Devi (L) Review
Director Vijay has always been known for bringing in variety, right from his first flick none of the movies follow a single pattern and Devi is no different, falling in line with the horror comedy trend these days, Devi breaks free from the usual scare and flare genre rather gives something to laugh genuinely. Choreographer, then an actor later as a successful director, now pushing his limits the talented Prabhu Deva is back in action and rather with a BANG, along with the super duper sizzling Tamannah they both rock the show to a great extent. Read on to know more about Devi.
Taking a leaf out of the age old formula where the hero is quite reluctant when it comes to accepting a rural milieu, Vijay has blended a fine formula that shuttles super natural elements with glam, comedy and romance. Prabhudeva wants an ultra-modern wife and his desperate search finds no end, but a run-up of events ends with his village folks marrying him off to the quiet and subtle Tamannah. Vijay doesn’t take much time in establishing Prabhudeva’s character and quickly gets him into the role of a desperate guy, and vice versa when it comes to Tamannah as a typical rural girl who rarely lifts her head in front of her husband. With Prabhudeva continuing to ignore his wife inspite of her lovely attitude we are made to wait on when the director gets into the thick of the plot, but he does it all in time with a bang. To reveal more on the plot front would spoil the surprise element of the movie, best to watch and find out.
Lots have been spoken about Prabhudeva’s dancing, directional skills and many more, but one of his biggest traits is his acting and probably Devi exploits the man’s prowess to a great level. One of the reason is because he shows innocence with ease, as the character demands when he finds out the supernatural elements surrounding his wife he gets into the skin of the character comfortably. Surely it’s a start of a great comeback to the actor. Likewise Tamannah has been ridiculed more than once for her average acting, Devi however is sure to prove everyone wrong, the glam doll easily shuttles between the two roles that of an aiding housewife and a supermodel making us difficult to determine which of the two acts, is the best. As again dubbing comes as a major hiccup for both Tamannah as well as Sonu Sood but this was expected considering this movie to be a trilingual. Sonu Sood too has a meaty role in this movie, the dashing star is stylish, walks with elegance and has an extended cameo but an important one. RJ Balaji known for his funny quips delivers what is intended in the first half, we would have expected to see more of him but does his job with the limited scope.
Vijay’s dealing with the script deserves a lot of credit, his direction abilities are not something new but with Devi he has managed to cater all kinds of audience to a different level. The movie’s biggest strength is the entertainment quotient which gets aided by racy screenplay and apt dialogues, and most importantly Vijay has tailor made them for Prabhudeva’s body language and Tamannah’ s oomph screen presence. The movie does have its horror moments and with minimal CGI work still looks very convincing indeed. Even though song placement is somewhat drags the movie behind, the dance and colorful setup makings it less boring. And yes, enough choreography to cheer and relish with Tamannah almost stealing the show from the ace dance master. Thanks to some brilliant cinematography and art setup, the film has good display of colorfulness throughout its length. Music by Sajid-Wajid and Vishal score well on the BGM front, although the songs are too Bollywoodish the visuals do the entertainment.
Vedict: AL Vijay’s Devi is a complete entertainment package mixed with horror and comedy, is also backed up by strong performances from its lead cast.
- Thamizhil Padikka