Rediff.com

Ash shines at Cannes

As Devdas wins rousing applause

Kryztoff de Breza in Cannes

Devdas was a clear winner at Cannes on Thursday evening, the world premiere of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's opus.

At Cannes' Grand Theatre Lumiere, the main venue of the Cannes Film Festival, Devdas enjoyed a special out-of-competition screening. This is where all important screenings take place. The film is scheduled for an end of June release in India.

In a yellow sari accessorised by traditional jewellery, Rai arrived at the theatre on a four-horse carriage with her costar Shah Rukh Khan sporting a black tuxedo and a bowtie. Khan plays the title role of Devdas and Rai plays Paro, his only love, in the intense film about unrequited love.

Applause greeted the stars and Bhansali, dapper in a sherwani. The cast were honoured on the famous Monte des Marche (climbing the red carpetted stairs).

Nonetheless, it was Rai who the huge crowds just couldn't get enough of. She obliged the cheering and whistling people with broad smiles, waves and air kisses.

It was the French public that surprised. Unused to melodrama, the 600-plus audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching all three hours of the film, thus busting the popular thought that the Western audience has no patience to sit through the typically long Hindi feature film.

A young Frenchman said, "This is a fantastic movie." Several others loved the music and expressed deep interest in knowing where to buy audio CDs of the film.

For all the popularity Devdas enjoyed with the Western crowd, the Indians disappointed. A Indian film professional thought the film was monotonous and repetitive. He later conceded the audience vote mattered more than his.

It was clear from the standing ovation at the end of the film what the audience vote was.

Devdas enthralls Cannes audience
Devdas, the biggest film in Indian film history premiered in Cannes and the response was mind-blowing according to Shah Rukh Khan who spoke to b4utv.com immediately after the screening. Devdas with its grand setting and rich tapestry of emotions, romance, and traditional Indian elements of song-music and dance, has rocked the most prestigious film festival.

Talking to b4utv.com just after the premiere, Shah Rukh who plays the title role in the film, exclaimed, “Devdas received a phenomenal welcome. I am thrilled by the overwhelming response.” And he has every reason to be excited. He had been waiting with bated breath for the past two days in the festive city to attend this mother of all film festivals.

Earlier, Shah Rukh belied the reports of a severe back problem and stunned the media with his prompt appearance for this Cannes extravaganza. “If you thought I would 'back out' on such a wonderful experience, eat your words because here I am," Shah Rukh had beamed over the phone, talking to b4utv.com on Tuesday from Cannes. The media had been abuzz with news that Shah Rukh was down with his back problem and won't be attending the Cannes premiere of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus, Devdas. But nothing could keep the irrepressible Shah Rukh down. He reached Cannes and took his rightful place along side Aishwarya Rai and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali sharing the limelight and the red carpet, proud of his biggest film ever.

This 50 crore film is touted to be the most expensive film ever made in the history of Indian cinema. Earlier he had commented, "We are showing the film on the night of 23rd May. I am thrilled to be a part of this international event as a participant. The buzz around Devdas over here is very positive. We are all waiting for the D-Day with bated breath!" Shah Rukh had said. This is the first time that an Indian film has been invited for premiere at the Cannes Film Festival where the best in the world of cinema is showcased every year. Given the grand scale in which the film basd on Sharat Chandra's novel Devdas has been made and the critical attention it is recieving, Khan is hopeful that Devdas will be liked by the critics and the masses equally.

Song, dance, tears, timeless love: Bollywood comes to Cannes
Thu May 23,10:39 PM ET
By ANGELA DOLAND, Associated Press Writer
CANNES, France - It's set in marble palaces and moonlit gardens. Its heroines wear shimmering saris and jeweled bangles. And its star-crossed lovers break into song-and-dance numbers.

Lavish and entertaining, "Devdas" might be typical Bollywood, but it's certainly not typical in Cannes, where the cinematic fare is usually dark and serious, not over-the-top and mainstream.

This year, the Riviera festival has embraced Bollywood — Bombay's huge, prolific movie industry — more proof that Indian movies are winning over fans outside the Indian community.

