78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A divine reverie of emotion, February 3, 2004
DEVDAS is an exceptional Indian movie you will want to see more than once. The superlative dancing, brilliant acting, luxurious costumes and magnificent scenery all contribute to this film's greatness. If there could be one word that describes this movie, according to its creator Sanjay Leela Bhansali, that word would be `emotion'.
The film is a tone piece, a sustained study of emotions from beginning to end. The male star is Shahrukh Khan - yes, the most famous & loved man on the planet, adored by literally millions. Nicknamed SRK, Shahrukh is the consummate skilled actor whose magic takes you inside his heart.
In the 1950's film `Rebel Without a Cause' James Dean showed us the anti-John Wayne hero who cries openly, displaying feelings of loving tenderness. SRK has this same genius. It is as if both men wear their nerves outside their skin, giving the audience entry to feelings we normally suppress.
From beginning to end, the film `Devdas' is thick with intense emotions. Childhood sweethearts are forced to separate through the usual deadly sin of pride. Devdas, the hero played by Shahrukh Khan, with a single minded determination then proceeds to drink himself to death, drowning his sorrows in alcohol - ever tormented by suffering pain and guilt, the loss of his one true love. Life's one chance of happiness, lost.
As most of you may know, alcoholics are anything but heroic; they are selfish cruel children, hurting any and all who love them. SRK has said that his character is spineless, with a mean streak. Only within the realm of Shahrukh's unique imagination and superior creative talents, does Devdas' stumbling, surrounded by beauty and love, down into degradation and narcissistic death become art.
The two women mega-stars in this film are so famous in India that they don't even bother to print their names on the DVD. Aishwarya Rai (Ash), a former Miss World, has an exotic, delicate kind of doe-eyed gazelle beauty that becomes more mysterious the more you look at her. She plays the childhood sweetheart who is forced into a loveless marriage for money and social status.
However in my opinion, it is the courtesan Chandramukti, played by Madhuri Dixit, who steals the show. Hopelessly and unconditionally in love with the wounded Devdas, Chandramukti's dancing is the perfection of ritualized desire and eroticism. A more classical beauty, Madhuri Dixit is a highly accomplished dancer. Her magical performances of an improvised form of Bharata Natyam are mesmerizing, enticing, and out of this world dazzling.
Classical Indian dance follows a strict form, but - like a raga - that form is meant to be improvised within and has absorbed many influences. There are many, many forms of Bharata Natyam and you will notice some modern stylistic elements in the 'Devdas' choreography - and the music.
Bharata Natyam is a form of yoga and the dancer must be more than skilled at the gestures and postures, which are the realization of intense feelings. The dance is intended to not only make the dancer 'One' with the higher frequencies, but also to draw the audience up into those realms.
India has always understood that creation is the manifestation of desire. Desire lies at the Heart of all things. Desire, passion, feelings of love, loss and separation drive each and every one of us. It is our capacity to FEEL that will bring us Home. The film `Devdas' is a reverie of both human and divine emotion, feeling, and desire. Indulge.
V.Susan Ferguson
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite Bollywood films, June 19, 2005
I must admit that I am a relative newscomer to the great realm of Bollywood, and so I shall refrain from commenting on such intricacies as the dance forms, the faithfulness to the original novel, etc...
What I can comment on, however, is the marvellous nature of this film. Sharukh Khan is excellent as Devdas, with his usual quivering bottom lip and shaking of the head schtick in full force here. He depicts the decline of this character (an anti-hero, with every meaning of the word) in a very dramatic yet believable fashion. Aishwarya Rai is, of course, absolutely gorgeous as the main love interest. The real star, however, is most certainly Madhuri, who in her depiction of Chandramukhi steals the show with little effort from the rest of the cast. Truly winning in her depiction of the courtesan who is blindingly devoted to Devdas (in spite of his, quite frankly, pathetic character) she is heartbreaking, and when she dances with Ms. Rai in the "Redola" dance (I hope I spelt that correctly) she is simply fantastic.
Perhaps not the most typical Bollywood movie out there, and a strange introduction to Bollywood I suppose, but an excellent one nonetheless. Highly recommended.
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