22 years of Devdas: Trivia you might not know about the film

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July 12, 2024 marks the 22^nd anniversary of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas. This timeless tale of love and tragedy starred Madhuri Dixit, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with a key role by Jackie Shroff. Devdas has been hailed for its stunning visuals, memorable performances and soul-stirring music.

On this special occasion, Bhansali Productions’ official Instagram handle shared a nostalgic video memory of the movie along with the caption: “The magic of Devdas lives on. Celebrating 22 years of love, friendship, and melodies that have become a part of our hearts #22YearsOfDevdas”.

Jackie Shroff, who portrayed the character of Chunni Babu, shared photo memories from the movie. He reflected on the film’s lasting impact and the fond memories it holds for those involved, adding the hashtag #22YearsOfDevdas.

Here are some trivia you may not know about this musical:

This is the third Devdas made in Hindi, after the hit with K.L. Saigal (1936) and the flop with Dilip Kumar (1955). All three were based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel of the same name.

In the song Kaahe chhed mohe, the outfit worn by Madhuri Dixit weighed 30 kilos She had lots of problems following the dance choreography, but she eventually completed it. A similar issue was faced later by another Bhansali heroine, Deepika Padukone, during the song Nagada sang dhol baaje in Goliyon Ki RasLeela—Ram Leela.

Devdas is the first commercial Bollywood film to receive an invitation to Cannes.

The first song Shreya Ghoshal recorded in her singing career was Bairi piya, when she was 16 years old. She recorded the whole song in a single take, without even knowing that she was being recorded.

Madhuri Dixit Nene also made her singing debut in the film with the above mentioned Kaahe chhed mujhe. The lyrics and music were by well-known iconic dance maestro, Pandit Birju Maharaj, who also choreographed the dance.

Bhansali had heard Shreya on the TV talent hunt, Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and located her. On the day he had called her, Bhansali, an old music addict, was humming the Laxmikant-Pyarelal composition, Jeevan dor tumhi sang baandhi (Sati Savitri / 1963) to himself and when he asked Ghoshal to sing any song, she uncannily began singing the same melody! That clinched her as the voice of Paro, or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

While shooting for the song Dola re, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s ears were bleeding due to heavy earrings, but she did not let the injury come in the way of her performance.

Bhansali initially had wanted Anu Malik to do the music as he had had a tiff with Ismail Darbar, the composer he had introduced in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. But finally Ismail scored the songs.

The film did above-average business in India but performed extraordinarily overseas.