In his 58-year journey, Shah Rukh Khan, popularly known as the king of romance has been a part of many love stories. He is fondly remembered for his roles in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the iconic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. But the actor has performed in some tragic love stories too. One such was the 2002 Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial Devdas which portrayed him as the forlorn lover Dev. The film went on to receive several laurels including 11 Filmfare awards. It also premiered at the reputed Cannes Film Festival where it received a standing ovation for several minutes as shared by Bhansali during an interview. Shah Rukh Khan opened up on the film during an interview after receiving the Pardo alla Carriera Ascona-Locarno Tourism award at the 77th Locarno Film Festival.
Shah Rukh reportedly admitted that he was quite anxious while filming Devdas and had to turn to alcohol to play the character. When asked if it helped, Shah Rukh replied with his trademark humour, “Well, I got the Best Actor award.” He added, “It might have helped, but I started drinking after the film and that’s one downside to it.”
The actor also mentioned the reason he accepted the film despite many industry veterans warning him against it. SRK, who has often shared the memories of his late parents, said he wants to do large-scale films as he harbours faint hope that his parents would watch it from heaven. He also believed that his mother would have appreciated Devdas. He said, “I just felt that if I made Devdas, she would really like it and appreciate it. I didn’t think I could play the character because some of the greatest artists in our country like Dilip Kumar, KL Saigal and Uttam Kumar had played it flawlessly earlier.”
Reflecting on his performance in Devdas, Shah Rukh said he portrayed Devdas not as a loser but as a non-committing man who had reasons to be that way. He added, “I didn’t want you to feel love for him, but I didn’t want you to hate him. Nor did I want you to like him for being an alcoholic who runs away from every girl that he falls in love with. I just wanted him to appear indescribable.”
Based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, the film featured Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff in key roles apart from Shah Rukh Khan.
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