Shah Rukh Khan said that while turning to alcohol helped him win the Best Actor award for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, there was also one downside to it.
Shah Rukh Khan played an alcoholic in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2002 blockbuster period drama Devdas. In a new interaction from the Locarno Film Festival, the actor revealed he resorted to method acting for the role, which both worked in his favour and against him.
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What Shah Rukh said
Shah Rukh said he turned to alcohol in order to play the titular character. When asked if that turned out well, he responded that it did professionally since it fetched him the Best Actor award next year. However, he also added that it took a toll on his health. “It might have helped, but I started drinking after the film and that’s one downside to it,” he said.
Shah Rukh talked further about his portrayal of the iconic character, conceived by Bengali novelist Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay back in 1917. “I didn’t want you to feel love for him, but I didn’t want you to hate him. Nor did I want you to like him for being an alcoholic who runs away from every girl that he falls in love with. I just wanted him to appear indescribable,” said Shah Rukh.
About Devdas
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s adaptation of Devdas followed that of Bimal Roy in 1955, which starred Dilip Kumar in the titular role. Bhansali’s Devdas also starred Aishwarya Rai as Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi opposite Shah Rukh. Jackie Shroff as Chunri Babu, Kirron Kher, Tiku Talsania, and Dina Pathak were also part of the ensemble cast. Produced by Bharat Shah’s Mega Bollywood, Devdas became a rare Hindi film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival that year. The memorable music of the film was composed by Ismail Darbar. Made on a then-unprecedented budget of ₹50 crore, Devdas earned ₹99.88 crore worldwide.
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Shah Rukh’s next release is King, a crime drama helmed by Sujoy Ghosh. He’ll be seen sharing screen space with daughter Suhana Khan in an age-appropriate role. Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, King is slated to release in cinemas on Eid 2026.
