Dev – Movie Review

‘Dev’, starring Karthi and Rakul Preet Singh in lead roles, has arrived at the theatres. Let’s find out what works and what doesn’t.

Story:
Dev (Karthi) loves adventures. Living life king size, he spends most of his time visiting places in company with his friends (played by actors Amrutha Srinivasan and Vignesh Kanth), who want him to think beyond friendship and explore love. He tries to befriend Meghana (Rakul), an innovative entrepreneur who is too busy with her work to even think of love or marriage. Predictably, she gets attracted to Dev’s thinking and jolly lifestyle.

There comes a moment when the duo’s relationship gets bumpy. What is that trigger event that troubles their relationship? Will the duo ever patch up? Who makes the first move? Answers to these are found in the second half.

Analysis:

‘Dev’ is a painfully slow-paced movie. The story (hardly any plot) moves at a snail pace. The entire first half goes into establishing Karthi’s character, his enjoyments and what kind of equations he has with his two long-time buddies. The male friend, for a change, comes from a middle-class background. When he thinks of doing a nine-to-five job, our hero convinces him to think different. Such small moments are the only ones that are a bit different. Otherwise, the movie is very cliched and silly.

In the age of Facebook and dating apps like Tinder, the comedy around them should have been very interesting. But the film has TV serial-type ideas around online relationships.

The scenes between the lead pair in the second half have uninspiring traits. The conversations are lifeless and the way Rakul feels over-joyed when she is with the hero looks artificial. ‘Get out of the flights and cars and explore Mumbai’, the dude says and she thinks she has met a great poet.

There is one weird idea that enters the story in the climax. It makes Rakul’s character look childish. In the entire first half, she was shown to be a normal, broad-minded and intellectual character. So, what she does in the second half lacks conviction.
The performances are just about OK. Karthi was brilliant in ‘Khakee’ and very good in ‘Chinababu’ but in this film, he is just okay. Interestingly, he’s the saving grace. Rakul doesn’t bring anything special to the table. Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj don’t register their presence. They are neglected completely.

Harris Jayaraj’s songs and BGM get woven naturally into the proceedings. The cinematography is good.

Bottom-line: Is this adventure film or romantic drama? Even though the protagonist loves adventure, the movie hardly offers such high points. ‘Dev’ has clichéd story and predictable narration and the scenes are vapid. The dialogues are laughable at times. Totally, it is a film with lousy narration.