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1. Devdas
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Who can forget Director Bimal Roy’s emotional flick ‘Devdas’, a vivid picture of flaws and emotions in human characters? Released in 1955, rich in imagery and desperation, this cinematic jewel is known for Dilip Kumar’s understated performance as the drunken protagonist blinking hopelessly and painfully love-struck, and some brilliant and poised acting performances by its heroines, Vyjayanthimala Bali and Suchitra Sen.
Devdas (Dilip Kumar) and Paro (Suchitra Sen) are childhood friends who share a love-hate relationship. Each is highly egoistic. These childhood friends grow up to be ardent lovers who are calculated to marry. But Devdas’ father turns down the proposal. Paro gets married to another and Devdas flees to Kolkata falling into bad company and taking to drinking. His friend Chunibabu takes him to the kotha [brothel] where he meets Chandramukhi (Vyjayanthimala). Chandramukhi is touched by the fact that he gives money without wanting anything in return. She falls in love with him. Chandramukhi leaves her profession and changes her life. Though Devdas acknowledges Chandramukhi’s place in his life, he cannot offer her any more. He embarks on a train journey around India in a despairing bid to escape from his demons, from his own self.
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Dilip already was an established tragedy king when ‘Devdas’ was released, but Vyjayanthimala was still struggling to strengthen her foothold in the industry. It was Bengali cinema’s foremost female star Suchitra Sen’s first Hindi film. The film proved to be a milestone for all the stars. It won Dilip Kumar the Best Actor trophy and a Best Supporting Actress award for Vyjayanthimala. Suchitra Sen got wide acclaim for her performance. Composer S D Burman and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi gave excellent and still remembered musical notes for the film. The simple, austere, penetrating, candid and passionately electrifying depiction of subtle human values and sentiments is the hallmark of Bimal Roy’s DEVDAS.
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DEVDAS is based on a Bengali novel and has been remade many times, the most recent being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s flamboyant remake starring Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. However, this black and white, old cinematic rendition of Chatterjee’s novel is definitely head and shoulders above Bhansali’s colourful and extravagant flick.
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Dilip Kumar’s demeanor in this heartrending movie is all praise and awe. He was no Dilip Kumar in the film but exact imitation of the role. He outperformed in perfectly getting under the skin of a prodigal Devdas in the first hour of the movie and a profligate Devdas in the last hour. Besides, the very real to life and original performance of Dilip, Suchitra Sen’s weighted speech quality and simple dialog delivery adds resonance to an already touching storyline that goes to the heart of every viewer.
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The direction of Bimal Roy is superbly excellent and all the more imaginative and original. Roy’s ‘Devdas’ should undoubtedly be regarded as an intellectually perfect cinematic sequence in the history of Indian filmmaking.