We've seen "Devdas" in all colours.
But we barely know the actor who first brought Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay's famous character to screen.
Thanks to author Pran Nevile's "KL Saigal: The Definitive Biography", movie enthusiasts now have the opportunity to know how "Devdas" became a household name throughout the subcontinent.
Based on renowned Bengali writer Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay's popular novel which he wrote at the age of seventeen, "Devdas" was first filmed in 1928, in the silent period, by Naresh Mitra.
PC Barua, a creative genius of his time, raised the level of his film to a solemn tragedy. He introduced a new style of acting, which was natural and unaffected, a departure from the then popular theatrical mode, and also adopted simple, easy-to-follow dialogues without any literary nuances.
Barua played the title role in the Bengali version and KL Saigal in the Hindi one and both went on to become cult figures.
"Devdas" is the story of a young man, son of a feudal landlord, who has an abiding love for his childhood playmate Parbati, daughter of his less fortunate neighbour of a lower status. To prevent their growing attachment, Devdas is sent to Calcutta (now Kolkata) for higher education and Parbati is married off to an aged widower.
Devdas returns to the village but is helpless in stopping Parbati's marriage. Devdas goes back to the city, and drowns his sorrows in alcohol and the company of a singing girl Chandramukhi who gets attached to him. To serve and look after him, she even quits her profession but Devdas' condition deteriorates.
On hearing about his miserable plight, Parbati comes to plead with him to stop drinking but in vain. Rather than follow her advice, he promises Parbati that he would come to see her before he dies. His decline continues in spite of the devoted care and attention paid to him by Chandramukhi.
In his fragile state of health, and realising that his end is fast approaching, Devdas embarks on a journey to keep his promise. He travels all night to get to Parbati's village, only to die in front of her home. And Parbati, within the high walls of her home, hears that her Devdas is dead.
Barua's adaptation of the novel reflected his own tragic view of a life starved of joy and laughter. His creative passion and technical innovations are revealed in his expert editing for dramatic effect, close-up shots for image construction, and use of sound to suggest telepathic communication between the characters. Equally striking are the emotional patterns built through skilful handling of the visuals like conveying a sentiment or reaction through halting speech and using the intervening pauses during a dialogue for a more telling effect than the spoken word.
Barua was a handsome young man, with aristocratic grace and charm, and had a deep voice which he used in a low, understated manner to enrich the content of visuals. Other features which distinguished Barua were his tragic and rather solemn intensity, his superb handling of actors, his instinct for detail and his subtle ways of depicting the characters' agony and anguish.
For instance, his shooting of the train journey, portraying Devdas' intense suffering, with sounds from the rail track as the backdrop, was indeed a marvel in cinematic art. Barua achieved great fame, popularity and adulation usually reserved for the stars.
As the most eminent and successful creator of romantic-tragic drama, Barua received fabulous offers from Bombay producers to make "Devdas"-like films for them. He rejected them, saying, "It is not my field; it is a bazaar."
Barua's Hamlet-like personality and his premature death, like his Hindi-version-hero KL Saigal, through alcoholism, made him an icon of cinematic genius. Just before his death, he is reported to have said, "'Devdas' was in me even before I was born, I created it every moment of my life, much before I put it on the screen, it was no more than a mirage, a play of light and shade, and sadder still, it ceased to exist after two hours. Now it's just a myth."
The powerful appeal of the romantic-tragic hero made Devdas a cult figure. This set the pace for the popularity of the doomed hero on the Indian screen. The term "Devdas" replaced the old "Majnu", to symbolise a deeply dejected lover.
Both Bengali and Hindi versions of "Devdas" were released in 1935. Though KL Saigal was no match for Barua's attractive appearance and charm, he more than made it up with his enchanting melodies.
The role of Parbati, the heroine, was played by Jamuna in both the Bengali and Hindi versions, while Chandramukhi was enacted by Chandrabati and Rajkumari respectively.
Originally, Barua wanted Kananbala to play the part of Chandramukhi as she had already established her name and fame in Bengali cinema. But as she was bound by her contract with Madan Theatres, she could not accept Barua's offer. The phenomenal success of the film was also attributed to its marvellous music composed by Timir Baran (Hindi) and RC Boral and Pankaj Mullick (Bengali).
Apart from his sterling performance as Devdas, which made him Indian cinema's first superstar, Saigal also had a sensational walk-on part in the Bengali version as one of the visitors to Chandramukhi's kotha and sang two Bengali songs "Kahare je jodatey chai" and "Golap hoey uthuk phutey".
Saigal took pains to learn the meaning of each word of the songs and absorbed the mood and ambience of the scenes in which they were to be sung. Sung in a classical style in leisurely fashion, with pauses, the songs in Saigal's voice evoked unique beauty and serenity.
Originally, Pankaj Mullick was scheduled to sing these songs but when he heard the recordings, he felt he could not match the magical spell created by Saigal's voice. This was Saigal's Bengali debut and the New Theatres' controllers of production awaited the author Sharatchandra's approval because they apprehended a negative public response to Saigal's imperfect Bengali accent.
When the novelist arrived and heard the recording, he was greatly pleased and at once gave his approval by pointing out that non-Bengalis were not barred from visiting the salons of singing girls and Saigal's rendition of the songs was justified in the scene. Later, Saigal acted in several Bengali films.
It was noted in some quarters that the tragic ending in "Devdas" did not conform to the Indian classical tradition in which there were only happy endings. In Sanskrit dramas there was no room for tragedy, since the Hindu mind treated life as a transitional state. But in the nineteenth century, western influence had its impact on Bengali literature and drama, and the element of a tragic ending had been already introduced.
Many literary stalwarts and critics consider the tragedy and its portrayal saturated with agony and anguish to be a far greater literary achievement than comedy. The emotional content of the tragedy has a powerful and enduring impact on the audiences and enlightens them about the intensity of human feelings and their meaning in life.
Compared with the Bengali version, the Hindi "Devdas", which had a much larger reach all over the subcontinent, was a superhit. And, of course, the greatest asset of the film was the golden voice of Saigal, who was already a celebrity with his recent remarkable success as a singer-actor in "Chandidas".
Saigal was the first artiste to sing in a relaxed, natural and intimate style and his songs were essentially dialogue in the musical form.
The camera work was done by Bimal Roy, a genius in his own right.
Compiled by Correspondent