Devdas - Flamme unserer Liebe

Gloriously excessive Bollywood epic starring former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. Set in the 30s and sumptuously shot, it follows a lovelorn suitor's slide into alcoholism and despair

Bhansali's film boasts the biggest budget for an Indian film ever and boy, does it show. An extravagant tale of love, loss and serious drinking, it operates on a scale previously unseen in Bollywood.

Essentially a tragic love triangle, the story follows tortured Devdas (Khan) as he mucks things up with childhood sweetheart Paro (Rai), meets courtesan Chandramukhi (Dixit) and then drinks himself to death. A spirited anti-hero, in India his name his synonymous with a sort of heroic failure.

Everything about the film - costumes, sets, songs and sentiments - is larger than life and the sheer spectacle demands respect. The musical numbers cast Devdas and Paro as the mythical lovers Krishna and Radha. Cheeky, sexy and dizzyingly complex, the dancers display astonishing energy and precision, whole sequences shot from above to resemble the shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope.

Certainly there are moments of daftness. A half-cut Devdas resolves a financial dispute by setting fire to a sofa, for example, and nobody tries to stop him. But there's also humour, style and a conclusion that's plenty teary. As Western directors continue to look to Bollywood for inspiration this is a shining example how it should be done. Intoxicating.

Verdict Starts big, gets a whole lot bigger then gets twice as big after that, this is Bollywood at its most flamboyant. The song and dance numbers alone are worth the price of entry and whether you're familiar with the genre or not this is irresistible from start to finish.

I have not seen the other previous versions of Devdas, but as far as this Devdas goes, I can say that it is really difficult to transform such an old and popular story into such an amazing film without being boring, and the director has successfully managed this task.

The set decorators, choreographers and the costume designers must be lauded very very highly. It is truly amazing and a real pleasure to just even observe these three elements. Of course, Aishwarya Rai (Parvati) is so incredibly beautiful, the camera loves her, and she sparkles like a diamond. Still, (also credited above Aishwarya) Madhuri Dixit (Chandramukhi) is the real acting talent.

I had great pleasure watching this lyric melodrama, although it lasted about three hours, it deserves all kinds of appraisal.

Right from the opening credit sequence it is apparent that this is not your typical Bollywood movie. There are no iffy dance sequences with multiple costume changes. During those dance sequences the location does not change inexplicably - thus no bemused Swiss folk staring at the actors in bemusement in the background. Devdas' dance sequences are sexy without being sleazy. They are lavish but not gaudy.

The women do not ape western fashion (badly I may add) with pleated miniskirts and glittery tops. The men, thank God, do not wear tight PVC muscle tops and leather trousers (it may be all the rage in India for all I know, but its a big nono everywhere else). The fashion in Devdas, historically inaccurate as it probably is, is nevertheless stunning.

The obligatory fight sequence where our hero beats the crap out of a dozen armed 'bad-guys with moustaches' without breaking into a sweat is notably absent. No goofy comedy sidekick either.

All in all, its difficult for me to categorise this film as a 'Bollywood movie' at all - it's just too damn good.

It does have flaws, the main one being that you do not get a clear idea of how much time has elapsed between events in the movie. However, I look forward to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next film.

I owned this film for 8 months but did not see it because of all the negative hype on the board. Then I took the plunge. First off let me say that I was not a great Saratchandra admirer. His stories (except SWAMI) mostly portrayed women as weak minded, subservient (maybe true to the time, but not to be admired), and men as weak and mostly well bred but not well educated. I had no real recollection of the story as written. And, not being a great Dilip Kumar fan, I never watched the old version. So, I have no comparisons to draw, no plot line differences to talk about.

I came away moved by the tragic love story that unfolded. It was not flawless, most Bollywood movies are not.

