Jr. NTR’s film manages to anchor itself to terra firma at times
New Delhi:
Full of relentless action and vivid visuals but devoid of real emotion, Devara: Part 1 (Hindi) Strictly for movie fans who, in the absence of a solidly original concept, want to thrive on their epic scale, star power and an array of swords, scythes and short-bladed scimitars at their disposal.
Set in the last two decades of the 20th century, the film seeks to make up for what it lacks in storytelling acumen with its technological advancements. But, with the exception of a scene here or a shot there, it just doesn’t rise to the heights it could from a production of this magnitude.
Aside from its stilted, even corny, dialogue, the film’s biggest undoing is its staid, death-to-death good-death-evil construction centered around four villages perched on a hill overlooking a shark-infested ocean. The region has a history of violence and its inhabitants regard their weapons as gods.
The villagers live in a vast, feverish and bloody landscape where men commit unspeakable violence until the titular hero, who leads a group of tough men who fear no sea, has a change of heart and decides to banish evil from the face. Sea and settlements around it.
The lawless area is home to the descendants of brave warriors who once fought against the British rulers and emerged victorious. They now operate as sea pirates and call arms dealers who remove their illegal cargo from sailing ships.
A long sequence features a raid on such a vessel by the Coast Guard. When the ship is searched, the villagers who sneaked into the mount make a daring escape before being detected. It is within this scene that both the protagonist and the antagonist are accompanied by their accomplices Devara: 1st episode Introduced as a fearless warrior.
Jr. NTR essays the dual role of a father and son, the former a fearsome, invincible warrior and the latter a humble man who shies away from violent confrontations. Saif Ali Khan plays the villain with as much flair as screenplay director Koratala Siva allows, reducing the room available for maneuver for the actor.
Devara: 1st episode 1996 begins with a meeting of senior Bombay police officers who are disturbed by news that a mafia don is planning to disrupt the upcoming Cricket World Cup. A senior lawyer is sent south with a team to catch a crime lord who has not been seen in public for months.
There, the police team stumbles upon the legend of Devara, narrated to them by Singappa (Prakash Raj), an aging witness to the heroism of a man who took his men to save them and Samudra from self-destruction. Serving criminals.
Devara (NTR Jr) vanishes into the ocean promising not to let Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan) and his men continue with illegal activities that endanger innocent lives. Fear of retribution stops ship raiders in their tracks. But Bhaira raises a ferocious army of young men to do his bidding as he bides his time until he strikes back.
Devara: Part 1 dominated entirely by venom-spewing males. The women – especially Deva’s mother (Zarina Wahab) and wife Jogula (Shruti Marathe) – are gentle souls painted into a corner. They have little say in how things turn out for families and villages. Women, be they mothers, sweethearts, concubines or sorcerers, are treated the same – ruthlessly.
When Janhvi Kapoor enters as the daughter of one of Devara’s old associates, the film moves into its second half. She is nothing more than a glorified extra, a beautiful girl who has her sights set on absent Deva’s timid son Bhara (NTR Jr.) but insists that she will marry him only if he demonstrates his father’s strength and valor.
Janhvi is part of some unintentionally funny romantic sequences and, needless to say, is a total love interest that allows her (and the hero) to make several changes of outfit and backdrop. However, once he has done his limited number of tasks he disappears without a trace.
as Devara: 1st episode With no clear indication of what Part 2 might hold, there’s no way to know at this point if the Bollywood star will appear in his first Telugu-language production, Part 2 will feature more.
What stands in Devara: Part 1 is a. The editing by Srikar Prasad, who cuts the film in a way that makes it much more coherent as a story (despite the simplistic nature of the plot) was more southern—KGF, Pushpa, Baahubali, RRR—than any of the recent blockbusters.
Thanks to the unrestrained flow that the film achieves, the three-hour runtime does not weigh heavily on the audience. Not that the film has ambitions that are different from a KGF or a Pushpa, but it has a smooth trajectory for a narrative that inevitably seeks to redefine the two avatars of NTR Jr and Saif Ali Khan. form of devil
Anirudh Ravichander’s BGM rises and falls in line with the action’s needs, which means it almost always flirts with confusing crescendos. Songs also come and go without making much of an impact.
But nothing is as disappointing as the VFX in Devara: Part 1 No, it’s not Proto-Class Abyss, but the underwater sequences, shots of turbulent oceans (tubs of water?), explosions and superhuman leaps and bounds are common (if not downright difficult) to say the least. This is one area that will register a huge improvement in the next installment of the film.
Devara: Part 1 is a mixed bag. The parts that do work, as they are few and far between, will satisfy fans of big-canvas action and melodrama. Portions that are small do not meet expectations. These are the kind of dampers that could damage the future prospects of the two-part film.
Be that as it may, Devas: Part 1 doesn’t always float at sea. It occasionally manages to anchor itself on terra firma, where the fight scenes are strong and powerful. With editing and an enthusiastic NTR Jr giving the film some poise, it’s a no-brainer.
