Devdas
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| Author | Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
| Genre(s) | Novella |
| Publisher | GCS |
| Released | 30 June, 1917 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
Devdas (Bengali: দেবদাস Debdash; Hindi: देवदास; Urdu: دیوداس) (also called Debdas) (1917) is a Bengali novella by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
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[edit] Plot summary
The childhood friendship of Devdas (who is from a wealthy family) and Paro (Parvati) (whose family was not as well off) blossoms into love as they grow up. Devdas' father does not approve of the relationship due to difference in their families' statuses in village and the caste. (Devdas is of the Brahmin caste and Paro of the Merchant caste.)
Devdas realizes he cannot live without Paro and seeks her out, but she has already been married off to an older man with children. Devdas falls into despair and drinks to excess; then he meets a courtesan, Chandramukhi, who falls in love with him and looks after him. During his alcohol-instilled dreams, he frequently dreams of Paro and Chandramukhi. The two women replace each other in his dreams, so it is left unclear, if, in the end, Devdas overcomes his love for Paro and finds some peace by falling in love with Chandramukhi.
[edit] Translations of the novella
- A new English translation was released in 2002 by Penguin India. It was translated from the Bengali into English by Sreejata Guha (who also wrote the introduction).
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novella has been made into a film in multiple Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil *[1]
Notable versions of the novella include:
- Devdas (1928 film), directed by Naresh Mitra, Phani Burma as Devdas, Tarakbala as Parvati or Paro and Niharbala/Miss Parul as Chandramukhi.
- Devdas (1935 film), directed by P.C. Barua, starring himself as Devdas, Jamuna as Parvati or Paro and Chandrabati Devi as Chandramukhi.
- Devdas (1936 film), directed by P.C. Barua, starring K.L. Saigal as Devdas, Jamuna as Parvati or Paro and Rajkumari as Chandramukhi.
- Devdas (1953 Telugu film) (also known as "Devadasu"), directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah, starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Devdas and Savitri as Parvati.
- Devdas (1955 film), directed by Bimal Roy, starring Dilip Kumar as Devdas,Suchitra Sen as Paro, and Vyjayantimala as Chandramukhi.
- Devdas (1979 film) (also known as "Debdas"), directed by Dilip Roy, Soumitra Chatterjee as Devdas, Sumitra Mukherjee as Parvati or Paro and Supriya Choudhury as Chandramukhi.
- Devdas (2002 Bengali film), directed by Shakti Samanta, starring Prasenjit Chatterjee as Devdas, Arpita Pal as Parvati or Paro and Indrani Halder as Chandramukhi.
- Devdas (2002 film), Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, starring Shahrukh Khan as Devdas, Aishwarya Rai as Parvati or Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi.
[edit] References
- Guha, Sreejata. "Introduction." In Devdas by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2002.
