Day: February 5, 2025

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Deva: A competent investigative drama bolstered by an engaging second half

This Rosshan Andrrews directorial is inspired from the director’s own Mumbai Police but with a different touch. ‘Deva’ often plays to the gallery celebrating the rakish ways of its titular character; thankfully though the movie also critiques the inner workings of the police system
Deva (Hindi), 30-01-2025, Action, Thriller, 2 hours 36 minutes, U/A, Theatre
  • Main Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, Pavail Gulati, and Kubra Sait
  • Director: Rosshan Andrrews
  • Producer: Siddharth Roy Kapur
  • Music Director: Vishal Mishra
  • Cinematography: Amit Roy
  • Rating: 3/5

Right since the first teaser of Deva, there has been a lot of speculation on it being a remake of Rosshan Andrrews’s own Mumbai Police (2013).

Shahid and the rest of the team have reiterated that Deva isn’t Mumbai Police but after seeing the film it’s clear that Roshaan Andrrews has taken inspiration from his own movie.

Thankfully though, Deva has its own unique flavour, unlike the Kalees-directed Baby John, which had plenty of South drama.

Synopsis

For those who haven’t seen Mumbai Police, Deva focuses on inspector Dev Ambre (Shahid Kapoor). He is very arrogant along with being hot-headed.

Dev Ambre has zero tolerance for rules while carrying out his police duties within the boundaries of what he considers right. At the same time, he is seen sharing a solid brotherhood with ACP Rohan D’ Silva ( an impactful Pavail Gulati).

Pravesh Rana plays a senior officer and the boss of Dev called Farhan. Farhan often gets angry with Dev’s ways of doing his duty but still stands with him.

Pooja Hegde plays a crime journalist called Diya, she is the daughter of a constable. Dev and Diya eventually fall in love but Dev’s life takes a very dramatic turn when Rohan is shot by a mysterious killer while he is being felicitated.

This is the story in brief.

Strong and weak aspects

The beginning portions of Deva are mostly a series of sequences celebrating his machismo. Shades of Shahid Kapoor’s blockbuster and very polarizing Kabir Singh can be found in numerous instances.

But the movie picks up pace after the tragic death of Rohan. There are constant twists and turns with intricate subplots.

The interval bang showcasing the serious accident of Dev, resulting in a memory loss is a major high point as the viewers, particularly those who haven’t seen Mumbai Police would be tensed about the killer’s identity.

Deva is an action thriller

In the second half, the viewers see Shahid’s persona changing as Dev grapples with what he was once while handling an important task at hand.

There is a distinct mellowness in the way he goes about things, but at the same time, there is a quiet determination too. This has come out brilliantly in both the writing done by many like Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal, coupled with Shahid Kapoor’s acting performance.

Mention must also be made of the dialogues where the court criticizes Deva’s hooligan ways strictly warning him that police are not meant to behave like rowdies terrorising people.

A major problem with Deva is its women characters and a haphazard love story. Pooja Hegde as Divya looks gorgeous as always playing the honest crime journalist competently but the way her track has been integrated leaves a lot to be desired.

Kubbra Sait as a women cop doesn’t add much to the proceedings either. The character of Kubbra Sait could have added a different dimension given that we mostly see men as police officers. But she becomes more of an add-on, not serving much purpose.

Shahid’s show all the way

There is an important plot twist in the pre-climax. Many details of which cannot be revealed here but this portion gives an emotional subtext into the hyper-aggressive nature of Deva in the first half.

Shahid Kapoor in Deva
Shahid Kapoor in ‘Deva’. (x)

Shahid brings in a raw intensity brilliantly capturing the emotional turmoil of a man carrying the burden of his father’s criminal past.

The revelation of who is the killer and the motivations behind it will definitely shock the viewers. The brotherhood between Pavail Gulati and Shahid Kapoor has also come out well.

Pavail Gulati brings in an emotional depth proving to be the perfect anthesis to Shahid’s Deva. Pravesh Rana also lends solid support as the senior inspector; he brings both authority and warmth to the part.

Mumbai, an integral part

The use of Mumbai’s rustic surroundings brings in an extra layer. The city with its many layers becomes a character in itself, the cinematography of Amith Ray is simply brilliant.

A particular mention must also be made of how he captures the action sequences designed by Parvaz Sheikh and Abbas Ali Moghul among others.

The songs don’t make much of an impression except for “Bhasad Macha”, the combination of Shahid Kapoor’s electric dance moves along with the raw energy packs in a major punch. However, Jakes Bejoy’s background score is of the highest order elevating the intense scenes.

Final take

To sum it up Deva thankfully doesn’t completely glorify the cops, something which we have seen a lot in mainstream cinema. At the same time, a much better first half would make this investigative drama a more wholesome experience.

(Views expressed here are personal.)

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/deva-movie-review/

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The Storyteller: A powerful ode to the eternal power of stories and the voices that shape them

This Anant Mahadeven directorial is based on legendary director Satyajit Ray’s short story ‘Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro’.
The Storyteller (Hindi), 28-01-2025, Drama, 1 hour 52 minutes, U/A, OTT
  • Main Cast: Paresh Rawal, Adil Hussain, and Tannishtha Chattejee
  • Director: Anant Mahadeven
  • Producer: Jyoti Deshpande
  • Music Director: Hriju Roy
  • Cinematography: Alphonse Roy
  • Rating: 3.5/5

Legendary director Satayit Ray is a man of numerous talents. He was not only a celebrated director but also a wonderful writer. His stories remain relevant today.

