Devdas: a transitioning narrative of our society

Devdas: Dev Babu: Deva: Dev, these are the names of one character, which different directors and writers adapted in different generations. From my understanding, Devdas is not just a character; it's a transitional journey where one can see how emotions and characters are influenced by time, environment and society.

A note on the analysis of the characters my interpretation of ‘Devdas’

Devdas the story narrates the socio-human argument of ‘what belongs to you’ underlining the class hierarchy and socio-behavioural norms in those times, and how that social commentary created a series of events that impacted the lives of people. 

Devdas was a proud, rich, and handsome boy who turns into a man over time, and learns about sacrifice and suffering. But why is the book titled after one character, because he was the main character holding knots of all other people in the story, or did every character have a part of Devdas in them?

Parvati a little girl who turns out to be a beautiful woman. Her character was way ahead of that time, she was just not a loyal lover to Devdas but also a courageous girl who was able to put her thoughts and decisions openly without any hesitation. She didn't know to regret and that justifies her courage. But in the end, she did regret that she was not able to see her beloved Deva for the very last time. 

Was Devdas wrong to tell Parvati in a letter that he doesn’t see her as a woman whom he loves but more as a friend? Maybe. But the woman near river, was she right at that instance? The woman who changed from Paro to Parvati in front of Devdas. That woman took a lot of pride for her brain and beauty. At that instance, the character of Parvati had traits of ‘Devdas’ a proud big mouth telling him how he does not deserve her. Maybe what she was saying was right Devdas never deserved Parvati. But if that day Parvati would have spoken her heart out that she still loved him and he didn't justify their relationship with that letter, Devdas and Parvati would have seen a different ending. But in that instance, there was a part of Devdas in front of Devdas in form of Parvati why? Because of the social hierarchy and commentary that kept on in the background for those two souls and made them pay throughout their life.

Channdramukhi was a woman who had experienced love betrayal all off it and was living on her terms no matter what society thought about her. She was living before she met Devdas but after meeting him and his words that he will not even let her touch him, made her feel she was existing in this world but not living. 

A woman so loyal to him that she left everything she was doing and started praying for him and wanted to meet him once more before she changed her life. 
Devdas did have loyal women around him with his gaze they would do whatever he would ask for. But the Chndramkukhi who lived on her own for so many years why didn’t she ask her beloved Devdas who was feeling disgusted by her touch, why is he feeling so? When that woman had to live all by herself and no one really cared or respected her, where were he and his disgust at that time? Was it Chandramukhi not asking these questions or was it part of Devdas the same person who wrote in a letter to his beloved that their families are not equal so he can not marry her, yet after that loved that woman all along. Was Chandramukhi’s silence was because of the norms of the society that made her suffer for someone’s judgment?

Devdas was a character in the story, but while magnifying and analyzing each character in the story had a part of Devdas in them. Either it be Naryan Mukherjee who loved Parvati but the same girl being his daughter-in-law was irresistible to him, or it be Devdas’s mom who didn’t want Parvati to be her son's wife but also regretted that with time. 

Sharad Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote the story and character of Devdas with open progressive thoughts accompanied by the stereotypes of those times. His thoughts were altered by the thoughts of society. Devdas is not just a love story, but it narrates the reality of the society and its thoughts that how they were the reasons why people like Devdas, Parvati, and Chandramukhi had to suffer.

Devdas: Dev Babu: Deva: Dev

A wealthy born, privileged boy Devdas was the same in Saratchandra's Devdas and Bansalis's and Kashyap's; it was just the influences of time and its changes that changed the same narrative differently. All these three iterations capture the essence of tragedy and love. But their tone of explaining the same differs with time.

The iteration does not underline the differences in the iteration but also highlights how things have created impacted with time. The Devdas showcased by Saratdchandra are not futuristically different from Bansalis's Devdas. It is also different in terms of tone and thinking. For the Devdas, for whom hitting a woman was okay, but with time, Khan's portrayal of Devdas with authority also showcases respect for the same women. In Kashyap's interpretation, he is more of a self-delusive person. It is just not with the portrayal of Devdas but the other characters that there are three Parvati's, and one can look and observe how they all differ from each other. They all loved Devdas, but they all also cared about their self-respect and how that conversation varies depending on their scenarios and circumstances. They all cared about Devdas after their marriage also, but how they conveyed that also differed, how the arrogance of Parvati has been portrayed differently according to how much freedom women have in the society in association with time. The character of Chandramukhi is also the same; the character of Chandramukhi depends on time and how society perceives prostitutes. And that is reflected in the character changes of Chramukhi. Undoubtedly, all the Chndramukhi adored, loved and cared about Devdas. Still, these portrayals depended on the evolution of time and adaptation of the same with different perspectives.

Devdas is not a story of a character. It is also a portrayal of the transitions of the emotions that how society changes the perspective around a word, how these words have evolved and changed, how love is about loving each other, maybe not without any strings.

It is not a story of just a character but of us and how we evolved and adapted with time and started seeing the same with a different lens and give it a different perspective. There may be nothing right or wrong, but things do are different with time.