देवदास Devdās

Title: देवदास Devdās
English Title: Devdas
Country: India
Language: Hindi
Year: 2002
Cast:

• शाहरुख़ ख़ान Shahrukh Khan
• माधुरी दीक्षित Madhuri Dixit
• ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯಾ ರೈ Aishwarya Rai

SYNOPSIS

देवदास Devdas - Dola Re Dola

Devdas Mukherjee has returned to Bengal after an absence of around ten years and instead of greeting his parents first, Devdas goes to his neighbor's house and greets Parvati Chakraborty, his childhood friend whom he fondly calls Paro.

The intimate friendship between Devdas and Paro has blossomed into romantic love; with everyone assuming that the lovers will eventually get married.

However, Devdas' parents are against the match and rejects Paro's parents in public. Humiliated and devastated, Paro's parents arrange her marriage to an aristocrat with three grown children. Paro leaves her parent's home to go to her future husband's home in order to get married.

Devdas regrets following his parent's wishes and abandoning Paro. He goes to Paro and apologizes to her. He tells Paro that she should elope with him instead of marrying the man her parents had intended for her. Paro tells him that she has to stay because she doesn't want to bring shame to her family and she marries the aristocrat.

REVIEW
Probably because Devdas is the very first Bollywood movie I've watched, it remains as one of my favorite Bollywood movies of all time.

I don't really like the story line of Devdas but I think it is typical of most Bollywood movies: dramatic plot lines with tragic endings, more often than not. Perhaps for people who needs an introduction to Bollywood movies, Devdas is a great place to start.

What I love about Bollywood movies is quite evident in Devdas: intricate costumes (the gorgeous saris are to die for) as well as entertaining song and dance productions. I also like that Bollywood movies are generally unabashedly romantic and idealistic in terms of love relationships.

The best thing about Devdas though is Shahrukh Khan. He is not only handsome and charismatic, he is also a very talented actor. I don't really like Devdas Mukherjee as a character but his portrayal is so fantastic that I ended up empathizing with Devdas despite not liking him and the choices that he made in his life.

I don't like how Devdas wasted his life after the love of his life got married to someone else. Although it would be great if everyone marries their soul mates and lives happily ever after, not everyone will be able to do so. Personally, I don't think it is enough of a reason to become an alcoholic and to stop living properly.

Actually, I have been watching Bollywood films even longer than I have been watching Asian (Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese) dramas and movies. I haven't watched any Bollywood film in recent years but I'm trying to make up for lost time.

I don't really know what got me interested in Bollywood; I just remember watching Indian music videos in my spare time and then watching an Indian talk show on cable, which helped me get to know the popular Bollywood stars. Afterwards, I consciously looked for Bollywood movie DVDs in shops and that was it, I was hooked.

###
देवदास Devdās