Unable to bear the agony of a life without Paro, Devdas made alcohol his constant companion. But that could not make him forget the piercing pain. Even the unflinching devotion of a beautiful courtesan Chandramukhi, did not ease the heartache of losing Paro. It was only when his eyes closed to a permanent sleep, did the pain begin to fade. It was at Paro's doorstep, that the doors of heaven opened for Devdas.

Review: Once in awhile, I get to watch a movie that I absolutely enjoy from beginning to end. This particular movie is one of them. Devdas is a great drama about love and what happens when outside forces act as roadblocks in the path of love. Premiering at the 2002 Cannes Festival, this movie was welcomed with open arms and adorned with many positive reviews and held the box office record for weeks in India. I too must express my thoughts about this great motion picture.

If you've ever had someone tell you what not to do and what to do, then you should be able to relate to the subject matter in this movie… and that's what makes it so great. Devdas exclaims, "Babu-Ji said leave the village. Everyone said, leave Paro. Paro said leave drinking. Now you say, leave this house. One day He will say, leave this world." For me, this quote literally expresses the emotion and intensity of this movie. This is a movie about love between different social classes and families and the rules that apply between them, similar to the concept of Romeo and Juliet, or perhaps even Moulin Rouge.

I was enthralled by the characters and everything they had to go through. Shah Rukh Khan is very believable in his role as a man who has lost everything and turns to alcohol for solace. His character did everything wrong, said the wrong things, and yet he was so innocent and was just a man of pure heart. Nothing ever works out for him no matter how hard he tries. I'm sure many of you have had this very same problem at one point or another in your lives. You try to say or do something that you feel is right in your heart, but in the end, it turns out to be the wrong choice of words or actions. In a way, life is totally against him. It's quite a remarkable experience observing how Devdas falls down into this drunken spiral of madness and sorrow, as he struggles with life after the loss of his long-time childhood friend turned love of his life. Also worthy of much praise is the very talented and beautiful Aishwarya Rai who plays Paro is also very plausible as Shah Rukh's main love interest, and a woman who is in disorder over loving and losing Devdas. Watching her maintain her diya (oil candle) through the years as a symbol of everlasting love for Devdas was thoroughly enchanting. Everything that happens to these two is downright emotionally engaging, and at times heart-wrenching. I found myself inseparable to the screen for the whole 3 hours and 4 minutes. Even though these two are fictional characters, I truly feel for these two…I really do. For all you action movie fans out there, you might want to stay clear of this movie because there's no action here at all. It's all 100% pure drama, drama at it's best. Things change, people die, but love is an unstoppable force.

If you're familiar with Indian films, you'll know it's a requirement to have song and dance segments mixed into the movie. This particular film has a total of 8 songs. Each song was carefully composed to fit into the movie and apparently took a total of two years to produce. I personally liked most of the songs. However, I could've done without one or two of the songs, as they have no purpose of moving the story along. Then there are those songs that I don't like, but they actually serve to move the plot ahead. One particular song I enjoyed was "Dola Re Dola." It had a very catchy feel to it, and I found myself watching it over after the movie. The dances are rather interesting as well… though not as mainstream dance as those found in Asoka.

An interesting side note is that the story of Devdas was one of the most read novels by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye, and that the concept was made into at least 8 different movies. Sanjay Leela Bhansali (the director) said, "Devdas, which was a simple story had a soul which was so big. I felt that to do justice to this, it had to be made with grandeur and opulence." Indeed he has. The set designs are wonderfully crafted, and are just awe-inspiring. I remember asking myself , "How did they build that?" on a few occasions. These sets have to be seen to be believed. Equally breathtaking is the cinematography of Devdas. Rivaling the best, this reviewer is quite impressed.