Where to rent "Devdas"?

April 13, 2008 4:11 PM

Where in Durham or Chapel Hill, North Carolina, can I rent a copy of "Devdas" on DVD?

I already checked the VisArt in Chapel Hill and they don't have it. An Indian food store?

posted by amtho to society & culture (15 comments total)

Uh, which Devdas?

Duke and UNC-Wilmington have copies of the one in which "Devdas (Dilip Kumar) and Parvati (Vyjayantimala) had been inseprable [sic] as children, and as they grew older, love blossomed. Devdas is sent away for studies by his parents ... events lead to Parvati being married off to someone else and Devdas drowns his sorrows in alcohol."--Container.
posted by cog_nate at 4:30 PM on April 13

Probably the one with Shahrukh Khan.
posted by Xere at 4:46 PM on April 13

Well, in that case, Duke, UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Chapel Hill libraries have it.
posted by cog_nate at 4:56 PM on April 13

And just to namedrop Search TRLN, you can also find it here.
posted by rachelpapers at 6:49 PM on April 13

Hi there! UNC class of '96 here.

What about Netflix? It's on there (and in my queue, in fact). University libraries are an excellent resource, as has already been pointed out above, if you want to be able to go pick it up NOW, but that may not of be any use to you if you're not a student or otherwise affiliated with The One True University.

Otherwise, yeah, Netflix. As an Indian fellow (albeit born in the US) in Baltimore City (not the more diverse suburbs), I know what it's like to have a hard time finding anything (or anyone) Indian in the immediate vicinity . . .
posted by CommonSense at 6:57 PM on April 13

did you try visart?
posted by virga at 7:25 PM on April 13

Yes, I'm interested in the 2002 version with Aishwarya Rai. I'm not interested in joining NetFlix because I don't want to watch movies that much (nor be tempted to). And I did try Visart (as mentioned in my question), at least the one in Chapel Hill.

It looks like it's in the UNC Library, and I have a borrower's card, but it can't be checked out: "lib use only". I can't tell whether Duke allows videos to be checked out, but I don't have a card there anyway...
posted by amtho at 7:42 PM on April 13

Has anyone seen this movie? Is it very depressing?
posted by amtho at 7:44 PM on April 13

antho,

you can check out Devdas from Duke. This is actually the only movie that I checked out from Duke while I was there (which i find absolutely hilarious that you're looking for it!).

It is in the Lilly Library on East Campus (that's where all the DVD's are at.) I'm not sure if you can borrow it since you're not a student - I know the library is open to all though, so maybe they'll give it to you (you might just have to jump through some hoops to get it).

And yes, it's very depressing- but cathartic. It is a beautiful movie, of my of my all-time faves, and one of the most expensive Bollywood productions of all time.
posted by unexpected at 8:17 PM on April 13

Thanks, unexpected! I just checked the Duke Library site, which, unfortunately says (about a guest borrower's card I could get): "A Perkins System/Divinity Card is available for an annual fee of $35... does NOT include ... videos from the Lilly library..."

So, no go. I guess I'm going to have to canvas the local Indian grocery stores. Or just order a copy.
posted by amtho at 8:49 PM on April 13

arg.

Take laptop->stay in library->burn movie.


btw, you can't get this movie off of Netflix. It's available, but the American Distributor screwed up the production of the movie- the movie is on the disc labeled "special features" and the special features are on the "feature movie" disc. (Tried this three times with Netflix)

You can try looking at Indian grocers, but i don't think you're going to have much luck there....

I ended up just buying a copy off of Amazon.
posted by unexpected at 9:02 PM on April 13

Hey unexp - Why are you pessimistic about finding a copy at an Indian grocer?
posted by amtho at 9:08 PM on April 13

well, The Indian grocers in the Triangle area are less than stellar. They don't compare to the Indian grocers in the DFW area (where I grew up and now live). I couldn't find a copy at any Indian grocer here, so I'm mentally applying the transitive property of Indian grocers, and assuming you won't find a copy there...
posted by unexpected at 9:43 PM on April 13

Oh, of course: the transitive property of grocers. I should trust it, but I'll probably drag myself out to some place with fresh samosas and yummy frozen naan anyway :)

Thanks for the info!
posted by amtho at 11:11 PM on April 13

I haven't done rentals from them (only purchased movies) but you could try an online place like http://indiaweekly.com/
posted by fings at 12:20 PM on April 14