In 2021, a Netflix anthology titled Ray was released. The very talented directors Abhishek Chaubey, Srijit Mukherjee, and Vasan Bala did absolute justice to Satyajit Ray’s stories.

Now you have a feature film The Storyteller directed by Anant Mahadevan based on his short story streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar.

Synopsis

Just like his other stories, this one too holds significant relevance even today, raising important questions. The movie delivers a powerful message about how stories by themselves don’t hold magic; it’s the storyteller who breathes life into them.

The core of The Storyteller is two men of two very different thought processes and backgrounds. Paresh Rawal plays Tarini a man who has never stuck to one proper job throughout his life. However, his one constant love is storytelling.

He enjoys telling stories but is very afraid of putting them down on paper. On the other hand, you have Adil Hussain’s Garodia, a Gujarati businessman from Ahmadabad. Garodia sells luxurious cotton sheets to provide sleep for the rest of the world but he suffers from the plague of insomnia.

To get over his insomnia he puts an advertisement for a storyteller who will put him to sleep through stories. Tarini comes across this advertisement and upon his friend’s insistence decides to become a storyteller given his love for stories.

A very unexpected friendship develops between the two, but things take a very drastic turn when Garodia starts exploiting the stories of Tarini leading to significant differences.

Strong aspects

Adil Hussain in The Storyteller
Adil Hussain in ‘The Storyteller’. (X)

A very strong aspect of The Storyteller is undoubtedly the characterizations of the two principal characters.

Tarini is a quintessential Bengali with a huge love for Rabindranath Tagore books, fish and Durga puja among others. He loves losing himself in the stories he narrates.

Garodia on the other hand completely embodies a typical Gujarati businessman. His personality comes out strikingly in the design of the house, major focus on numbers and very importantly possessing lots of books but not reading them.

He has a certain obsession about finding success in business leaving little time for artistic traits.

The pace of the movie

This contrast drives the movie in many ways. Director Ananth Mahadevan does a very fine job of exploring this through an unhurried mode of narration.

Paresh Rawal in ‘The Storyteller’. (X)

The pacing of The Storyteller and its aesthetics often reflects that of the art house Bengali movies. This can be a major deterrent for some particularly today’s audiences who are used to a certain kind of cinema.

But this unhurried mode of narration is also a major strength of the movie.

A special mention must also be made of how Tarini doesn’t directly confront Garodia, instead he cleverly exposes the man as a plagiarist.

It is subtle but still powerful. At the same time, the movie also focuses on the shared need of stories through the two men even if they are culturally and thematically very different from each other.

This comes out powerfully in the climax where the director talks about how both men may tell the same tale but their versions will diverge leaving the viewers to decide for themselves which version they prefer.

A social commentary

Through the character of Garodia, the movie also reflects on the exploitation of creative prowess—Rich people wanting to come across as intellectual. This has relevance to today’s digital age. Certain writers are paid a lot of money to ghostwrite the tweets of some so that they come across as humorous.

A certain need and insecurity is what drives Garodia to plagiarize Tarini’s stories. The insecurity of Garodia is not just reflected in stealing Tarini’s stories but also in consuming fish even though he is repelled by the smell of it. In a way, Garodia comes across as a tragic figure as he wants to fit in.

Among the stories narrated by Tarini a mention must be made of the spy pigeon during World War 2 and also a hundred-year-old tree in the Aravali forests.

Technical aspects and characterisation

The Storyteller also benefits from the wonderful atmosphere. Cinematographer Alphonso Roy does a terrific job of capturing the ethos of both Kolkata and Ahmadabad through his lens. The art design also takes the viewers back in time, making it an immersive experience.

‘The Storyteller’ is based on Satyajit Ray’s story. (X)

Talking about the two leads, both Paresh Rawal and Adil Hussain deliver terrific performances, Paresh Rawal completely embodies the typical characteristics of a Bengali man with flair.

He effortlessly gets into the skin of the role proving why he is such a legend once again. His punch lines are a sheer delight whether it is cursing capitalism or the line about plagiarism.

A dialogue needs to be particularly mentioned here. “Nakal Ke Liye Bhi Akal Chahiye” (You need intelligence to even copy something).

Adil Hussain matches step to step-with his delightful act of an insecure businessman. Adil comes across as a half antagonist and a half sympathetic figure; both of which he captures splendidly.

Senior actress Revathy has an extended special appearance as Saraswati. In spite of the brief screen time, Revathy makes her presence amply felt. Mention must also be made of Tannishtha Chatterjee as the Tamil librarian. Her scenes with Paresh though few are still wonderful to watch.

The songs of the legendary writer and poet Rabindranath Tagore such as Purano Shei Dinner Kotha and Tumi Robe Nirobe and the various other folk songs have been seamlessly integrated into the narrative as well.

Final take

To sum it up The Storyteller is a must-watch for fans of serious cinema and of course the many admirers of Satyajit Ray too.

(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/the-storyteller-movie-review/