The archetype of ‘Devdas’ is one that was created from the evolution and incidents of the life of Barua as mentioned by Ashis Nandy in his essay. The development of such a character revolves around the misfortunes faced by Barua during his lifetime and has managed to capture the emotions of what one may decipher as the ‘lost lover’ or ‘the man who lost it all’ (the man of misfortune) (Nandy, 2007). Every movie that has been made and even recreated the story of Devadas have similar notions that distinctly make Devadas stand out as an archetype rather than just a character making it more of a performative characteristic rather than a role itself.
The nuances that revolve around the construct of such an archetype is evident in Guru Dutt’s films of ‘Pyaasa’ (1957) and ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ (1959). ‘Pyaasa’ goes on to portray the protagonist ‘Vijay’ as a man who is forsaken by his family, lover and is unemployed whose sorrows lead him to become an alcoholic. In the film, the female leads comprise of two women, one who is his lost lover and the other a prostitute. Though he is portrayed as a poet who has lost his way, the idea of masculinity is still portrayed in a strong sense which can be explored through the narrative. We see how the ideology of Hegemonic masculinity is prominent even when there is reference of how these characters can be effeminate like being poetic or giving more prominence to their love for their lover (Jewkes et al., 2015). The characterisation of Devdas as someone who is unworthy and has not made it in life still holds the privilege of surviving in a dark world where women are considered to be the reason for his plight when in reality it is a misrepresentation of having lost it all because of women. When he comes across the prostitute Gulab who tries to help him, he first reacts with contempt and disgust for her profession and then retreats to become gentler. Many instances in the movies lead to situations where she is saved by him which leads to an ideology of how the character of Vijay, though lost because of his love for a woman, tends to save ‘the damsel in distress’ in his own way. Even though he turns to alcoholism and ruins his life, the movie ends with how he takes Gulab out of her misery into a new world where they are destined to live together. The representation of a prostitute being the solace of the Devdas narrative is one that is quite fascinating in terms of how we would believe that the film industry is being modern enough to show the profession of prostitution in a positive light, however, it is showcased as a path that the protagonist has lost his way, in order to make peace with his misery. In such a sense, notions like alcoholism, poetry, prostitution and such are considered to go hand in hand with the notions of Devdas as in the movie Pyaasa.
In Kaagaz Ke Phool there are similar notions related to the protagonist losing all his power and wealth with respect to a career as well as his lover. His misfortune and failure are blamed upon his love affair and is also tried to be healed with the consumption of alcohol. The movie progresses through the narrative of the director who produced Devdas as the protagonist Mr. Sinha, whose life is closely represented as Barua's, as mentioned by Nandy in his essay (Nandy, 2007). The ideologies of pain and failure due to love is an archetype that revolves around Devdas which at the same time has been a prominent character that has taken its place in Indian cinema. The ideological repercussions which have taken place through such a representation of Barua’s life through the character of Devdas has created a real life stigma around men who have lost their ‘love’ and are expected to act a certain way in order to gloat their sense of masculinity. The contemporary evolution of the archetype of Devdas leads one to imbibe the notion of how it is acceptable for a man to take up womanising tendencies in the name of ‘lost love’ or ‘being cheated in love’. This is a trope that has been prevalent from the nuances of Devdas and has taken a prominent stance in today’s times with respect to the crimes that have been committed and the mental illnesses that have become prevalent through the concept of ‘lost love’ that leads to failure. The archetype of Devdas has changed and grown through the patriarchal structures of masculinity in time which can be seen to take various roles in films, for example, the character of Kabir Singh. The question arises whether such a representation of Kabir Singh can be considered as a modern form of Devdas (India Today, 2019), whose current definition is ideologically proficient in the real world which has been represented through the agency of cinema. The development of these self- destructive characters are a common notion that has been prominent within Indian cinema leading us to question the doctrines of what exactly we understand from the notions of a man who has lost everything mainly in the name of love.
Works Cited
Al-Azami, Salman. "The Portrayal of the Female Protagonist in Sarat Chandra Devdas and its Two Hindi Film Adaptations: A Critical Discourse Analysis." MJ Warsi.
Jewkes, R., Morrell, R., Hearn, J., Lundqvist, E., Blackbeard, D., Lindegger, G., Quayle, M., Sikweyiya, Y. and Gottzén, L., 2015. Hegemonic masculinity: combining theory and practice in gender interventions. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 17(sup2), pp.112-127.
Nandy, A., 2007. An ambiguous journey to the city. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
India Today. 2019. Shahid Kapoor on being called Modern Devdas for Kabir Singh: Will take it as a compliment. [online] Available at: <https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/shahid-kapoor-on-being-called-modern-devdas-for-kabir-singh-will-take-it-as-a-compliment-1552153-2019-06-20> [Accessed 30 January 2022].
Viswamohan, Aysha Iqbal, and Sanchari Basu ChaudhurI. “Bollywood’s Angromance: Toxic Masculinity and Male Angst in <em>Tere Naam</Em> and <em>Kabir Singh</Em>.” Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture, vol. 5, no. 2, Penn State University Press, 2020, pp. 146–70, https://doi.org/10.5325/jasiapacipopcult.5.2.0146.