Devdas is a tragedy of Indian cinema. A great black and white retro movie again. Revisited a few years after "Devdas" Bhansali, already cooling to Shah and his films, sober look, but the game and interpretation of the "material" would like to compare.
If Bhansali expressed everything through entertainment, beauty, all the best at the time and grandiose: actors, scenery, performances of dances, everything should amaze and delight, be epic. In the old film I saw more realism, history and tragedy of real people. The plot is well-known, filmed unpretentiously, I just stared at the half of the film. Child and youth love Paro and Virgo after arrival quickly broke out. I had no time to feel her love and suffering when she was refused. In the modern version, all this is shown in more detail and more playful than that, even Aishwarya is still unrealistically beautiful - it seemed unthinkable not to take such a wife and daughter-in-law even as a dowry. Then a spectacular turn-a-turn, as her mother told her - here we'll rub your nose, more impressed me, in this film, simple, but very realistic and natural. And Chandramukhi performed by Vijayantimala was no less beautiful and touching than Chandramukhi - Madhuri. Her eyes, her sufferings, her true love for the Maiden, broke her heart and soul. Brilliantly simple. I was permeated by the unrequited love of the courtesan Chandramukhi. The first time a tear broke in the scenes with her, humbly accepting his indifference and love for another, she is as unworthy a fallen woman as she can dream of love... although he has already fallen even lower than her. How much she did for him, without thinking about herself, without any pride, she saved and gave the last. She melted my heart.
In general, in the modern version, I liked the game Shah, especially the scenes where he was drunk, I saw all his stamps, not the character, it was loud and ostentatiously painful. "Drunk"DevDelip of course more in itself, and the film is so realistic that it is impossible to play another. Who knows, maybe in a more mundane production from another director, Shah would also play a completely different Devdas. On the other hand, I’m not sure if Bhansali would fit Dilip Kumar or another actor of this scale with a restrained naturalistic play.
"Devdas" Dilip Kumar, of course more tragic, liked more than "Heartless". With Bhansalie is not worth comparing, they are very different. In general, I really liked this time Devdas performed by Dilip Kumar. Wept over him no less than over Shakhovsky "Devdas".
One of the most important films from Indian cinema, the story is perfectly adapted and collected by Bimal Roy and his experienced studio. It doesn’t have the color, volume or audio/visual technical flair of the 2002 version, but more importantly for me, it has better framing, acting, music and, above all, atmosphere.
Today’s highly paid film critics in all media would probably ignore 1955’s Devdas and other similar music films as populist and therefore unworthy of their high profile. Well, it's their loss! What we have is a beautifully crafted film, complemented by S. D. Bierman’s sparkling music, perfectly woven into the plot. Not that it mattered when I first saw this version of "Devdasa" (after Shahov's performance), I thought that Vijayantimala, as a courtesan , bore an uncanny resemblance to Kate Winslet! The best screen moments of Dilip Kumar are simply off the scale, here he has a whole range of emotions, depicting his character as real, tragic and completely believable. Yes, there is no other way to expect from such a lump and a real master of Indian cinema. That’s what it means to review a film after a while, it’s like re-reading a book that you didn’t like, but after a while, after many events that have happened in your life and in the world, you begin to evaluate this work differently, and you begin to understand the author of the book, as well as the author of the film. And then you evaluate everything you see (or read) from a completely different angle and with dignity.
This is also a world classic a. Watching this epic of upset and then forbidden love and one man's inner turmoil, caused first by social customs and then alcohol, is a true delight, ultimately rewarding to the viewer, but beware - the long journey is poetic, relentless and devastating. A very strong dramatic film, with a very strong story and amazing acting of real stars of previous years. I think even those who are not a fan of the actors who played in it or the story itself, or those who do not really respect black and white cinema (although you do not notice it absolutely, completely absorbed in the plot and feelings for the main characters of the film). Because everything is very vital, strong and real. And it's impossible to break away. This film was nominated for the film award "Crystal Globe" at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). And I think it is well deserved. Dilip Kumar received for this role the award Filmfare Awards, for Best Actor, and Vijaantimala - for Best Supporting Actress. And as I read, she refused the award. This was the first and only case in the history of Indian cinema. The actress believed that her character is not secondary and has the same importance as the heroine of Suchitra Saint (Paro), and in principle I agree with her (if not so strictly follow the author's plan).
10 out of 10