As soon as one hears the word 'Devdas', a drunken hero hopelessly in love with his childhood friend comes to mind. This hero creates a picture in your mind in the form of either Shah Rukh Khan or Dilip Kumar. In the year 1917, the novel 'Devdas' by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was immortalised in literature. The characters of this novel transcended time and kept incarnating in new forms in every generation. 'Devdas' is the only novel in literature that has been brought to life on screen 8 times so far.
The first film named 'Devdas' was made by director Naresh Mitra in the year 1928. After this, a director named Pramathesh Barua made a film on 'Devdas' in 1935. But in 1955, when Dilip Kumar became Devdas, the character became ingrained in the minds of common people. After this, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, released 'Devdas' in the year 2002, which gave it such a colorful place in Indian cinema that no one has been able to touch it to date.
When such a colourful world of love and the black ocean of sorrow in its characters emerged on the screen, the audience was dazzled. The audience shed tears and clapped for the colour of love on one side and the tale of separation and heartbreak on the other.
Devdas was helmed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and alone Rs 20 crore was spent on the making of the set. The most expensive set was that of Chandramukhi’s kotha which cost around Rs 12 crore. Besides this, Madhuri Dixit’s green lehenga was also one of the most expensive costumes costing Rs 15 lakh. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had a wardrobe of over 600 sarees. The film’s total budget amounted to Rs 50 crore which also put producer Bharat Shah in trouble.
A part of Devdas’ set caught fire and producer Bharat Shah was arrested for alleged dealings with the underworld and had to reportedly spend 15 months in jail. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was told to shut the film as it was ‘jinxed’.
Despite all the hurdles, 'Devdas' was released in the theaters on July 12, 2002. The audience was dazzled after watching the film. The audience was stunned to see Madhuri Dixit's dance in the film and became a fan of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's beauty and acting. Shah Rukh Khan's stardom reached another level when 'Devdas' was released. Made with a budget of Rs 50 crore, this film was a super hit at the box office and was successful in earning Rs 100 crore.
It was after 40 years that a film was made in the history of cinema that was made with a budget of Rs 50 crore. Earlier, director K Asif had spent money like that for the magnum opus 'Mughal-e-Azam' and had completed the film in 13 years.
Madhuri Dixit wore a 30 kg lehenga in the 'Devdas' song 'Kahe Chhed Chhed Mohe'. 600 sarees were purchased for Aishwarya Rai in the film. Not only this, these sarees were also designed in a special style.
Normally, a saree is 6 meters, but Aishwarya's sarees were made of 8-9 meters, so that they would look royal on the silver screen. This film, made in 2 years, also set high bars at the box office in terms of earnings. In 2002, this film became the second highest-grossing film of the year.
This hit film by Shah Rukh Khan was rejected by Salman Khan, Govinda, and other actors, but later won 5 National Awards. 'Devdas' won 5 National Awards: Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Best Playback Singer – Female (Ghoshal), Best Production Design (Desai), Best Costume Design (Lulla, Jani, Khosla, Shariffi) and Best Choreography (Saroj Khan).
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