| Devdas: A time for celebration |
| Devdas Premiere in Mumbai |
| Devdas Premiere in Mumbai |
 |
| Mumbai's New Excelsior Theatre sparkled July 11, as stars walked the red carpet. It witnessed the premiere of one of the most expensive and awaited films of the year --- Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Rs 500 million opus Devdas, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai and Jackie Shroff. Seen here is the director with his mother Leela Bhansali. |
 |
 |
| Madhuri Dixit, who did not attend the Devdas film screenings at the Cannes film festival and the promotions of the film in New York, makes an appearance with husband Dr Sriram Nene. When the two arrived, Shah Rukh Khan went up to them and said, "The crowd is more excited at seeing you both than me!" |
| Say 'cheese'! The Nenes and Shah Rukh smile for the photographers. Madhuri's scenes in Devdas opened to whistling, cheering and a lot of applause. |
 |
| Renowned artist MF Husain, one of Madhuri's greatest fans, could not stay away from her moment of glory. The painter turned up in an uncharacteristic tuxedo! Husain earlier directed the actress in Gaja Gamini, which failed at the box-office. |
 |
| Bharat Shah, the producer of Devdas, has a talk with actress Rani Mukherjee. |
 |
| Kathak dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj choreographed some sequences for Madhuri in Devdas. Seen here with Rani Mukherjee and Rekha (far right). |
 |
| Star of films like Umrao Jaan, Khoobsurat and Ijaazat, Rekha makes a point to filmmaker Karan Johar. |
 |
| Aishwarya Rai was the last to walk into the theatre. She sits flanked by her parents (Krishna Raj and Vrinda) and brother Aditya. Incidentally, Vrinda turns scriptwriter and Aditya turns co-producer with Ash's debut home production Dil Ka Rishta. |
 |
| Ash and Madhuri pose for the photographers, as they await the box-office fate of Devdas. |
 |
| Saif Ali Khan with wife Amrita Singh, Saif was first offered the role of Chunnilal. |
 |
| Sanjay (with mom), Shahrukh and Karan Johar |
 |
 |
| Rekha, Madhuri and Sriram Nene |
| Director-producer Mahesh Bhatt strolls in with daughter Pooja. Pooja Bhatt is now getting ready to release her Fish Eye Network's Sur. |
 |
| Aishwarya and Madhuri pose for pics |
 |
| SRK, Sriram Nene and Madhuri |
 |
| Hema Malini and Esha Deol |
 |
| Rekha and Rani |
 |
| Bharat Shah, Shahrukh and Sanjay |
 |
| SRK, Sriram Nene and Madhuri |
 |
| Aishwarya, Madhuri and Husband |
 |
| Kiron Kher, dressed in a pink sari, flashes her dimples. Devdas sees her as Sumitra, Paro's (Aishwarya Rai) mother. Incidentally, her son Sikander (in the picture), assisted Bhansali in Devdas. Her husband Anupam Kher's directorial debut Om Jai Jagadish (Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Urmila Matondkar, Mahima Chaudhary, Tara Sharma) releases July 19. |
 |
| Ramesh Taurani of Tips Cassettes was also present at the premiere. His last production, Rajkumar Santoshi's The Legend Of Bhagat Singh (starring Ajay Devgan), beat Guddu Dhonoa's 23rd March 1931 -- Shaheed (starring Bobby Deol) at the box-office. |
 |
| The industry's bad man Amrish Puri walks in with his trademark hat. Puri recently celebrated his 70th birthday and his film Gurudev Bhalla's Sharaarat, releases July 12, the same day as Devdas. |
 |
| Amid much fanfare, Devdas himself (Shah Rukh Khan) makes an entry with wife Gauri Khan (in black). Khan confessed earlier in an interview to rediff.com that he was sad for an entire year, while working on Devdas |
 |
| Prem Chopra, one of the industry's most dreaded screen villains, arrives. |
 |
| One of the exquisite outfits worn by Madhuri Dixit (playing Chandramukhi) during the Kahe chede mohe song in Devdas was on display at Excelsior. Designed by reputed fashion designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, this outfit has beautiful ghungroo work. |
| Bharat Shah, Shahrukh and Sanjay. |
 |
 |
| Shahrukh and Sanjay. |
 |
| Aishwarya and Madhuri |
 |
| Aishwarya and Rekha |
 |
| Shahrukh and Bharat Shah before the premiere |
| Devdas: A time for celebration |
| Celebrating movies is back with a bang. The premiere of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas on Thursday transported those present to the golden ages of Indian films when premieres marked the culmination of the film making activity. The stage was set for the 9 o'clock show and the theatre in Mumbai's heartland Colaba was decked like a bride with marigold and other flora. The whole atmosphere was engulfed in music as the ambience throbbed with a rare vitality. It was after a hard and arduous labor of over two and a half years and at the cost of over 50 crores that India's grandest film Devdas was set to present itself to the viewers. As the hour closed in, it was the film's financier Bharat Shah who arrived ahead of all. He was followed shortly by the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Shah Rukh, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya were the nest to arrive. Madhuri was accompanied by hubby Dr. Nene who did not seem to see any competition in Madhuri-smitten M F Hussain who was also present. AMong the glitterati present were Rekha, Yash Chopra, Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra, Pooja and Mahesh Bhatt. And Devdas lived upto the expectations. When the curtains fell for intermission, the whole auditorium was struck in awe of the grandeur and magnitude of this ethereal production. Everyone seemed to enjoy the epic story that Sanjay Leela Bhansali had woven out of color, music and emotions. Sanjay commented, "It is great to see the love of all the viewers for the film. I am now awaiting the verdict of the real audience tomorrow." After the screening, the Devdas invitees shifted base to Insomnia, the pub at Taj. Madhuri and hubby departed early while the rest boogied the night away. After all the hard work put in by the cast and crew, this was the night to celebrate. |
 |
| Pooja Bhat and Saif Ali Khan |
 |
| Shahrukh with Rekha |
 |
| Hema Malini and Esha Deol |
 |
| SRK and Sanjay..Eyes Wide Open |
 |
| Karan complementing Aishwarya |