"DEVDAS" How did you like this movie?

[Saira]

At last the wait is over, and Devdas is released. Did you like this movie? If yes, then what is the best part of it? Whose performance was best? Who looked prettier Ash or Madhuri?

[vivek of themavericks.. remember!!]

I liked Madhuri with beard and Aishwarya rai with the bottle i the hand..... ooops ... was i drunk or shah rukh... oh my god.. anyway..its worth drinking then watching it its tooooo heavy i heard..

[Kulcha Hyderabadi]

Saira ji, I\'m posting this from the end of a mile long queue! I will update once I get to the ticket window, update you once again after watching the movie.. .Cant say how long you will have to wait! - Until then enjoy an excerpt from TOI on release of Devdas......Bollywood\'s most lavish film Devdas is here
SUBHASH K JHA
IANS [ FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2002 5:36:05 PM ]

MUMBAI: At a lavishly attended premiere here on Thursday night, disgraced financier and producer Bharat Shah beamed with relief as distinguished guests from every walk of life congratulated him for Devdas.

Nearby, the film\'s director Sanjay Leela Bhansali stood pensively. \"I\'m relieving all the trauma I\'ve gone through to make this film. And you know what, I\'d do it all over again just to see the audiences\' glowing faces.\"

Bhansali is no longer nervous or anxious. \"It all vanished when the advance booking counters opened all over India Monday. I can\'t tell you how reassuring it was to discover so many people are so eager to see the film.\"

According to Mumbai exhibitors, advance-booking queues for Bhansali\'s Rs 500 million Devdas are unprecedented. Tickets for the whole week were sold out within a few hours at Mumbai\'s Maratha Mandir cinema hall.

Says Bhansali: \"I\'m told such crowds were last seen for K Asif\'s Mughal-e-Azam. When people tell me such things I don\'t feel flattered, only grateful that three years of my single-minded penance is going to pay off.\"

But it was a long way from payoff for the film that was first screened at Cannes and made Time\'s critic Richard Corliss describe it as \"possibly... the visually most ravishing film ever\".

According to Bharat Shah, who had been given a two-day reprieve to promote Devdas before standing trial for his alleged links with the underworld, says the film will have to have an uninterrupted run of at least six weeks before its makers can begin to hope for a profit.

Are the audiences going to return for repeat viewings of this epic tale of star-crossed love?

Director Ram Gopal Varma says he\'s eager to see the way Bhansali has treated the romance between Devdas (Shah Rukh Khan) and Paro (Aishwarya Rai). \"All those elaborate song sequences and the traditional courting game look interesting.\"

Actor Akshay Kumar, who\'s just had a hit Awaara Paagal Deewana, says: \"If you see the advance booking queues for Devdas, you\'ll find a lot of women there. They\'ve come to watch Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya together in the same frame.

\"They want to check out their clothes, jewellery, hairstyles... After the initial curiosity about the film\'s \'look\' dies, it would be time to judge it for its more integral merits. The film\'s short-term success is ensured. The long-term success depends on how audiences take to the basic plot.\"

Bhansali says: \"I really don\'t think about short- and long- term success of Devdas. For me the film\'s success depends on how people respond to my central character. Yes, it\'s a very tragic tale. And it requires unwavering attention from viewers.

\"But why should I believe our audiences aren\'t mature enough to understand the true meaning of love... I was warned audiences would be put off by the lyricism of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. I didn\'t listen to the naysayers then, so why should I listen to them now?

\"I\'m not the least nervous about Devdas. Now I just want to take a long break before I plan my next film which would certainly be a much smaller project and hopefully not a period epic.\"

[star12321]

I haven\\\'t seen the movie yet. The rediff.com review wasn\\\'t too good. I have tickets for the monday night show and I\\\'m waiting to hear what Chronicle and Times of India have to say in their Sunday reviews!!

[sri]

this is a tragic movie but still the tragedy doesnot hurt your soul this is a pleasing tragedy everybody should experience

[innoc_dev]

havent seen the movie yet, but very happy to see the bo reports of the film, if i am not wrong the movie collected approx 18 crores(in indian rs) in US and Uk alone in 4 days of its relaease....but some how the cross over is missing in europe, i mean i feel its only the indians, who watch these films in other countries and not Non-asians seeing these movies...i hope very soon in the future, Indian films too start roping in foreign actors etc....and have the real foreign market....

[sri]

in this hour of this discussion can anybody compare this movie with the old movies based on the same novel? has anybody in the whole hyderabad city seen those earlier movies? a comparison please

[anand]

devdas is good and as i have seen dilip kumar and saigals\'s version, except for the meeting of paro and chandramukhi, the story has been kept same.the picture is made on large scale, colors sepecially red has been used very erotically and exotically. the music,dances and performances are god but....

the sadness is missing in a tragic movie. you do not feel for the charcters. u do not feel crying when devdas is dying or paro is getting married or chandramukhi is left high and dry..