DEVDAS IN CANNES WITH ALL SONGS INTACT
FROM AMIT ROY
Cannes, May 21:
Sanjay Leela Bhansali said today that the screening of Devdas at the Cannes Film Festival was “a very big moment for Indian commercial cinemaâ€.
To the relief of the festival organisers, who had worried whether the director would arrive in time with the master copy of his film, Bhansali slipped quietly into town last night.
Although he had vowed not to discuss Devdas until after the official screening on Thursday, he relented and spoke with rare passion about the film.
He had been out of touch, he said, because he was doing post production “till the lastâ€.
“I just managed to get it out and just managed to get here,†he told The Telegraph in an exclusive interview.
His initial reaction to Cannes, which he was visiting for the first time, was positive. “I love this place. I love this spirit, I love the warmth. It’s very comfortable and casual, yet your evenings are very formal. It’s nice.â€
He spoke of the agony he had experienced. “I am very proud of this film,†he confided. “It has tested my inner strength so much. I was suffering every day of making this film. The entire unit stood by me. We have gone through hell making this film. So for us it is a moment of great pride. It’s over, it’s ready.â€
Devdas is getting an official screening out of competition at Cannes — the first Bollywood movie to be so honoured.
However, Bhansali did not want the burden of history on his shoulders. “After years of not changing to the last, however much we were not accepted in the West in the big award ceremonies — we were laughed at, looked down upon — we did not change what we believed in, we continued doing our songs and dances. It is a big moment for us because even at Cannes, Devdas is being shown with all its songs. It’s glorious Hindi cinema. They have come down to accept us.â€
He did not want to be compared with Sachin Tendulkar, on whose performance India depended so often for victory. “Poor Tendulkar! I don’t want to be in Tendulkar’s shoes,†he laughed.
He admitted he was apprehensive. “Nervous, yes definitely, because it is going to be screened before the Indian release. The reviews that will go out from here will matter a lot; nervous because it the first time that a Hindi film is being shown. A lot of the future of Hindi cinema being shown at Cannes will depend on how this one is received to a great extent. Nervous because it is a labour of love, being shown after two-and-a-half years of complete anguish. We have made this film against all odds. It is very dear to me.â€
He added: “Our kind of melodrama, our kind of song and dance treatment, our kind of expression of emotions which is slightly high-pitched, has been accepted. It is wonderful they want to see more of it. It is also making Indian filmmakers more aware, a little sharper. We have really improved technically a lot.â€
Asked about the earlier version starring Dilip Kumar, Bhansali said: “Bimal Roy’s a genius. I love Bimal Roy’s work a lot but I feel it would be wrong to compare the two films because this film has been treated completely differently. It is the way Raj Kapoor made his films — it is on a more lavish scale. To compare Dilip Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan would be unfair to both.â€
He talked of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s novel. “I read the novel again and again. But I have made a lot of changes. I have interpreted the novel in my own way.â€
He went on: “What he talks about — love — is timeless. I don’t know how people will react to the film because they identify Devdas with black and white.â€
He praised Shah Rukh Khan’s performance. “It’s so wonderful, so delicate. It’s time he did something different. Shah Rukh has given everything he has to this film.†He confirmed Shah Rukh would be coming to Cannes.
On what Devdas meant to Indians, Bhansali said: “Devdas is such an important part of the Indian man’s psyche. Every Indian man wants to be like Devdas. He wants to love a woman the way Devdas did. He wants to destroy himself in the purity of love. In every street in India, you will find 20 Devdases — identical characters.â€
Had he considered a happy ending? Bhansali looked offended. “Certainly not,†he shot back. “Forget Cannes. I wouldn’t get entry in Dadar.â€
