Kanan Divecha
His films are his calling card. As a filmmaker, he fits the parameters of a creative genius, an honour bestowed upon the likes of the late Raj Kapoor (Mera Naam Joker, Prem Rog etc.), Mehboob Khan (Mother India), Guru Dutt (Kaagaz Ke Phool), Kamal Amrohi (Paakezaah), Bimal Roy (Devdas).
Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A name synonymous with imagination, a superb visual sense and the stylised portrayal of life in all its hues - sorrow, pathos, romance, love, hilarity...
First it was a realistic Khamoshi - The Musical that made everyone sit up and take notice. Then it was the grandiose love saga Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam that swept through the sensibilities of audiences across the world.
And now it is Devdas.
Famous Bengali novelist Sarat Chandra Chatopadhyay's Devdas. GC Barua' film version Devdas (starring KL Saigal). Bimal Roy's masterpiece Devdas (starring Dilip Kumar, Suchrita Sen, Vyjayanthimala). And now Sanjay Bhansali's Devdas.
Why did Sanjay choose Devdas? "Devdas was not just the most read novel. Touching every heart, it had brought about a national movement in Indian literature. I was no exception. Devdas was a story that never ceased to linger in the back of my mind."
To understand Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, it is essential to understand Saratbabu's novel and Bimal Roy's portrayal of the legendary hero. Devdas is a celebration of pathos. It is about loving, losing and never loving again. Devdas is about passion, about obsession that builds to the point of sacrifice and ultimately ends in fatal destruction. Mental, physical and spiritual.
Devdas. He is hopelessly in love with Paro and she with him. But marriage is not an option for them. They are both Brahmins, but belong to different religions. In those days, it was considered sacrilege for someone to marry outside their religion. So Paro married a much older widower with grown-up children. And Devdas? He stays behind, licking his emotional wounds.
Life becomes a living hell for Devdas. All he lives for after Paro's marriage is to die. The pain, the emptiness, the lack of will to live, are palpable in the touching scene when a tormented Devdas (Dilip Kumar), after drowning himself in alcohol, says to Chunnilal (Motilal) - 'Usne shaadi ka raasta apna liya aur maine barbaadi ka', or when he laments to a worried Chandramukhi (Vyjayanthimala), 'Kambakht kaun bardaash karne ke liye peeta hai'.
It is his flamboyant friend Chunnilal who introduces him to the silken path to escape the burning, painful absence of Paro in his life. But neither alcohol nor the dancing girl (Chandramukhi) heals Devdas from his miserable loss. Rather, it drags him faster towards his destination - death on the doorstep of his Paro! And that is where the film ends.
With Bimal Roy's Devdas, Dilip Kumar became a king of tragedy and Devdas became a cult hero. The legendary beauty Suchrita Sen as Paro was considered the ultimate - unspoiled, pure, almost divine - in her devotion to Devdas and yet committed to her husband and his children. Vyjayanthimala's impeccable performance as Chandramukhi and her selfless love for Devdas earned her the respect that few actresses of her time received. And Motilal? He breathed life into Chunnilal in a way that no one else could. A touch of frivolity, a dash of flamboyance... only Motilal could pull it off with competence, transforming Chunnilal into a likeable Ayaash (bon vivant?)!
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas is a remake of the classic film after 47 years. That is almost half a century after it was made and acclaimed and became a classic in the history of Hindi cinema. And yet today, all eyes are on the Devdas of the 21st century.
Critics have wondered if Sanjay stuck to the original. Did he portray Devdas, Paro, Chandramukhi, Chunnilal as in the novel? There is a yes and a no to that.
Sanjay Bhansali's Devdas is a wealthy, ostentatious, impractical, impulsive, intense Indian returning from London to his roots. In the novel, however, Devdas is a normal middle-class Bengali Brahmin, with no worldly inclinations of any kind. Paro also deviates from the original in that she is rich, arrogant, proud and stubborn - a far cry from the demure, dignified, soft-spoken, attractive middle-class Bengali Brahmin beauty portrayed in the novel.
Bimal Roy's Devdas was true to the spirit of the book. Rinki Bhattacharya, the daughter of the late Bimal Roy, says, "At the time the novel was written (1917) and the time my father made the film (1955), the issue of caste and class was red-hot. My father stayed true to the original. Even the dialogues were the same. Hence, the tragedy that Saratbabu portrayed in his novel is very convincing in my father's film too."
