''Devdas'' is a 1937
Assamese
Assamese may refer to:
* Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India
* People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam
* Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...
film based on the
Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella, ''
Devdas''.
Directed by
Pramathesh Barua
Pramathesh Chandra Barua (24 October 1903 – 29 November 1951) was an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter of Indian films in the pre-independence era, born in Gauripur, Dhubri, Assam.
Early life
Barua was the son of the royal family of ...
, it stars
Phani Sarma as Devdas,
Mohini
Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a ''femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them t ...
as Chandramukhi, and
Zubeida
Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (1911 – 21 September 1988) was an Indian actress. She starred in the first Indian talkie movie ''Alam Ara'' (1931). Her credits include early hits ''Devdas'' (1937), and Sagar Movietone's first talkie, ''Meri Jaan''. ...
as Paro. The songs were
playbacked by
Shamshad Begum and
Bhupen Hazarika.
This was Barua's last of three language versions, the first being in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and the second in
Hindi.
Plot summary
The childhood friendship of Devdas (Phani Sarma) (who is from a wealthy family) and Paro (Zubeida) (whose family is not as well off) blossoms into love as they grow up. Devdas' father does not approve of the relationship due to differences in their families' status in the village and of their castes. (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 (Mohini), 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. Devdas returns to meet Paro, but dies at her doorstep before seeing her.
Cast
*
Phani Sarma as Devdas (Debdax)
*
Zubeida
Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (1911 – 21 September 1988) was an Indian actress. She starred in the first Indian talkie movie ''Alam Ara'' (1931). Her credits include early hits ''Devdas'' (1937), and Sagar Movietone's first talkie, ''Meri Jaan''. ...
as Paro
*
Mohini
Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a ''femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them t ...
as
Chandramukhi
''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu. A remake of Vasu's Kannada film ''Apthamitra'' (2004), which itself loosely based on the Malayalam film ''Manichitrathazhu'' (1993), the fi ...
See also
*
Devdas (1935 film) - Barua's
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
version
*
Devdas (1936 film) - Barua's
Hindi version
References
1937 films
Films directed by Pramathesh Barua
Devdas films
Films set in Kolkata
1930s Assamese-language films
Films about courtesans in India
Films based on Indian novels
{{Assamese-film-stub