Story by Raksha Bhattacharjee
Review of Deva
Although Shahid Kapoor does a fantastic job as Dev, the film’s second half stumbles with complicated turns, leaving up the possibility of arcs. From Ranveer Singh in Simmba to Salman Khan in Dabangg or Akshay Kumar in Rowdy Rathore, viewers have always enjoyed whacky cops. Dev Ambre has everything it takes to be a member of the league. The movie is a complete disappointment, though.
Curiously, his name isn’t Deva, yet the movie’s title spells it that way. Is the surname Ambre derived from the extra “a”? Is that a good wordplay on a crucial plot issue, or what? But that’s where the film’s cleverness ends, regrettably.
What is it about?
Dev, a fiery star police officer in Mumbai who has no fear of anyone, is the main character of the novel. In an encounter one day, he murders a notorious gangster named Prabhat Jadhav (Manish Wadhwa), allowing his best friend ACP Rohan D’Silva (Pavail Gulatie) to claim the glory. Rohan is killed by gunfire during a felicitation event. A furious developer launches an inquiry and solves the case. After that, he loses his memories. What follows is the remainder of the tale.
Aside from shoddy VFX in the opening sequence, the movie was about to get off to a solid start. Ignoring that, one waits for Shahid to elicit his angry Kabir Singh-meets-Haider haircut. And from the very beginning, he delivers. In addition to having spot-on flair, he also makes a very attractive police officer on television.
By purposefully skipping well-known sites like the Gateway of India and instead concentrating on the chawls and locations like the Crawford market, director Roshan Andrews has done a fantastic job of capturing Mumbai. That makes the scenes seem more grounded. Wearing a blue blouse from the movie Deewaar, Roshan also has a strong affection for Amitabh Bachchan’s well-known painting. His inclusion of it in multiple frames is not merely a coincidence. Regardless of how incorrect his actions may have seemed to others, Amitabh’s character in that movie remained adamant about them. The same is true of Dev.
And things start to fall apart.
Things appear hopeful as we get closer to the intermission point. Your patience is put to the test in the second half. We cannot say the same of Shahid, but he does justice to what the tale demands of him.
Following the break, the investigation drama becomes more complicated as an effort is made to include as many twists as possible.
Furthermore, the climax falls short of expectations. As journalist Diya Sathaye and Dev’s girlfriend, Pooja Hegde has little role in this. Pravesh Rana as DCP Farhan Khan and Pavail are both passable. Maybe Deva needed more action. And less layers. Why complicate the narrative if the treatment is extensive and includes a few really noteworthy moments? There are also some intriguing storylines that seem unfinished.
The title tune, which is upbeat, is the only track in the album. Hussain Dalal’s and Abbas Dalal’s dialogue is also passable. Deva has a great deal of potential to provide us with a bulky character, who is genuinely unexpected and always on edge. What we get is a plot that is predictable and features an in-form Shahid.