recent Shah Rukh blockbuster came to view which to my mind defamed the essence and spirit of the tale.Bimal Roy's dignified classic took one to the root of the matter.It is hard to imagine a film with so much realism.I have never seen an actor so deeply immersed in the character he's playing like Dilip Kumar and to bring that piece of fiction to life.Suchitra Sen embodies her role beautifully but Vyjantimala is simply superb.The other parts are skillfully played; an attribute to sound casting.The photography and music like in all Bimal Roy films are an accolade to nature.Forget about the lavish Khan extravaganza and see Devdas as it really should be : a man who gives up all even his life for his bitterment but still evokes admiration from the world.I had seen the Bengali Uttam Kumar in some films and it is my regret he never played this role but Dilip Kumar will never be bettered.I felt he was totally lost in the character!!!

This is another film by the great Bimal Roy. Based on Sarat Chandra's famous Bengali novel "Debdas", "Devdas" (1955) is one of Bimal Roy's handful of films that are adaptations of Bengali novels and short stories; others include "Parineeta" (1953) and "Kabuliwallah" (1960). In comparison with its successor "Devdas" (2002), Bimal Roy's "Devdas" (1955) provides a more realistic backdrop. The buildings, such as Devdas' and Paro's houses as well as the brothel in which Chandramukhi dances are relatively simple, unlike their over-extravagant replicas in the recent adaptation by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Also, the costumes are simple and reflect the lifestyles of rural Bengalis in the past, much unlike Sanjay Leela Bhansali's adaptation that features too much jewellery, gold embroidery, rich brocades and fabulous fabrics. In addition to that, this film has great and subliminal histrionic performances by Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Vyjayanthi Mala. I was captivated by Dilip Kumar's perfect picturisation of a drunk, lovesick Devdas. His dialogues are simple and easier to understand, in comparison with Shahrukh Khan's role, who speaks lots of flowery language. Apart from that, Dilip Kumar's blurred glint in his eyes while playing the drunk Devdas scene with Vyjayanthi Mala is simply natural. Leading Bengali-film tragedy queen Suchitra Sen played Paro in this film, and her performance was the greatest. In my opinion, Paro's (Aishwarya Rai) reaching out to a dying Devdas (Shahrukh Khan) towards the story's end in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's adaptation was merely a copy of Suchitra Sen's act in this film: the saris featured in the same scene from both films were exactly the same, too! I strongly feel that Suchitra Sen's performance was at its strongest during this scene, and no other actress can possibly duplicate it. Last but not least, the round of applause should also go to Bollywood's legendary Dancing Queen, Vyjayanthi Mala. She was handpicked by Bimal Roy for her flawless dancing skills. Nevertheless, she not only spiced the film with her fluid Kathak; she also gave the audience a never-seen-before melodramatic side of herself when she played the converted Chandramukhi. Madhuri Dixit's role was simply out of the question whereby she even met up with Paro! Moreover, one ought to note that Chandramukhi is just a courtesan, not a diva, as portrayed by Madhuri Dixit. In short, Vyjayanthi Mala has successfully proved her versatility through Chandramukhi in this film. On top of that, "Devdas" (1955) has a beautiful original musical score. The biggest credit should go to Lataji, who was, at that time, enjoying early success. Her melodious voice made the mujras "Aa Gayi Teri Marzi" and "O Jaane Wale" as well as the touching "Jisse Tu Kabool Kar Le Voh" all-time best-loved nostalgic hits. In a nutshell, Bimal Roy's "Devdas" (1955) will always rank as an evergreen classic in the charts of Bollywood, thanks to the unforgettable acting by Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Vyjayanthi Mala, Lataji, Talat Mehmood, Mubarak Begum, Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar's melodious voices as well as the memorable direction of the great film-maker Bimal Roy.

One of my favourite films from the Indian cinema, the story beautifully adapted and assembled by Bimal Roy and his expert studio. It hasn't got the colour, scope and audio/visual technical panache of the 2002 version, but more importantly to me has better framing, acting, music and above all else, atmosphere.Today's highly paid film critics in all media would probably ignore Devdas and other similar musical films as being populist and therefore unworthy of their high-brow attention. Well, it's their loss! What we have is an extremely well crafted film, complemented with S.D. Burman's scintillating music woven perfectly into the plot. Not that it matters, the first time I watched Devdas in the mid '90's I thought that Vyjayanthimala as the prostitute Chandramukhi bore an uncanny resemblance to Kate Winslet! Dilip Kumar's finest screen moments bar Mughal-E-Azam are here too, and although he didn't have a whole range of emotions to portray his performance was intense and utterly believable. Don't let supposedly erudite Western sneering put you off all Indian or Bollywood films and rub your nose in the baking mud with Pather Panchali - this one is also a world classic.To watch this epic of thwarted and then forbidden love and one man's inner turmoil brought on first by social custom and then the bottle is always ultimately rewarding to me, but be warned - the long journey is poetically, relentlessly and devastatingly depressing.

Saratchandra Chatterji's novel under the brilliant direction of Bimal Roy becomes india's finest cinema of all times.Equally brilliant is Hrishikesh Mukherji's editing. Dilip Kumar and Suchitra Sen take film acting to new heights in their portrayal of Devdas and Paro.