Bimal Roy directs one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life in a very brilliant and poignant way. There are no elaborate sets as in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas but Roy's Devdas has in it the pain that would melt one's heart. The acting by the main characters
and not so main characters is brilliant and heavily analyzed. Dilip Kumar is not called the 'tragedy king' for no good reason. He underwent psychological assistance after playing Devdas. Suchitra Sen brings the perfect essence into Paro with her weighted words and Vyajantimala is perfectly cast as Chandramuki. Every actor/actress has the potential to bring you to tears.
I have watched Devdas 2002 and it compares in no way to this movie. I agree this movie is not in colour and is not elaborate but I think that it what makes it realistic. Roy makes you believe that what you are watching is a village and not a palace (as Bhansali depicted in his version). Calcutta is shown as it should be and Chandramukhi's kotha or clothes are not that elaborate either. (We must remember that she is no queen like Madhuri Dixit in Bhansali's version). I have also seen Oriya villages (that are very similar to Bengali ones) because I originally come from one and I can say that Roy makes the village perfect. No Zamindar in a village had sparkling houses (as in the new Devdas).
Apart from the realism in location, Roy's Devdas thrives in making the characters real. Sorry to say, Shahrukh was Shahrukh and not Devdas in the new movie whereas Dilip Kuman epitomises the real Devdas as he brings the character to life. There is no melodrama as in the new one and the actors succeed totally into delivering dialogues with deep meaning and weight. Everything is irreplaceable.
The music is brilliant. Every song seems to haunt you. The lyrics are deep and probing and perfectly suited to the story. Everything in this movie is perfect.
I can go on forever because there is so much I can say. Nothing can explain the depth in this movie; be it the dense story or the excellently portrayed and perfectly realistic emotions expressed by the actors. I get pulled into the movie whenever I see it and I always end up crying. This is one of the rarest and absolutely perfect movies I have seen. Bhansali's Devdas is in no way comparable to this movie except for the fact that it can boast stunning colour and lavish and glamorous sets. But personally, that does not appeal to me. That is not realism; it is a dream world which we should not aspire to achieve. Aesthetic elements do not make a movie great if the actors haven't acted well and the story loses realism. I would choose Roy's Devdas anytime and give it 10/10. Nothing can surpass the talent and understanding of the material by the director in Roy's Devdas. Allow me to quote what Elvis Mitchell of THE NEW YORK TIMES said for The Two Towers (obviously that film also deserved this praise)- 'Never has a film so strongly been a product of a director's respect for its source
Creating a rare perfect mating between filmmaker and material.'. This also applies perfectly for Roy's Devdas. We will never be fortunate to see a movie like it if Bollywood continues to be clichéd and not adventurous.
I RECOMMEND EVERY MOVIE LOVER TO WATCH THIS MOVIE!
