Devdas (2002 Hindi film)
Devdas is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language epic romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced by Bharat Shah under his banner, Mega Bollywood. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Madhuri Dixit, with Kirron Kher, Smita Jaykar, and Vijayendra Ghatge in supporting roles. Based on the 1917 novel of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the film narrates the story of Devdas Mukherjee (Khan), a wealthy law graduate who returns from London to marry his childhood friend, Parvati “Paro” (Rai). However, the rejection of their marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcoholism, ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration and him seeking refuge with the golden-hearted courtesan Chandramukhi (Dixit).
Bhansali was inspired to remake the novel into a film after reading it for a second time, and announced the project in November 1999. The screenplay was written by him and Prakash Ranjit Kapadia, who also wrote the dialogue. Nitin Chandrakant Desai built the sets between August 2000 and May 2001 and spent ₹200 million (US$2.7 million). Along with Bhansali and other crews, he did extensive research on Calcuttan building design from the period of the British Raj. Principal photography was handled by Binod Pradhan from November 2000 to April 2002, taking place in Bikaner, Film City, and Filmistan. While Ismail Darbar and Birju Maharaj composed the soundtrack, Monty Sharma composed the background score.
Devdas premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2002 and was released worldwide on 12 July that year. It was the most expensive Indian film ever made at the time, with a budget of ₹500 million (US$6.6 million). The film got mixed-to-negative reviews when it premiered at Cannes, but was better received when it was theatrically released. The film was a commercial success and emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, earning ₹998.8 million (US$13 million) in both India and overseas. It won several accolades, including five National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards; the latter includes trophies for Best Film, Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actor (Khan), Best Actress (Rai), and Best Supporting Actress (Dixit).
