In a Nutshell...
This movie is the most expensive Hindi film ever made and it’s immediately evident where all the money went: it’s vibrant and colorful and beautiful. The actors are lavishly dressed and gorgeous props, the sets are opulent and spectacular. However, here’s the downside: the movie has no soul.
Story:
Devdas and Paro were childhood friends (in Hindi-film speak that means meant-to-be lovers, in case you’re new to the genre) and when they were quite young Devdas was sent to school in London.
Several years later he comes back to find that Paro has grown up and their love can come to fruition - but there’s a problem (isn’t there always?): his parents object to the match on the basis of comparative stature and money. Devdas is a weak and thoughtless character who runs from this problem - unfortunately leaving the love of his life behind.
By the time he gets his act together it’s too late and Paro is on the verge of marriage to someone with a greater position than that of his family. Her stubbornness and arrogance and anger that he had left her in the first place keep her from forgiving him and she refuses to elope.
Devdas drowns his sorrows in a brothel where Chandramukhi works and where she falls in love with him. Because of his disdain of her profession, Chandramukhi leaves it and dedicates her life to taking care of him. He is touched by her humility and selflessness and eventually falls in love with her.
Technicals:
The script was unbelievably melodramatic and overdone. One thing that is interesting is that the women in Devdas’ life are strong with great powerful lines, the man himself is weak and ineffective. It just never seems real... you never really get into the lives of the characters as they always seem unreal, larger-than-life and soulless.
The visuals are superb and more than make up for the lack of realism in the film. Just ignore the voice in your head that scoffs at the lack of believability of the movie and drink in the beauty on the screen - if you want real, watch the original.
The direction is very loose. The movie is corpulent with drama and excess and the director never tries to reign it in. There were many scenes that didn’t really make any sense - they didn’t fit. One example is the scenes where Devdas tells Chandramukhi he loves her - where did that come from - we certainly didn’t see that one coming (unless you’ve seen the original). And another is the Paro-Chandramukhi confrontation - that scene was a little bit mismanaged.
Acting:
Overall I didn’t care for the acting. In the spirit of the script and the movie - it was overdramatic and altogether unrealistic. It’s impossible to feel for the characters or get into their story when they’re completely unbelievable. It’s a fairy tale and the characters are as wooden and as far away from real human beings as fairies.
Shah Rukh Khan (Devdas): Maybe I shouldn’t have seen the first Devdas but it seemed to me that Shah Rukh didn’t act so much as attempt to mimic Dilip Kumar’s Devdas act. This is a personal view but I think that Shah Rukh - who was so refreshing and incredible in his previous movies - has turned into a caricature of himself in his latest movies and this one is no exception. Maybe he’s played the lover so many times that it’s just become routine but he failed to breath life into this role.
Aishwarya Rai (Parvati/Paro): I thought Aishwarya was actually pretty good as the woman scorned and there’s no doubt that she is beautiful enough to play Paro who’s gorgeous and who knows she’s gorgeous. However, there are many scenes where she seems to be going through the motions: smiling when she has to and crying when she has to, but nothing more.
Madhuri Dixit (Chandramukhi): Madhuri is just not the actress that Vyajanthimala (Chandramukhi in the original Devdas) was. There is a clear distinction between the lines Madhuri speaks and her behavior or andaaz - Madhuri isn’t playing Chandramukhi, she’s playing someone entirely different with the lines of Chandramukhi. You don’t feel the pain of Chandramukhi’s unrequited love because Madhuri doesn’t seem to and you don’t see Chandramukhi’s sweet and selfless humility because Madhuri doesn’t portray it.
I didn’t see any on-screen chemistry between Madhuri and Shah Rukh and that really holds the audience back from believing their professed love.
Songs & Dances:
The songs were average to above-average in my opinion though people certainly have different taste in songs. The choreography was pretty good except I didn’t like the choreography of the Dola Re Dola song - I thought the moves Aishwarya and Madhuri were doing were a little strange and unnatural... maybe that’s just me but I thought they looked silly. The costumes were breathtaking - they certainly spared no expense.
In the end...
If you’re like my mom and you don’t care to have to think very hard or really believe in the characters of a movie - you will adore this movie. But if you’re like me and you want to understand the motivations and the feelings of the character - if you want to be moved and melodrama doesn’t cut it for you - this movie just isn’t for you.
It won’t move you - but it’s very pretty time-pass.