"Dola Re Dola" is a song from the 2002 Indian period romantic drama film ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden ...

'', directed by

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sanjay Leela Bhansali (; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and music composer who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfar ...

, and starring

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebritie ...

and

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters, ...

. The song was composed by

Ismail Darbar Ismail Darbar is an Indian film score composer, instrumentalist, violinist and music director. Career Ismail Darbar is from Surat, Gujarat. He worked for several years as a session violinist for leading music directors Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kal ...

, with lyrics provided by

Nusrat Badr Nusrat Badr (died 24 January 2020) was a lyricist, of 817 songs in 108 films working mostly on Bollywood movies as songwriter. He was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist in 2002 for the song "Dola Re Dola" from the movie ''Devdas''. ...

, and sung by

Kavita Krishnamurthy Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojp ...

Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...

and KK (backing vocals). The song received high acclaim from critics and audiences alike, becoming a blockbuster due to the unique dance duet between Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit, two of the leading actresses of the era.

Picturization

The song is picturized on Parvati (Aishwarya Rai) and

Chandramukhi ''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu. A remake of Vasu's Kannada film ''Apthamitra'' (2004), which itself loosely based on the Malayalam film ''Manichitrathazhu'' (1993), the fi ...

(Madhuri Dixit), and appears during the celebration of

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

. Both are expressing the love and ecstasy by their dancing. The video song also had some long takes. The video of the song is shot in the studios built with a lavish and expensive set. It had a production cost of (), equivalent to () adjusted for inflation. It was the most expensive

Bollywood music Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with danc ...

video up until "Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah" from ''

Jodhaa Akbar ''Jodhaa Akbar'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language historical drama, epic historical romantic drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th centu ...

'' (2008).

Choreography

The song in the video was choreographed by

Saroj Khan Saroj Khan (born Nirmala Nagpal; 22 November 1948 – 3 July 2020) was an Indian dance choreographer in Hindi cinema. She was born in Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India. She was best known for the dance form mujra and the fir ...

, for which she won her first

National Film Award for Best Choreography The National Film Award for Best Choreography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards pr ...

. The song shows Parvati and Chandramukhi dancing during Durga Puja. The choreography of the song was something different as it was a mix of Indian classical dance forms. The form of dance that Saroj Khan explored with "Dola Re Dola", is called Nautwary. It included steps of

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

and

Bharatnatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

Behind-The-Scenes

According to Saroj Khan, this song was one of the toughest she had to endure as Madhuri and Aishwarya are brilliant dancers. She had to balance in giving steps equally good to both that none of them would feel that they would be left out. But nothing of the sort occurred. During the shot, there were several retakes and at a particular point, they had to perform a step that they had to fall, to be perfectly in sync with the beats. It became physically demanding for both actresses.

was involved in the dance sequences. During the shoot, Aishwarya's ears started to bleed because of the heavy earrings, but she didn't say it and continued to shoot until it was completed.

Reception

The song became an instant hit, as it combined the 2 leading heroines of the era in a unique dance song. The song received numerous awards in categories of singing and choreography.

Accolades

References