Devdas

Well...the movie is certainly not what I expected from Bhansali. He is capable of capturing more intense scenes than he has in this movie. The visuals and sets in this movie are excellent, and Bhansali has a really good knack of capturing them properly on the reel.

Where this movie goes lose is the lack of emotional highs that the classic story of Devdas demands. Shahrukh has given perhaps the best performance of his life. There is yet a certain element of drama and unrealism in his expressions. Devdas was supposed to have lost a desire to live because of separation with Paro, but we don't see that madness and depression on Shahrukh's face. He looks pretty fresh upto the last scene. Some imaginative make-up could have done the trick. Those who have read the book, will agree that Devdas is a pretty complex character, and is very hard to portray. He is meek, indecisive, careless, and short-tempered. And that's exactly where the movie gets murdered - character portrayal. It badly needed some really intense and emotional scenes showing Shahrukh's madness and insanity for Paro. There is none to be seen. To show the love that Devdas feels for Paro, Bhansali has just shown Shahrukh in tears. Not enough! Then there is a time during the movie, when the central character of the movie - Devdas - disappears from the screen for about half an hour. Unforgivable!

Madhuri is superb, and looks much better than Ash, both in looks and acting. Tiku Talsania is a drag and boring. So is Jackie.

However, the movie is still worth atleast a view. There are still scenes in the movie where you can see Devdas in real pain and guilt. Overall, and enjoyable movie. I pity for our US-born Indian friends. Since you have been out of touch with the Indian culture and have been born and brought up in a totally opposite environment than India, you will have a hard time understanding this movie. Know this that the novel was written in early 1900s, and that was very conservative India, when a Devdas wouldn't just run away with Paro to defy his family. The movie is a very old classic, and you just can't expect to fathom a 1900 classic in 2002. Now, can you?