new delhi even as devdas is becoming a rage our film critics dont see eye to eye eight of them including our editors saw the movie just to find out why devdas is such a hit their responses confirmed the old adage about beauty and the eye of the beholder read on have a bacardi on bhansalilalita panickerbehind the glitter of sanjay leela bhansalis devdas lies a moving storyline no more glitter at times the megawattage of the shimmer from bhansalis sets so blinded me that i did not quite see some parts of the film but on to the bits i did let us overlook for a minute bhansalis tribute to sarat chandra chattopadhyaya the great novelists epic has about as much to do with bhansalis interpretation as satyajit ray does with jagmohan mundhra but perhaps there is a resemblance with chariots of fire leading lady aishwarya rai in the role of the illfated parvati could give jackie joyner kersee a run for her money with the scorching pace she sets up and down the corridors and stairs of her cathedrallike haveli haveli poor paro who is not rich enough for devdas statusconscious parents bhansali erases such distinctions by erecting equally garish homes for the lovecrossed pair all right let us forgive bhansali his cinematic licence after all he is not going to get back all those crores by erecting laurie baker sets but kiron kher dressed in kathakali mode jerking across the screen like a broken marionette oh what a fall my countrymen for a stately sophisticated actress and let us ignore the usual lalita pawaresque villainess devdas sisterinlaw whose evil quotient is directly related to the upward curve of eyebrow and downward curl of lipsthe exchanges in legalese between devdas and unbending dad were interesting as was chandramukhi the goldenhearted tawaif whose love for devdas though inexplicable is touching whose dialogues are memorable dont worry madhuri you may be over the hill but you can still give breathless beauty ash a few sleepless nights yet shah rukh khan said a triumphant bhansali actually took to the bottle authentically to convey the pathos of the weak thwarted lover but apart from driving the viewer to drink with his portrayal khans bacardi induced devdas does not go beyond well a rambling drunk the songs nothing to write home about and the costumes could easily have been