Interestingly, Sanjay Bhansali dares to deviate a little from the novel and digress. The essence and the story are the same, but there is a song adaptation (Dola re dola) between Paro and Chandramukhi, where in the novel they never met or even crossed paths! "Artists should be given a certain cinematic concession and freedom," defends Rinki. "If Sanjay has digressed a little, it is certainly time-related. That just because Devdas is a classic, the lore should not be changed is nonsense.
"Do you know that my father also digressed a little? In the novel, Chandramukhi and Paro never met. But in the film, he shows how their paths cross when Chandramukhi goes to Devdas' village and Paro returns from a trip to his ancestral home.
"You see, if during the creation there is an inspiration to deviate from the original, why not? Spiritual flights of fancy can take an artist to any height. You have to look at it not in isolation but in the context of the whole film."
Industry analyst Amod Mehra thinks that the song adaptation with the two women is an "absurd" idea. He is also not too sure if the filmmaker is allowed to modernize the subject matter to such an extent that the film smacks of opulence. Interestingly, even some critics who saw Devdas at the Cannes Film Festival expressed massive dislike for the vulgar and pompous portrayal of grandeur. And if the rumours are to be believed, there were reportedly many who even walked out of the cinema after the first half of the film because they couldn't quite mentally process the logistics of the film!
Amod explains, "Firstly, the novel was written in 1917. The two films were made in 1936 and 1955 respectively. At that time, Devdas was a contemporary subject. Today it is a period film. Then, people were in their villages at that time (as shown in the earlier films and the novel), love was taboo, they sang these kinds of songs. That is why when Bimal Roy's Devdas came out, everyone started worshipping Devdas as a hero. He became a cult figure.
"But today, generations have changed, the general attitude towards love and the way people approach it is different. The youth are not even familiar with the common term that was used in the 60s, 70s, 80s to describe lovesick men - 'Arrey, kyo Devdas jaise lagta hai? ' Today, the youth are not interested in becoming Devdas. Today's generation wants to experiment with marriage, in those days marriage was an institution. So I cannot really say whether the present generation will be able to identify with Devdas, who drowned his sorrows in alcohol and ultimately died on Paro's doorstep. Today, the entire definition of love borders on violence. The youth believe in throwing acid etc. when their love is rejected."
In the director's commentary in the film's media brochure, Sanjay tries to justify the use of lavish sets, expensive costumes and stunning interiors that cost producer Bharat Shah a whopping Rs 50-52 crore, the most ever spent on any Hindi film till date! He explains, "Devdas, this simple story, had a soul so big, I felt that this was a film that just had to be remade with an opulence and grandeur that would do justice to its wonderful theme and characters... It was a film that wanted to revel in music and dance..."
On to the performances. Shah Rukh Khan's portrayal of the cult hero Devdas will no doubt be compared to that of the king of tragedy, Dilip Kumar, in Bimal Roy's version. Aishwarya's screen sensuality and acting power as Paro has to match that of the legendary beauty Suchitra Sen. Madhuri's dancing skills and screen presence will be compared to Vyjayanthimala's. And Jackie's drunken nature will be compared to that played by the inimitable Motilal in the 1955 version of Devdas.
Given Sanjay Bhansali's previous track record as a director, there is little doubt that he will have extracted the best performances from the stars. Nana Patekar and Manisha Koirala were critically acclaimed for their stellar performances in Khamoshi. Aishwarya's entire equation with the industry and the media changed with her stunning performance in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. In fact, the film also opened new doors for action hero Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan turned many a head with his tragic-comic role in it.
The TV promos of Devdas speak volumes about the deft handling of the songs and sequences by both Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya. Those who have had a sneak peek of the film are rather confident that Devdas will be a milestone in Shah Rukh Khan's career. Ditto Aishwarya! But will Shah Rukh Khan be able to match Dilip Kumar's brilliance as the king of tragedy in Bimal Roy's Devdas? Will the beauty of Aishwarya be on par with the ethereal charm of Suchitra Sen as Paro?
Will Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas be a runaway hit in India and abroad? Amod Mehra explains, "Well, we can only hope that it does well because the industry is in dire need of a hit right now. But Devdas will definitely have a very big opening - the biggest the industry has seen this year."
Will Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas be a classic? Will it rewrite film history like Bimal Roy's Devdas did? Only time will tell.