The Devdas that Bollywood missed

The unfinished film was being directed and scripted by eminent writer Gulzar in the 1980’s.

Few Hindi movie buffs know that the Bollywood missed production of one more Devdas which would have featured veteran actors Dharmendra and Hema Malini, depicting the tragic theme that has continued to appeal film makers over decades.

Gulzar wanted to make Devdas with Dharmendra and Hema Malini.

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.

Watch: Dilip Kumar played Devdas in PC Barua’s film

“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,” said Magdum.

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.

Watch: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was grand in nature

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.

Watch: Dev D was also adapted from Devdas

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.

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