Chandramukhi is one of the pivotal characters in the 1917 Bengali novel Devdas by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Her character was inspired by the Hindu mystical singer Meera, who devoted her life to Lord Krishna; similarly Chandramukhi devoted her life to Devdas. Chandramukhi is portrayed as a tawaif in the novel and its film adaptations. Chandramukhi means "moon faced" or "as beautiful as the moon" in Sanskrit.
In the novel Chandramukhi is a courtesan (tawaif) who lives in Calcutta (known as Kolkata after 2001). She is considered the most beautiful and richest prostitute in the area of Chitpur. She is first introduced to Devdas by Chunnilal, who returns to Calcutta heartbroken after the marriage of Parvati "Paro". Devdas, disgusted over Chandramukhi's profession insults her and leaves her kotha. Chandramukhi, impressed by Devdas's attitude, later falls in love with him after realizing his steadfast love for Paro. She leaves her profession for Devdas and convinces him to marry her; he, however, has to reluctantly reject her offer as he has devoted his life to Paro. In return, Chandramukhi does not force him to be with her but waits patiently for him. Subsequently, she also moves to Ashthajhari village, where she lives in a muddy house located at the bank of a river and helps the needy. After some struggle, she meets with Devdas again, who now accepts her love.
Film
In most of the film adaptations of Devdas, the story of Chandramukhi is similar to the novel. However, in most of the films her humanitarian work in helping the needy is not depicted. Unlike in the novel, a scene in which Chandramukhi and Parvathi meet was added in Bimal Roy's 1955 version when Paro, played by Suchitra Sen riding in a human rickshaw, comes across Chandramukhi, played by Vyjayanthimala, who just stares at Paro without a single word being exchanged between them. The meeting scene of Paro and Chandramukhi in the 1955 version was still regarded as one of the memorable scene in Bollywood with the background music adding the impact to the scene. In the 2002 version, the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, extended the interaction between Paro and Chandramukhi, also showing them dancing together to the hit song "Dola Re Dola".
Performers Year Title Portrayed by Language Other cast Notes Devdas Paro 1928 Devdas Niharbala / Miss Parul Silent Phani Sarma TarakbalaFirst film adaptation of Devdas 1935 Devdas Chandrabati Devi Bengali Pramathesh Barua Jamuna Barua All directed by Pramathesh Barua. 1936 Devdas T. R. Rajakumari Hindi K. L. Saigal 1937 Devdas Mohini Assamese Phani Sarma Zubeida MuktiMenaka DeviHindi Pramathesh BaruaKanan DeviA contemporary retelling capturing the nostalgia and emotions of its male protagonist.Bengali 1953 Devadasu Lalitha Telugu Akkineni Nageswara Rao Savitri The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu and Tamil.DevadasTamil 1955 Devdas Vyjayanthimala Hindi Dilip Kumar Suchitra Sen Selamat Tinggal, Kekasihku Molly Lim Malay S. Roomai Noor Chang Lai Lai Singaporean film also known as Good Bye My Lover. 1965 Devdas Nayyar Sultana Urdu Habib Taalish Shamim Ara Pakistani film 1974 Devadasu Jayanthi Telugu Krishna Vijaya Nirmala 1978 Devadasu Malli Puttadu Vanisri Akkineni Nageswara Rao Savitri Sequel to the 1953 film Devadasu and follows the rebirth of the characters Chandramukhi and Devadasu, now known as Aruna and Sridhar Raja, who are reunited by Parvathi. Additionally, the role of Aruna was portrayed by Vanisri instead of Lalitha. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar Rekha Hindi Amitabh Bachchan Raakhee Loosely inspired by Devdas and the French play Cyrano de Bergerac. 1979 Devdas Supriya Choudhury Bengali Soumitra Chatterjee Sumitra Mukherjee Also known as Debdas. 1980 Prema Tarangalu Jayasudha Telugu Krishnam Raju Sujatha Remakes of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. 1981 Amara Kaaviyam Sripriya Tamil Sivaji Ganesan Madhavi 1982 Devdas Anwara Bengali Bulbul Ahmed Kabori Bangladeshi film 1989 Devadas Ramya Krishnan Malayalam Venu Nagavally Parvathy 2002 Devdas Indrani Haldar Bengali Prosenjit Chatterjee Arpita Pal Devdas Madhuri Dixit Hindi Shah Rukh Khan Aishwarya Rai 2004 Devdas Sreelekha Mitra Bengali Parambrata Chatterjee Monami Ghosh 2009 Dev.D Kalki Koechlin Hindi Abhay Deol Mahie Gill Modern-day take on Devdas set in contemporary Punjab and Delhi. 2010 Devdas Meera Urdu Nadeem Shah Zara Sheikh Pakistani film 2013 Devdas Moushumi Bengali Shakib Khan Apu Biswas Bangladeshi film 2017 Devi Shataf Figar Paoli Dam Shubh Mukherjee Modern-day take on Devdas with gender bent versions of characters. 2017-2021 Dev DD Sanjay Suri Hindi Asheema Vardaan Akhil Kapoor Web series and a modern-day take on Devdas with gender bent versions of the characters. 2018 Daas Dev Aditi Rao Hydari Rahul Bhatt Richa Chadha Modern-day take on Devdas. The film follows a politician's son, Dev, who leads a lavish but troubled life as a drug addict with massive debts, until he is kidnapped and then returns to claim his father's legacy after his uncle suffers a heart attack.2026DCWamiqa GabbiTamilLokesh KanagarajSanjana Krishnamoorthyan alcoholic gangster (Das) and a brutalized sex worker (Chandra) wage a violent war of revenge against corrupt police officers following the tragic death of a bar singer (Parvathy). Emperor vs Sarat ChandraKoushani MukherjeeBengaliBased on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Pather Dabi and the controversies around its time of publication; Chandramukhi's special appearance brings a crossover between Chattopadhyay's two celebrated novels
Popular culture Chandramukhi is one of the first characters in an Indian novel to deal with prostitution. She was often depicted as a tawaif with a heart of gold. The character of Chandramukhi had paved the way for other portrayals of prostitutes and tawaifs in films like Pyaasa (1957), Sadhna (1958) and Pakeezah (1972).
Legacy Chandramukhi was well received in India by critics. In 2006, Rediff included Chandramukhi in their list of "Bollywood's Best Tawaif". Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India also ranked Chandramukhi at #5 in his list "Tart with a heart".
Awards There are many actresses who have portrayed Chandramukhi in film adaptations of Devdas. The first notable award was won by Vyjayanthimala in 1956 when she won the Filmfare Awards in the Supporting Actress category. However, she was also the first person to decline the award, as she thought that her role was not a supporting one but was of equal importance and parallel to that of Paro in the 1955 version. Madhuri Dixit and Kalki Koechlin and also won the same award as Vyjayanthimala for their respective portrayals.
The following are awards and nominations received by actresses who have played the role of Chandramukhi in film: Year Film Nominee Award Result Note Ref.1957DevdasVyjayanthimalaFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actressrowspan=3 She refused to accept the award as she thought that Chandramukhi and Parvathi were parallel roles and not a supporting role2002DevdasMadhuri DixitScreen Award for Best Supporting ActressZee Cine Award for Best Actor – Femalerowspan=2 IIFA Award for Best Actress2010Dev.DKalki KoechlinFilmfare Award for Best Supporting ActressStardust Award for Breakthrough Performance – Female2013DevdasMoushumiBangladesh National Film Award for Best Actress People's Choice Meril-Prothom Alo Award for Best Film Actress
See also List of prostitutes and courtesans Hooker with a heart of gold
References
External links Chandramukhi on IMDb