Kalyan Ram Nandamuri scored a big hit with ‘Bimbisara’ last year. His ‘Amigos’ which released at the beginning of 2023 failed at the box-office but he is back once again with another interesting movie titled ‘Devil’. The promotional content showed a lot of promise and it is released in theatres now under decent expectations. Let us see how the movie turned out.
Story:
In 1947, a Zamindar’s daughter gets murdered at Rasapadu of Madras Providence. All of them believe that Zamindar himself killed his daughter due to the girl having an illegal affair. The police arrest him as well but British secret agent Devil (Kalyan Ram) who arrives to investigate the case tries to go quite deep which results in him uncovering many secrets. We get to know that Devil has other intentions for visiting Rasapadu. What happened to the case? Who is Devil? What is his aim? All these questions and their answers form the rest of the story.
Analysis:
The story of Subhash Chandrabose during Indian independence is a huge mystery to everyone. There are a lot of versions about what happened to this valiant hero in the history books. These stories are great to listen and read as they are engaging, mysterious and emotional. A lot of filmmakers made movies based on these theories. But the success formula lies in making it story emotional enough to connect with the current generation of youth. Nikhil came up ‘SPY’ a few months back and it revolved around Bose’s character. The trailer looked wonderful but the movie was quite pale in comparison to it. Even ‘Devil’ revolves around a fictional story spun around the Subhash Chandrabose character. But it is not a surface-level story like ‘SPY’. We can see the effort in terms of story writing and taking. But ‘Devil’ team failed in making the movie emotionally relatable to the audience. ‘Devil’ ended up being a regular action thriller that entertains people but it did not generate the required emotions to make the audience cheer for the lead character.
‘RRR’ is an unreal fictional story. Alluri Seetharamaraju and Komuram Bheem are from different time zones but they weaved a story around the two characters and what might happen if they meet. But Rajamouli made sure that the emotions are taken to the next level and drama is quite engaging throughout. But it is where the ‘Devil’ faltered as the sincere efforts are clearly visible. There is no deviation in terms of the narration and the makers did not add any commercial elements that dilute the storytelling. They stayed true to the story but the emotion went missing in this film. It starts off as a murder mystery and deals with a lot of layers which leads to a big point. But the thread woven around the murder mystery is not so engaging and the secret agent’s investigations looks quite ordinary. At a time when, spine-chilling murder mysteries are shown on OTT platforms, the investigation in ‘Devil’ leaves a lot to be desired. the curiosity in the movie starts when the movie turns towards Bose’s character. The murder mystery stops after that point which makes it irrelevant and this makes the first half an okay affair.
The entire highlights of ‘Devil’ lie in the second half. Though the twist in the hero’s character is not something unexpected, the way it is executed and the high it gives impresses the audience big time. The action sequences at that point is quite good. The last 30 minutes runs with good speed and compelling twists. But one wonders what the purpose of this movie was at the end. The patriotic element in the story is not elevated properly and the independence movement not bringing emotion in the movie is the maker’s fault. The characters should have been more emotionally treated so that the audience would have connected to them. The second is better in comparison with the first half and makes the film a decent watch. ‘Devil’ is a timepass watch that is two and a half hours long but don’t forget to keep your expectations in check.
Performances:
Kalyan Ram delivered a convincing performance as Devil. Though his character and acting appear quite regular at the beginning, the impact gets better as the movie progresses. His character gets good elevations in the second half and Kalyan Ram elevates his performance too. His efforts can be seen in the action episodes of this film. Samyuktha Menon impresses once again. He plays a vital character and looks the part. She did well in the scope given to her role. Mark Bennington is quite good as a British officer. Malavika Nair is just okay in a key role. One expects more from her but she is not up to the mark. The Kannada actor who played the role of Samudra was amazing. Nithin Mehta, Shafi, Satya and others did their roles with conviction.
Technicians:
Harshavardhan Rameswar who delivered a stunning work for ‘Animal’ recently and showcased his talent once again with ‘Devil’. His work is quite impactful. ‘Maye Chesi’ song is pleasing visually and audio-wise too. The background score elevated a lot of scenes but it was way too loud at places as well. Sounder Rajan’s cinematography is very good. The visuals are very attractive. The art director and other technicians worked very hard for this film. The production values are top-notch. Writer Srikanth Vissa seems to have put in a lot of effort into the script but it is not quite impactful. Though the screenplay is interesting, the emotion went missing completely. Abhishek Nama is okay as a director. He did not deviate from the story but failed to involve and engage the people.
Verdict: Devil – Thrills OK But Emotion Not OK!