Written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1917, the Bengali romance novel Devdas revolves around the tragic love triangle between its titular character Devdas, a young man from a wealthy Bengali family, his childhood love Paro, a young woman from a middle-class Bengali family, and a courtesan named Chandramukhi.
There have been many cinematic adapations of Devdas in languages across India. One of the most popular among them is the 1955 film Devdas directed by Bimal Roy. Dilip Kumar, who was Roy's first choice for the titular character, played the lead role. The legendary filmmaker wanted Meena Kumari as Paro and Nargis as Chandramukhi, but both of them refused the film.
Meena Kumari's husband Kamal Amrohi, another popular director, laid down certain conditions for Bimal Roy, which the latter didn't agree to. And Nargis wanted to play Paro and hence, she refused the film. For Paro, Suchitra Sen came on board as she was a popular name in Bengali cinema and Devdas would have been her perfect launch vehicle in Bollywood. But Bimal's next two choices for Chandramukhi - Bina Rai and Suraiya - also refused him as they too wanted to play Paro's character.
Finally, Vyjayanthimala agreed to play Chandramukhi. With three superstars Dilip Kumar, Suchitra Sen, and Vyjayanthimala as the three leads, Devdas was a moderate success at box office, but later developed a cult status and is often counted among the finest Bollywood films.
Dilip Kumar as Devdas and Vyjayanthimala as Chandramukhi in Devdas
At the 4th Filmfare Awards in 1957, Dilip Kumar won the Best Actor award, Motilal won the Best Supporting Actor award, and Vyjayanthimala was announced as the Best Supporting Actress, but she refused to accept the award, as she believed her role was equivalent to Suchitra's and should have been considered among the leading actresses.
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