Shah Rukh Khan Reveals ‘Devdas’ Rights Acquisition at Locarno Event

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan announced that his production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, has acquired the rights to the 2002 film “Devdas,” directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Khan, who starred in the film, shared the news at the Locarno Film Festival, where he was honored with a career achievement award. In addition to accepting the accolade, Khan delivered a masterclass and made the announcement during a special screening of “Devdas.”

The 2002 adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1917 novel is among many film versions of the tragic tale. Reflecting on this history, Khan noted, “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. His family, however, rejects the match because of class differences, leading a heartbroken Devdas into alcoholism and the company of a courtesan named Chandramukhi. The narrative explores themes of societal expectations, unfulfilled love, and self-destruction.

Among the various adaptations of the novel, the 1955 version directed by Bimal Roy and starring Dilip Kumar stands out. Khan fondly remembered this 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.”

Bhansali’s decision to remake “Devdas” in 2002 was initially met with skepticism. Khan recalled, “When Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted to make this film, I think everybody in the country felt it’s a bit dated. It was a more liberalized India, and people were looking more at popcorn entertainment, more college musical kind of films.”

Khan discussed the challenges of the opulent production design and costumes in Bhansali’s version. “I had never done a film with such intricate Indian garb,” he said, describing the difficulties with 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 it after some times when I couldn’t tie it because it kept falling off in between the shots,” Khan shared, adding that he eventually resorted to using a zipper to keep his dhoti in place. “I was always so worried that it’ll fall off while I’m doing the scene.”

Khan credited Bhansali’s vision and the performances of co-stars Aishwarya Rai as Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi for the film’s success. He also praised Jackie Shroff, who played Chunilal, and highlighted the film’s technical achievements. “At one point during production, there were no other generators left in the whole city of Mumbai due to the lighting requirements,” he noted.

“Devdas” received international recognition, screening at Cannes and earning a BAFTA nomination. Khan referred to it as “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.”

Khan expressed gratitude for the continued interest in the film, more than two decades after its release. “The choice of Locarno, I think it’s one of the nicest events in my career, one of my favorite films of my own,” Khan said.

Source: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter