As colorful as life

I love the artistic exaggeration of Amelie, the fight scenes of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the slapstick dramedy of Life is Beautiful. These films deal mainly with unconditional love, whether it be for one’s beloved one, country or belief.

It came to me as a surprise that these movies share something in common–they are movies that have not used the English language. Though my most loved movie is not one of the three aforementioned movies, there is a foreign language film which talks about the tragic love of two people. It is lavish, colorful, extravagant. And it is not made in Hollywood. The film is Devdas, India’s pride in this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

But I won’t watch a movie just because it is critically-acclaimed or has garnered numerous awards at the Oscars and the like, but because it is excellently directed and boasts of technical values, outstanding musical scoring and superlative performances. With these criteria, Devdas never fails to amaze me. This approximately three-hour visual journey is as colorful as life is.

Devdas tells the story of Devdas (Shah Rukh Khan) and Parvati (Aiswarya Rai) who have shared a special friendship since childhood but are separated when Devdas is sent to study in England. This puts their relationship to a test. Parvati (or Paro) lights a diya (little candle) signifying her undying love for Devdas.

Years pass, Devdas finally returns and Paro’s world lights up again. Their love for each other is supported by Paro’s mother, Sumitra (Kiron Kher). Unfortunately, she is insulted by Devdas’ mother Kaushalya (Smita Jaykar). To regain her dignity, Sumitra arranges Paro’s wedding to Zamintar Bhuvan (Vijayendra Ghatge), a rich widower. A hurt Devdas resorts to alcohol. His college friend, Chunni Babu (Jackie Shroff) acquaints him with the world of prostitution, where Devdas meets the sultry Chandramukhi (Mandhuri Dixit) who falls in love with him.

Director Sanjay Bhansali provides the viewers flashbacks showing the lovers as children. It also helps that Shah Rhuk Khan utilizes poetic dialogues throughout the film.

Much as I think that this is just a stereotypical melodramatic movie, well, I’m wrong. The mood for each scene is perfectly complemented by the extraordinary musical scoring. The fantastic choreography of Mandhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai’s dance sequence which is very well done definitely deserve applause. Camera angles achieve outstanding lighting especially when a scene is mirthful. Costume and set designers never disregard the sense of mixing fashion, color and style, setting this film apart from other Hindi films.

Devdas is an honest effort in bringing to viewers a theatrical experience. It showcases an emotional, musical, romantic genre, sharing with us true family values, love, hope and trust – priceless things we need for our ailing society. As the film is filled with colors, sets and costumes, it also encourages audiences to think of the possible conclusions after Paro runs to the gate where Devdas fulfills what he said earlier in the film: "Before I die, I will be at your portal waiting for you."

This movie does not only offer visuals, it also imparts valuable lessons to ponder on because of its illustrative and figurative style of portraying life’s reality. And with some excellent performances, fantastic and poetic dialogues, great music and well-choreographed dances, colorful sets, designs and costumes, this movie is bound to become a classic. If you view this film after 50 years, the year it was made will not be obvious; modernization is not evident, which is good. What is more important is how the movie conveys a realistic dramatization of ancient traditions of family and beliefs, and a treatment of a powerful, tragic love story.

The story gets slow-paced and boring at some points but the movie’s saving grace is that the "wholeness" of the film doesn’t disappoint. The colorful costumes, art designs and the stunning visuals make up for monotonous parts; the technical aspects are flawless. The film delivers a majestic fairy tale enterprise with a twist of realism. Just like us. We might be living in luxury yet we could find it dull and boring too. Sometimes we should face reality and the world outside to find true happiness. That’s the best thing Devdas taught me.