Acclaimed director Bimal Roy’s debut feature about a struggling writer established him as an important Bollywood voice through its realistic portrayal of the simmering class conflicts in pre-independence India. Anup (Radhamohan Bhattacharya) loses his job writing speeches for a wealthy industrialist and decides to focus on finishing his novel. But when his former boss steals Anup’s unpublished book, he throws himself into socialist politics.
Devdas, the son of a zamindar, and Parvati, his neighbour's daughter, are childhood sweethearts. However, class and caste differences prevent their marriage. Devdas is sent off to Calcutta, while Paro is married off to an aged rich widower. In Calcutta, as remorse drives him to alcohol, Devdas meets Chandramukhi, a tawaif.
A remake of the Bengali film Bhagya Chakra, it was the first Hindi film to use playback singing. It was director Nitin Bose who came up with the idea of playback singing.
