Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan revealed that his production company Red Chillies Entertainment has acquired the rights to Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s 2002 film “Devdas.” Khan starred in the 2002 film, which appeared at the Cannes Film Festival.
Khan was at the Locarno Film Festival to accept a career achievement award and deliver a masterclass. He made the announcement during a special screening of the film. “We as a production company bought the rights of this film back, and I’m very, very proud that it belongs to our company now,” Khan told the audience before the screening
The 2002 adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 novel is just one in a long line of film versions of the tragic tale. Khan acknowledged this rich history, noting, “By the time I got to see the film, I think they’d made 18 films based on the same novel, or 20, and lots of other plays and songs.”
The story follows Devdas Mukherjee, a wealthy law graduate who returns from London to marry his childhood sweetheart, Paro. However, his family rejects the match due to class differences. Heartbroken, Devdas descends into alcoholism and finds solace with a courtesan named Chandramukhi. The tale unfolds as a tragic love triangle, exploring themes of societal expectations, unfulfilled love, and self-destruction.
Among the numerous adaptations, the 1955 version directed by Bimal Roy and starring Dilip Kumar stands out as particularly influential. Khan referenced this earlier classic, saying, “I saw it with my parents because they were big fans of Mr. Dilip Kumar, and the one who was supposed to be the most marvelous of them all.”
Given this context, Bhansali’s decision to remake Devdas in 2002 was met with some skepticism. “By the time, I think Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director, wanted to make this film, I think everybody in the country felt it’s a bit dated,” Khan recalled. “It was a more liberalized India, and people were looking more at popcorn entertainment, more college musical kind of films.”
The actor spoke about the Bhansali-directed film’s opulent production design and costume choices, which presented their technical challenges. “I had never done a film with such an intricate Indian garb,” Khan said, describing difficulties with the period-accurate clothing. “Very difficult to walk, to keep from falling many times. You had to tie it along, and you need a specialist to tie after some times when I couldn’t tie it because it kept falling off in between the shots,” Khan said, referring to the sarong-like dhoti he had to wear around his waist. “So, I got a zipper, which is blasphemous, but… I was always so worried that it’ll fall off while I’m doing the scene,” Khan said.
Khan credits Bhansali’s vision and the performances of co-stars Aishwarya Rai as Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi for the film’s ultimate success, also praising his co-star Jackie Shroff who plays Chunilal. He also highlighted the film’s technical achievements, noting that at one point during production, “there were no other generators left in the whole city of Mumbai” due to the lighting requirements.
“Devdas” went on to receive international recognition, screening at Cannes, getting a BAFTA nomination and becoming what Khan called “a modern-day masterpiece” that exemplifies the grandeur of Indian cinema.
“It actually does define a lot of Indian cinema [through] its opulence and its beauty, and its larger than life-ness, its theatrics.” Khan said. “So, it is a very dialogue-oriented, very dramatic musical film that you will see. And there’s some outstanding dance center pieces, I think, some of the best that I’ve ever been shot in the world.”
The actor expressed gratitude for the continued interest in the film, more than two decades after its initial release. “The choice of Locarno, I think it’s one of the nicest films they’ve taken in my career, one of my favorite films of my own,” Khan said.