Playing out of competition, "Devdas" tells the story of childhood sweethearts who are separated by a family feud. It's two hours and 45 minutes long, but time flies. The traditional dance numbers are sexy, and the sets — huge, airy palaces, outdoor markets and lamp-lit bridges — are mesmerizing.

"Devdas" is the first Hindi commercial film ever selected to appear at Cannes. The festival is also paying tribute to the "prince of Bollywood," the late Raj Kapoor, by screening his classics.

In the past, only art house films such as "Salaam Bombay," which focused on the lives of street children, have been shown at Cannes.

But the time of the Bollywood musical has arrived. "Lagaan," about poor Indian villagers challenging social injustice, was a nominee in the foreign film category at this year's Academy Awards (news - web sites).

Even Western films have picked up Bollywood influences. Director Baz Luhrmann is a Bollywood fan, and when "Moulin Rouge" opened at Cannes last year, the trademark melange of melodrama and song-and-dance was apparent. In one scene, the dancers even don bindis.

Anybody who likes to escape through movies should enjoy "Devdas," the film's director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali said.

For people unfamiliar with the genre, "there's a new body language, there's a new sound, there's a new way of telling the story," he told reporters. "Our films... are about fantasy."

"Devdas" is based on a 1917 Indian novel that has inspired seven films in four Indian languages and a 1928 silent version. The book and existing movies are so popular in India that revisiting the story is "kind of like trying to remake 'The Sound of Music,'" says Shahrukh Khan, who plays the hero, Devdas.

In "Devdas," everything is an excuse to break into a dance. The heroine, played by a former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai, starts swatting at a bee; pretty soon she's twirling around with her veil. When Devdas tries to slide a bangle onto her wrist, they start an elaborate, flirtatious dance.

Devdas is a feast for the eyes. Created entirely in a studio, the sets have an unreal, entrancing feel. The interiors are filled with gauzy, jewel-toned veils, marble floors and soft throw cushions. Outside, the streams glow in the moonlight, and the marketplaces are a swirl of saris.

As the movie opens, Devdas comes home from school in London. His doting mother is about to faint from joy at the thought of seeing him, but impetuous Devdas runs off to see his childhood sweetheart, Paro, who's never forgotten him.

Devdas, too, has missed her — he thought of her "whenever he breathed."

Soon, his parents intervene and prevent them from marrying. Paro is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, and Devdas starts to drink — and to visit a beautiful courtesan, played by Indian star Madhuri Dixit, who falls in love with him.

There is no happy ending in this love triangle. But Devdas proves his undying love to his childhood sweetheart. Needless to say, along the way many songs are sung, and many tears are shed.

Devdastating
By: Amit Roy
May 24,2002

The all important critical reaction to Devdas, the first Bollywood movie to get an official screening at the Cannes Film Festival, now in its 55th year, will not be known until the reviews come out. The earliest will not be until today morning.

The general consensus among those who watched the film today was that Shah Rukh Khan has turned in a powerful performance as Devdas. Madhuri Dixit is also memorable in her role as Chandramukhi. Had Devdas been a Hollywood movie, some journalists would probably have tipped Shah Rukh for an Oscar, and perhaps Madhuri as well.

Many Bengali sayings and expressions have been included, incidentally, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much awaited Devdas, which had its world premiere in Cannes yesterday. At a news conference after the press screening, Bansali said snatches of Bengali had been included in a Hindi film, based on the 1917 novel of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, "to bring that essence, to bring that flavour, to bring that sound". Such expressions as 'eesh' (oh), 'arey bandhu' (hey, friend), 'baba, aayto raag' (my goodness, your're so angry), 'boka' (you fool), 'kamon aacho' (how are you?), 'khoob mishti' (how sweet), 'aamar shona' (my precious), along with women wearing cream saries with red borders and a liberal supply of 'shondesh' are an attempt to give the film an authentic period and cultural feel. A Durga Puja scene is very Bengali though the accompanying singing and dancing is pure Hindi cinema.