Negatives - the sets were beautiful but over the top, ditto for the costumes. The duo dance was a great way to compare Aish vs Madhuri dancing skills (both were pretty even matched for me) but in the story line it was quite silly and should not have been there. There was no real need for the the two to meet, but this was Mr, Bhansali's directorial license. Chandramukhi's kotha and environs were lifted straight from Pakeezah, which was a very stylized movie and not authentic.

Positives: Shahrukh Khan gave a very restrained performance, the silent tears accompanied with an anguish that only his eyes portrayed was a real departure from the screwed-up face crying. He was very very good in the drunk bits, very good in the anguished bits. It is remarkable how much this actor is accused of being typecast when every other year he pulls out an amazing performance - Dil Se (1998), Asoka (2001) and Devdas (2002) are all departures from his usual typecast romantic hero image. Recent roles in Swades and KANK are even more varied. The detractors will keep saying he overacted, or he portrayed no emotions, for me this was a truly great role as an anguished lover. Mr. Khan - your best actor award for this role in Devdas was well deserved.

Madhuri - what can one say about this truly great icon? She was amazing, you felt her pain, her caring, her selfless love, the moments between her and Shahrukh sizzled. And her dancing was brilliant.

Aish - was a bit wooden at times, but not always. She had a chemistry with Shahrukh that was understated until she was beyond his reach, but come on - the woman looks amazing, is there any doubt that a hundred Devdas types are dying for her?? She was better as the movie progressed to the more serious part.

The movie went into an emotional downward spiral a third of the way in and I sat there moved and almost crying for these tortured souls the rest of the two hours.

The movie was eye candy in the sets and costumes department. The two leading ladies were stunning, Shahrukh was easy on the eye, yet there was something that did detract from this being a great film. Upon much thinking I have come to the conclusion that it was the over the top beauty of everything that really made everything a little unreal for me. How could such perfect people have such imperfect lives? In essence the little black mark on the lip was missing and that left me a little dissatisfied.

If Mr. Bhansali had stated that this was an adaptation from the original novel, people would forgive him the fact that Devdas in his version is a mature man and knows his mind (although fails to act decisively on it), and the fact that an aristocratic lady visits a courtesan's establishment and the two dance together.

If you do not compare with what did or did not come before, this was an intense emotional experience, anchored by great performances from Shahrukh, Madhuri and yes, even Aish.

I have to admit that as great as Devdas is, I can't watch it too often as it is far too depressing but it is ultimately the most spectacular movie I have seen in a long time. Aside from its theme, the film making process was awesome including the costumes, the cinematography, the direction, camera angles. Imagine the number of hours the extras worked their *beep* off to dance in sync. Even the soundtrack was perfectly tuned to help set the mood of the movie and hearing Paro (Aiswarya Rai's character) sing for her love lost for Devdas (Shahrukh Khan) on her wedding day was enough to make you burst into tears.

The actors chosen were perfect for their roles as they portrayed it with such heart wrenching gut, you could almost feel their sorrow along with them. I was particularly surprised how Aishwarya Rai pulled off her biggest acting role to-date, thereby quashing any doubts on her previous beauty queen title. Shahrukh Khan once again proves why he is the reigning king of Bollywood playing a heartbroken alcoholic pining for the love of his life who's been married off to another man. Madhuri Dixit was equally wonderful as the beautiful courtesan who played her role with such empathy that I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and wished Devdas would eventually reciprocate her feelings for him. Jackie Shroff has never disappointed and was excellent in his supporting role as Devdas 'brothel' companion. All in all, the cast ensemble of this movie is one of the best in cinema history.

This movie is also a perfect (and spectacular) introduction to first timers of Bollywood movies into the lives and culture of Indian/Asian people in general. How, in this modern and civilised world, old traditions and values still hold dear in certain communities and whilst it is not the most favourable of beliefs, it is the age old cultural practices that makes one culture unique to the other.

Yes, no movie is perfect but Devdas almost does it so watch it with an open mind. Being Asian myself, I dare be bold and say this is better than 'Gone With The Wind'.