Devara ends on a note — this is Part I, after all — that attempts to pose a burning question that will remind you of another burning question: “Katappa ne Bahubali ko kyon maara?”
But while the mind-bender at the end of Bahubali: The Beginning captured the collective consciousness of almost an entire nation and perhaps accounted for 90 per cent of the tickets sold for Bahubali: The Conclusion, at least in its first weekend, the question of who disposes off a key character in Devara is not going to give anyone sleepless nights.
Reason? If there is one word to sum up Devara: Part I, it would be predictable. If there is a phrase to describe the film, it would be old wine in an even older bottle. To begin with, however, the big pan-Indian, pan-global release of the week has a lot going for it. A charismatic leading man in NTR Jr returning with a solo release after a gap, a cast peppered with names like Saif Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor and Prakash Raj, a no-holds-barred budget running into a few hundred crores, a wide release in both Indian and international markets and the potential to appeal to a huge audience, brought up on a steady diet of the Bahubali films and the KGF franchise.
But Devara somehow squanders it all at the altar of lazy storytelling and below-par special effects. The film plays out over almost three hours, which, in this age of rapidly shrinking attention spans, is a red flag even before the opening credits roll.
To be fair, director Koratala Siva — who has earned his action filmmaking stripes with winners like Janatha Garage (that also starred NTR Jr) and Bharat Ane Nu — hits the ground running. The first hour of Devara is both pacy and massy. R. Rathnavelu’s immersive cinematography ushers us into the world of Devara (NTR Jr, also known as Tarak). The setting is coastal, with Devara being said to belong to one of four villages in Yerra Samudram near Ratnagiri on the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border. Devara and his band of men — principal among them being the wily Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan, with a wig and then without and then again with) — carry out daring heists on cargo ships, mostly functioning as mercenaries-on-hire. Though they seem to be buddies, there is an undercurrent of tension in the Devara-Bhaira equation. Devara is loved and revered by all, while Bhaira invites respect as a byproduct of fear. An annual sparring competition among the four villages, where the winner gets to take home the Goddess’s weapons as a sign of power and prestige, has Devara always emerging on top, much to Bhaira’s chagrin.
Things move at a brisk pace till the day the two decide to part ways, with Devara’s conscience coming in the way of his profession. Not only does he give it up, he also promises to be a hurdle in Bhaira’s way whenever there is an attempt to plunder the seas.
The first half of Devara has some effectively executed action scenes that set the tone for an intriguing watch. The initial heist on a cargo ship where Devara and Bhaira, along with their gang, evade the cops in the dead of the night among the roaring waters, is a brilliantly done sequence. As is Devara’s introduction shot which is sure to bring the house down, and not only by his staunch fans.
Devara cruises along till the interval and while it doesn’t show anything new, still manages to entertain. However, the curse of the second half — a bona fide affliction that plagues most Indian films — sets in soon and even though it tries to pack in ample action (which is, again, the highlight of the film) and drama, the lame attempt at a twist with which the film ends and will segue into Part II is something that is easily apparent much before it happens.
What also doesn’t work is Janhvi Kapoor’s presence solely for skin show. Over the last few years, Janhvi has picked meaningful projects in Hindi cinema and to see her take several steps back to play nothing but a glam pinup here is a disappointment — not to mention the film feeling outdated and regressive quite often.
Anirudh’s pulsating background score and, of course, NTR Jr’s mass appeal and his ability to slip into any role effortlessly are positives that will aid Devara at the box office. According to initial trade reports, Devara is looking at a haul of ₹100-crore-plus on Day One itself. That is a testament to NTR Jr’s fandom among the mass audience. Devara gets that memo and fulfils it. Nothing more, nothing less.