Madhuri or Ash: Who will outshine the other? Vote now!
Bhansali confirmed that with a budget of Rs 50 crore, Devdas was the most expensive film that has ever been made in India. All the sets were created and built by Nitin Desai and the film shot over 275 days, "most of them at night". The budget is certainly reflected in a film that is visually stunning, with the aristocratic life of Bengal brought to life on the Hindi screen with spectacular scenes. Westernisers may find the Bollywood genre mystifying but they are bound to be impressed with the colour and sheer lavishness of Bhansali's film.

Bhansali has reinterpreted the original novel, so that that the adult Devdas returns, not from Kolkata, but from London after an absence of 13 years as a trained lawyer. "I wanted to separate Devdas from Paro," he said. "I wanted to expand the space between the two of them. Their romance would become more interesting of an Oxford returned boy and a girl in the village."

At the press conference, Aishwarya Rai, who plays Paro, had to step in when the director was quizzed about what seemed a politically embarassing line. When Paro's hand in marriage is rejected by Devdas's family, the former's mother shouts vengefully at Devdas's family: "May all your children be daughters!" In today's climate, this struck a jarring note. Bhansali defended the line, pointing out that Paro's mother felt - her own daughter was humiliated. It was necessary that her (Devdas's mother) family exprienced what it is to humilate a daughter." At this point, Shah Rukh stepped in and commented: "The novel is set in the 1940s. That kind of curse was more prevalant at that time." Not everyone might agree with his next observation: "Of course, now everything has changed."

Madhuri Dixit has not been able to make it to Cannes, apparently because of her failure to get a French visa, but Aishwarya, looking very much like a former Miss World, leapt to assist Bhansali. "The curse was not to run down a female child," she argued. "It was to tell them that you should experience humiliation."

Another of Bhansali's changes is that he has managed a meeting between Paro and Chandramukhi, two women in love with the same man. He has allowed his leading ladies some strongly feminist dialogue, thereby justfying his claim that the movie is a 'women's film'.

Will the movie achieve a crossover? There is certainly a lot of interest in Cannes. Yesterday's Screen International published a spectacular still of Aishwarya from the film. This has no doubt been paid for but such exposure has added to the general excitement that Bollywood in general and Devdas in particular has created at Cannes.

Shah Rukh said he did not want Devdas to be compared with the earlier version, which starred Dilip Kumar in the lead role. The new Devdas was a 'tribute' to the classics of Hindi cinema. And as for Dilip Kumar, he was 'the greatest actor of the country'. For him to take on the role of Devdas was 'like walking on thin ice,' Shah Rukh said. The actors were due to attend a gala screening of Devdas later this evening, preceded by a red carpet welcome.

Sweet chastity charms the film set

Stuart Jeffries in Cannes
Friday May 24, 2002
The Guardian

Bollywood came to the Riviera yesterday in the form of the historical epic Devdas and charmed the town, not least because the female lead, Aishwarya Rai, is a former Miss World and the leading man, Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, is easy on the eye too.
The pair arrived at yesterday's premiere for what is believed to be Bollywood's most expensive film in a horse drawn carriage and disported themselves glamorously on the Palais du Festival's red carpet in a manner that banished the memory of Sharon Stone and Cameron Diaz doing the same thing earlier this week.

This is the first time that a commercial Hindi film has been shown in the festival which is in its 55th year, a fact which director Sanjay Lella Bhansali said should send westerners off to discover the rich heritage of Bollywood. "It's taken years for us to reach out beyond our own country and be accepted here. But this won't change the way we make films," he said.

And that includes the chaste depiction of romantic love, a fact which baffled cinephiles expecting more explicit fare. Never before in Cannes has a three hour romantic film been shown without any kissing, still less without the leads getting it on in a meaningful sense. "It's the kind of upbringing we have," said Bhansali.

Set in 1940s Calcutta, the film tells the story of the return of Devdas from London to his home and to his childhood love Parvo.

But circumstances (class snobbery, family rivalry) drive these star-crossed lovers apart and Devdas seeks oblivion in drink and solace with a glamorous, though apparently under employed, prostitute, before the fraught denouement.

