Devdas (2002 Hindi film)

Devdas
The theatrical poster of Devdas, featuring the leading cast (Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit). Khan features on the middle, holding a bottle of alcohol, while Rai and Dixit on the right and left of him, respectively.
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySanjay Leela Bhansali
Written by
  • Prakash Ranjit Kapadia
  • Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Based onDevdas
by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Produced byBharat Shah
Starring
Narrated byShah Rukh Khan
CinematographyBinod Pradhan
Edited byBela Sehgal
Music bySongs:
Ismail Darbar
Score:
Monty Sharma
Production
company
Mega Bollywood
Distributed byEros International
Release dates
Running time
174 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹50 crore[2]
Box office₹168 crore[3][4]

Devdas is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language period romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced by Bharat Shah under his banner, Mega Bollywood. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit in lead roles, with Jackie Shroff, Kirron Kher, Smita Jaykar, and Vijayendra Ghatge in supporting roles. Based on the 1917 novel of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the film narrates the story of Devdas Mukherjee (Khan), a wealthy law graduate who returns from London to marry his childhood friend, Parvati "Paro" (Rai). However, the rejection of their marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcoholism, ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration and him seeking refuge with the golden-hearted courtesan Chandramukhi (Dixit).

Bhansali was inspired to remake the novel into a film after reading it for a second time, and announced the project in November 1999. The screenplay was written by him and Prakash Ranjit Kapadia, who also wrote the dialogue. Nitin Chandrakant Desai built the sets between August 2000 and May 2001, spending ₹200 million (US$4.12 million). Along with Bhansali and other crews, he did extensive research on Calcuttan building design from the period of the British Raj. Principal photography was handled by Binod Pradhan from November 2000 to April 2002, taking place in Bikaner, Film City, and Filmistan. While Ismail Darbar and Birju Maharaj composed the soundtrack, Monty Sharma composed the background score.

Devdas is featured in Out of Competition section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2002 and was released worldwide on 12 July that year. It was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time, with a budget of ₹500 million (US$10.29 million). The film received mixed reviews when it premiered at Cannes, but was better received when it was theatrically released. The film was a major commercial success and emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, earning approximately ₹1.68 billion ($35 million) worldwide. It won several accolades, including 5 awards at the 50th National Film Awards, including Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Female Playback Singer (Shreya Ghoshal for "Bairi Piya"). At the 48th Filmfare Awards, it won a record-setting 11 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actor (Khan), Best Actress (Rai) and Best Supporting Actress (Dixit). It was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference prints was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Raval, Sheela; Chopra, Anupama (20 May 2002). "Devdas: Bollywood's gamble". India Today. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference indiatoday was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Billboard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).