Devara Part 1 review: Cinematography is the main hero in this insanely gore and violent tale

Devara Part 1 is packaged as this magnum opus but it isn’t Jr.NTR’s best; Here’s why!

Devara Part 1 review:  Ever since Baahubali released in 2015, the South Indian film industry has become obsessed with period dramas. Just like Bollywood constantly wants to recreate Shah Rukh Khan’s romantic films, the South wants to recreate the hype and magic that Baahubali brought to the theaters. Koratala Siva’s Devara Part 1 also tries its best to jump on that bandwagon but even a star studded cast does not help you connect to this film the way a massy storyline is supposed to. 

Our protagonist here is Devara, played by Jr. NTR who we previously saw in the Academy award winning film, RRR. Devara belongs to a village that was known to protect all the malicious practices that happened at the Red Sea. But unlike his ancestors, Devara and his gang, which also includes the fierce Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan), don't really protect the sea anymore. They work as thieves for someone who pays them on the basis of stealing goods from these huge ships. They think they’re undefeatable when it comes to doing their work until one day when Devara comes to know about what is actually in these huge boxes that he has been going out of his way to steal. They’re weapons used to terrorize and kill people around the world and when one of his own is killed is when he takes an oath to never do this again. But Bhaira is not convinced at all, he wants to continue filling his pockets through these consignments. So these two friends now stand on opposite sides of a situation. Devara is now his biggest obstacle and he has sworn he will kill anybody who enters the sea. 

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Hell bent on getting Devara out of his way, Bhaira hatches a plan to kill him and here’s where the whole dynamic of the village turns upside down. Vara, Devara’s son who is also played by Jr. NTR, does not have the same morals or courage like his father did. Will he be able to ever follow his father’s footsteps or bring justice to the people who are wrong is where the crux of the film lies. One thing about period dramas is that it has the opportunity to create a world that we have never seen before and Devara’s cinematography hundred percent delivers on that. Be it the quality of the frames or the picturesque locations they’ve shot at, everything comes alive ten fold on the big screen. The impeccable CGI on top of that makes this look like an Indian version of Games of Thrones. Because it is a visually pleasing spectacle, you get lured into this world and are just in awe of what’s shown to you. Anirudh Ravichander's background score on top of that just adds to elevating all the larger than life scenes. But no matter how magical you try to make it, if the story doesn’t stick, the magic will wear off. 

I understand that a period drama also requires a lot of action but action needs to be choreographed as well. In Devara, the action just feels too loud for no reason at all. The film is shown to be rooted in culture but that culture is backed with only fight sequences. Men have to fight one another in order to get the ‘shastras’ and the village that doesn’t win it is considered to be inauspicious for that year. And that’s not all! We have just started reeling from the horrors of movies like Animal where women have no place in the narrative at all and are objectified through and through. It was appalling to see Devara follow the same footsteps where women are used for nothing but sex and to take care of the household. We’ve seen such great examples of strong headed female characters in South cinema so to see this was rather disappointing. This is Janhvi Kapoor’s big debut in the South but while she's the lead, she’s barely there for about three scenes in the film. She is shown to be this character who wears sexy clothes and no doubt she looks stunning but there’s nothing more to her than that. She wants to marry someone who sends ‘sparks’ all over her body and he has to be a ‘macho’ guy. This just defeats everything that we’ve been trying to change about masculinity as a society!

Saif Ali Khan also tries his best to fit the narrative of a villain and for the most part you can see his efforts on-screen but because his character is not so in-depth, it feels incomplete. Jr. NTR is the protagonist who is shown to save the day by hook or by crook. Like in most action films, Devara too works to make the hero look good; I mean he literally tames a shark with a rope like it’s no big deal. While he plays his role with conviction, it sure isn’t enough to save a sinking narrative.

Since this movie is divided in two parts, the film ends on a cliffhanger which makes me circle back to why I spoke about Baahubali earlier. A major reason why everyone was so eager to watch the second part of Baahubali was because the audience wanted to know why Baahubali killed Kattappa. The makers gave us something to look forward to. Walking on similar lines, Devara also leaves us puzzled as to why we saw what we saw at the end of the film. Will it create the same buzz that Baahubali did? Will it answer all our questions in the second half? Will the women have more of a say next time? Well, that’s something only time will tell! For now, Devara Part 1 is that massy entertainer that is made only to gain whistle worthy moments in cinema houses by simply just taking tropes that worked so far in the South. 

Devara Part 1 is currently streaming at a theater near you!

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