Devdas

The simple, austere, penetrating, candid and passionately electrifying depiction of subtle human values and sentiments is the hallmark of Bimal Roy's DEVDAS.

Dilip Kumar's demeanor in this heartrending movie happens to be the culmination of his acting prowess which is all praise and nothing else. He was no Dilip Kumar in the film but exact imitation of the role. He outperformed in perfectly getting under the skin of a prodigal Devdas in the first hour of the movie and a profligate Devdas in the last hour. Besides, the very real to life and original performance of Dilip, Suchitra Sen's weighted speech quality and simple dialog delivery adds resonance to an already touching storyline that goes to the heart of every viewer.

The direction of Bimal Roy is superbly excellent and all the more imaginative and original, i.e, no artificial, tawdry and superfluous love scenes and no vulgarity, as well. He believed in ruling over the hearts of the audience through the sheer force of evocative and poignant dialogs, songs and cinematography. That is a quality, in sharp contrast with the latest version of Bhansali's Devdas. Roy's Devdas should be regarded as an intellectually perfect cinematic sequence in the history of Indian film making.

This black and white, old cinematic rendition of Chatterjee's novel is definitely head and shoulders above Bhansali's flamboyant and extravagant version of 2002, starring Shahrukh Khan.

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.

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.

I have seen this movie and no doubt it is a master piece of Dilip Kumar's acting. The respect for him in both co-stars really impressed me.I think no one can act like as he has done in that film in this kind of script.I have heard that Shahrukh Khan is also playing a role of Devdas in Sanjay Leela's new movie but I do not think he can act so well. Dilip Kumar got the Film Fare Award of Best Actor for year 1955. The script of this movie was very sad and I have never seen this type of script in any other movie. The script was actually taken from a novel. I have given 10 marks to this movie. The acting of other cast was also very impressive. The music was also excellent.

Bimal Roy directs one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life in a very brilliant and poignant way. There are no elaborate sets as in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas but Roy's Devdas has in it the pain that would melt one's heart. The acting by the main characters…and not so main characters is brilliant and heavily analyzed. Dilip Kumar is not called the 'tragedy king' for no good reason. He underwent psychological assistance after playing Devdas. Suchitra Sen brings the perfect essence into Paro with her weighted words and Vyajantimala is perfectly cast as Chandramuki. Every actor/actress has the potential to bring you to tears.

I have watched Devdas 2002 and it compares in no way to this movie. I agree this movie is not in colour and is not elaborate but I think that it what makes it realistic. Roy makes you believe that what you are watching is a village and not a palace (as Bhansali depicted in his version). Calcutta is shown as it should be and Chandramukhi's kotha or clothes are not that elaborate either. (We must remember that she is no queen like Madhuri Dixit in Bhansali's version). I have also seen Oriya villages (that are very similar to Bengali ones) because I originally come from one and I can say that Roy makes the village perfect. No Zamindar in a village had sparkling houses (as in the new Devdas).

Apart from the realism in location, Roy's Devdas thrives in making the characters real. Sorry to say, Shahrukh was Shahrukh and not Devdas in the new movie whereas Dilip Kuman epitomises the real Devdas as he brings the character to life. There is no melodrama as in the new one and the actors succeed totally into delivering dialogues with deep meaning and weight. Everything is irreplaceable.

The music is brilliant. Every song seems to haunt you. The lyrics are deep and probing and perfectly suited to the story. Everything in this movie is perfect.

I can go on forever because there is so much I can say. Nothing can explain the depth in this movie; be it the dense story or the excellently portrayed and perfectly realistic emotions expressed by the actors. I get pulled into the movie whenever I see it and I always end up crying. This is one of the rarest and absolutely perfect movies I have seen. Bhansali's Devdas is in no way comparable to this movie except for the fact that it can boast stunning colour and lavish and glamorous sets. But personally, that does not appeal to me. That is not realism; it is a dream world which we should not aspire to achieve. Aesthetic elements do not make a movie great if the actors haven't acted well and the story loses realism. I would choose Roy's Devdas anytime and give it 10/10. Nothing can surpass the talent and understanding of the material by the director in Roy's Devdas. Allow me to quote what Elvis Mitchell of THE NEW YORK TIMES said for The Two Towers (obviously that film also deserved this praise)- 'Never has a film so strongly been a product of a director's respect for its source… Creating a rare perfect mating between filmmaker and material.'. This also applies perfectly for Roy's Devdas. We will never be fortunate to see a movie like it if Bollywood continues to be clichéd and not adventurous.

I RECOMMEND EVERY MOVIE LOVER TO WATCH THIS MOVIE!