The highest-grossing Indian film of the year 2002, Devdas today completed 20 years. This British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nominee film was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and it featured Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, and Jackie Shroff amongst others. The movie was based on the 1917 romantic novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay named Devdas.
Needless to say, Devdas is loved by the masses even today. But did you know Shah Rukh Khan had once said that he shouldn’t have done Devdas? During the launch event of the book The Dialogue of Devdas, Shah Rukh talked about the magnum opus. As per a PTI report, the actor had said, “I was a fool to say I will do Devdas. I feel I shouldn’t have done it. I have a deep regard for the fact that my parents loved Devdas. I was young and it was very stupid of me to do it. But I had the blessings of Dilip Sahib.”
For those who don’t know, the first movie to be based on Devdas was the one directed by Bimal Roy in 1955 which starred Dilip Kumar as the protagonist along with Suchitra Sen and Vyjayanthimala.
It’s no secret that the King of Romance used to admire Dilip Kumar and had much respect for him and his work. When asked if SRK tried to imitate the late legendary cinema icon, Dilip Kumar, he said, “You can’t imitate Dilip Sahib. No one can dare copy him and whoever does so, are idiots like me.”
Shah Rukh Khan’s last big-screen appearance was in Zero in 2018 following its release, he took a hiatus from full-time acting. After his 4-year absence, he will next be featured in Yash Raj Films’ Pathaan along with Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. The movie is directed by Siddharth Ananda and set to release in January. He will also be starring in Atlee’s Jawaan, and Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki co-starring Taapsee Pannu scheduled for December 2023 release.
