The iconic Bollywood film Devdas turns 20 years old today. With Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit in the lead and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali behind the camera, the film was a landmark moment in the careers of those associated with it. In fact, this was one of the first films to declare Bhansali’s inclination towards grandeur. Right from the grand sets to the minute details like a nose pin, Bhansali didn’t leave any stone unturned to set the bar as high as he could.
Biggest Budget Bollywood Film Of Its Time
BTS pics from set of #Devdas. Shared by writer of the film #PrakashKapadia on #Instagram. #20YearsOfDevdas
— Pathaan (@SRKzDevil) July 12, 2022
Link: https://t.co/5rjOdKRR0I pic.twitter.com/Cg9ishBUxi
At a time when high-budget films have a budget of Rs 550 crore, it may look miniscule, but back in 2002 Devdas‘ budget of Rs 50 crore was massive. In fact, it was one of the most expensive movies of the time.
Decoding The Costs of Sets
#20YearsOfDevdas
— Ashwani kumar (@BorntobeAshwani) July 12, 2022
It’s #Devdas, where we witnessed opulent world of the #SanjayLeelaBhansali.
With the cost around 50 CR, it was a most expensive film.#Chandramukhi’s kotha that cost around 12 CR.#Paro’s house was created using 1.2 lakh pieces of stained glass, cost 3 Cr. pic.twitter.com/uTMLUIBSqd
A lot of sets were complete even before the movie went on the floors and had to stay in place for a long period of 7-9 months, thus adding to the overall costs. The grand kotha of Chandramukhi, for instance, was built for Rs 12 crore and it was the most expensive set of the movie. Paro’s house, which was made with stained glass had to be repaired and replaced quite a few times since it used to break during the shooting. That, in turn, added around Rs 3 crore to the budget.
Bhansali Used 2500 Lights, 700 Light Men & 40 Generators
20 yrs of two divas burning the screen & dancefloor. A moment in Indian cinema that cannot be replicated. Still difficult to decide who was better. But then why should we? #ShahRukhKhan was so lucky
— Mimansa Shekhar
20 yrs of #Devdas#AishwaryaRaiBachchan #MadhuriDixit #SanjayLeelaBhansali pic.twitter.com/zMse2g92xx(@mimansashekhar) July 12, 2022
Artificial light was never the first choice back then since most of the shooting used to happen in the day. But Bhansali being Bhansali levelled that up too with more than 2500 lights and 700 light men at work. More than 40 generators were then needed to keep the show going. We are not complaining though — the visuals that came out of all this were stunning.
Madhuri Dixit’s Clothes Cost More Than Rs 10 lakh Each
20 years of classic devdas
— aish_my_queen (@shingadep60) July 12, 2022#20YearsOfDevdas #AishwaryaRaiBachchan #ShahRukhKhan #MadhuriDixit #SanjayLeelaBhansali #Devdas pic.twitter.com/Sdg2HFgSKS
With Bhansali in the picture, nothing can be simple and straightforward; it has to be something unbelievable. So along with designer Neeta Lulla, Bhansali shopped for around 600 plus sarees for Bachchan in Kolkata. Now, a typical saree is 6 metres long but Paro wore a 9 metre-long saree so that it matched the grandeur of the set. The way she wore the saree was a mix of a few styles and every day they spent 2-3 hours to drape it.
The Film’s Music Took 24 Months To Finish
@iamsrk and Madhuri Dixit on the sets of Devdas with Sanjay Leela Bhansali.#20YearsOfDevdas pic.twitter.com/miReqLQ3hA
— AaDIL(@AdilNeHERT_) July 11, 2022
It took almost 24 months for the musicians to finish the music of the movie. The songs were recorded and re-recorded and it took weeks to get the final outcome. What added to the time taken was the fact that they were mixed almost 8-10 times. The song Dola Re Dola was one of the most expensive songs of the movie. Right before it was almost finished, a few lines were changed by Nusrat Badr and this added to its cost.
(Featured Image Credits: @Gopalsrkian555/Twitter)
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