This year's Cannes has a big Indian presence. There has been a season of films starring one of the greatest Indian film icons, the late Raj Kapoor. India's pavilion on La Croisette, where many of the festival's film deals are clinched, is more than double last year's size. The world's biggest film producing country is mounting a big push to promote itself globally, both in terms of exporting the work of indigenous film-makers and encouraging international film productions to be made in India.

Anjuly Chib Duggal from the Indian ministry of information and broadcasting said: "We are the biggest film industry in the world and we want higher visibility."

Am waiting for this film now more than ever before..Hope I am able to memorize all da songs by then.....

But guys have you seen the inevitable ? Another pathetic EROS release ! (on DVD)...or will this exposure to worl audiences actually prompt someone (Hollywood studio) to buy da rights of the film and market it as their own film with a good treatment on DVD !!!

Bravo ! Bhanshali and the rest of da Gang....

But did you read a note @ the end of the post :-
...For all the popularity Devdas enjoyed with the Western crowd, the Indians were disappointed. A Indian film professional thought the film was monotonous and repetitive. He later conceded the audience vote mattered more than his.

I hope that this isnt the general opinion with the DESI populace here in da west as this is a period film and I am sure this is gonna have a DEVDASTATING effect @ the BO in India ( and also amongst the non-desi folks in da west !)

...For all the popularity Devdas enjoyed with the Western crowd, the Indians were disappointed. A Indian film professional thought the film was monotonous and repetitive. He later conceded the audience vote mattered more than his.


Further evidence that it is going to a great movie...as usual an Indian will be disappointed.

Yeah as this is not a silly YRF-Karan Johar yucky mushy stuff which most DESIS here in da west seem to adore

BBC article: India banks on worldwide film success

Ali

This film is a masterpiece and anything less than the biggest blockbuster of all time will be a dissapointment

User review on IndiaFM;

http://www.indiafm.com/reviews/02/devda ... ndex.shtml

Ali

here is another viewpoint from rediff.com

http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/may/29dev.htm

You know GUYS!! I wish more than any thing for DEVDAS to succeed!! and Cannot wait till I watch?
But! after reading story line and a few reviews!!I can see cRITICS are going to be VERY HARD on this film, the way it has generated the HYPE!!

EXPECATIONS will be SKY HIGH!! to meet!

Personally, IMHO, story line seems implausable from today's perspective, it was more plausable when novel was written originally!
An educated love smitten man drinks him self to death!!but If can happen in lEAVING LAS VEGAS can happen in DEVDAS!! but! I think i have a point here!!
Secondally! Love triangles with a CORTESAN filling the third angle is also is an ANCIENT theme that has been used zilion time!

Now!! How SLB deals with these 2 odds!! His looks good..24 karat production values, glimmering visuals, excellent..right on the pulse music and Brilliant timeless CHPREOGRAPHY!!
Decorated with Two most beautiful and talented actressess in the industry!!
la Dixit...is timeless talent, for her it becomes a challenge to OUT DO her previous standard and achievments!!

Aish..needs just a GOOD DIRECTOR to present her and melt her ICE!!

SRK!! is very capable..needs luck, big flm, star cast and director name to support him these days!!

So odds are certainly in favour of SLB!! He had learnt the PRESENTATION art to please DESI audience after DEBACLE of his EXCELLENT KHAMOSHI and VERY GOOD(visual treat) HDDCS! IMHO KHAMOSHI was underated and was much more sumstantial and novel film!with some brilliant performances..I think, Nana and Manisha can single handedly buy Bhansali's HDDCS? with every thing along with even Salman Khan's restrained performance!

HDDCS>>on the other hand even being a visual treat was OVERATED IMHO? it was low on substance, implausable on PLOT and story was just nothing to offer different, the same old love triangle but with SLB's panache..BUT STYLE was WINNER!!

But that is my humble 2 cents..but looking forward to DEVDAS ANXIOUSLY!! and hopefully I wont be DISAPPOINTED! :vsneaky: :p