The "Devdas" that Bollywood missed

New Delhi: Few Hindi movie buffs know that the Bollywood missed production of one more “Devdas” which would have featured veteran actors Dharmendra and Hema Malini in it, depicting the tragic theme that has continued to appeal film makers over decades. The unfinished film which was being directed and scripted by eminent writer Gulzar in the 1980’s, however, was abandoned after making of two reels for unknown reasons, National Film Archives of India (NFAI) Director Prakash Magdum said today. “We are trying to trace the two reels of the aborted production that featured Dharmendra and Hema Malini. I just spoke to Gulzar who has given some clues as to from where these reels could be procured. We hope to get it to preserve in our archives,” Magdum told PTI here.

 As many as six multi-lingual movies have been made based on ‘Devdas’ novel, written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay originally in Bengali, revolving around a love story with an alcoholic protagonist.

The earlier “Devdas” versions featured Kundanlal Saighal and thespian Dilip Kumar. In 2002, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had directed another version of “Devdas”, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. Director Anurag Kashyap gave a modern twist to the old story in his “Dev D”. Magdum also informed that NFAI has recently stumbled upon a unique collection of Hindi film booklets giving production details of old landmark movies dating back to 1934, numbering 1790 films. This would serve as a database for the golden age of Hindi cinema, he added.