This article was written when Devdas was in the making.

The air is thick with images - of a heavily adorned, buxom Madhuri Nene, doing vigourous push-ups in a bottle green Mujra dress; of a red-eyed Shahrukh, trying to drown himself in a cocktail glass; of a pure and ethereal Ash, a saree demurely covering her head and the parting in her hair thick with sindoor - Devdas days are here again.

This seems to be a recurrent phenomenon, the first one came in the 40s (I think), the second in the sixties and this time it took 40 years for the fever to recur.

When Sarat Chandra wrote the novel, silent grieving for a lost love was the order of the day - Paro and Devdas were rural folks. Though Devdas was affluent, he did not go beyond Calcutta to study. Chandramukhi was a "fallen" woman who "rose" to the occasion of pure love. Here the sides have been changed. The Suchitra Sen with her demure smile with Ashwarya Rai's wide-eyed innocence. Vyajantimala'a dancing and emoting magic has been replaced by Madhuri's heaves and ageing countenance. She is still very beautiful though.

So what is this fever about? The film has not yet been released so we can still speculate about how the Y generation will treat it. It is lavish, at least has been lavishly promoted. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for heart-rending stories that touch a nerve in everyone. But will the audience be able to stomach this silent suffering? In the age of Raju Dadas that just set fire to the village and carry off their girl, will pining be really appreciated?

I should be asking: will I be able to laugh and cry with Shahrukh like my Dad did with a Dilip Kumar or my grandpa (he never told me though) would have done with Sehgal? Difficult to say, but there's a doubt. We are an action-oriented generation, not the feeling-thinking - maybe acting one. How well can we understand what Rajesh Khanna playfully termed "Bangali Pyar" in Anand (the girl and the boy refusing to profess their love)? Will the courtesan be accepted as a platonic loveable good woman like Pakeezah?

Are we a generation that forgives the doing-nothing-about-it attitude? When Dilip Kumar vomitted a basin full of blood in the train, scores of lovers sobbed at his agony. Will we bat an eyelid when Shahrukh dies of a broken heart (my 9-year-old niece wonders if it is a congenital heart or was he simply a heart patient - I feel it was cirrhosis of the liver). Will we accept dying of a broken heart? With or without a pinch of salt? Is the new avtar of Devdas ready to face these naturally occurring questions from the audience? Will Shahrukh stand up and justify his alcoholism? Will the real Devdas please stand up… and be criticized?
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