Shahid’s
heft
is
the
only
thing
that
keeps
up
the
momentum
in
a
mediocre
rehash,
dumbed
down
by
flimsy
motive
and
mindless
bravado,
sighs
Sukanya
Verma.
Just
when
you
thought
Shahid
Kapoor’s
appetite
for
rowdy,
reckless
characters
had
its
fill
in
Kabir
Singh,
Rosshan
Andrrews
casts
him
as
a
boorish
cop
in
and
as
Deva.
Left
with
no
memory
of
his
former
furious
self
after
a
road
accident,
he
tries
to
retrace
a
story
of
bromance
and
betrayal
that’s
integral
to
solving
the
case
he
was
about
to
lift
the
lid
on
until
that
ill-fated
moment.
Deva
is
a
remake
of
Andrrews’
2013
Malayalam
drama,
Mumbai
Police
—
with
a
Ship
of
Theseus
paradox
(if
all
the
parts
of
a
ship
are
replaced,
is
it
still
the
same
ship?).
But
with
its
big
tweaks
and
small,
shuffled
chronology
and
pig-headed
attitude,
it
undermines
the
moral
dilemma
and
irony
of
the
original
by
asserting
its
hypermasculinity
to
the
hilt.
Mumbai
Police,
which
was
a
code
name
for
the
camaraderie
shared
by
a
trio
of
cops,
achieved
its
punch
by
delving
deeper
into
the
emotion
of
fear
and
defence
mechanism.
It’s
not
coming
out
of
the
closet
but
the
scrutiny
it
invites,
triggering
one’s
panicking
impulses
to
a
devastating
effect
that
rendered
the
drama
its
distinction.
There’s
almost
an
element
of
Shakespearean
tragedy,
writers
Bobby-Sanjay
weave
into
this
police
procedural
governed
by
the
consequences
of
rash
actions,
something
Shahid
under
Vishal
Bhardwaj’s
skilful
eye
in
Haider
has
mastered
and
manifested
in
the
likes
of
Udta
Punjab
and
Kabir
Singh.
Except
Deva‘s
Pushpa-fied
tone
doesn’t
have
time
to
brood
on
the
psychological
upheavals
as
it
brandishes
its
swaggering
action
by
the
numbers.
Shahid’s
rippling
physicality
and
unhinged
vigour
is
the
only
thing
that
keeps
the
momentum
going
in
a
mediocre
rehash
dumbed
down
by
flimsy
motive
and
mindless
bravado.
Too
often
Deva‘s
hyper
aesthetics
feel
like
a
dialled
up
remake
of
a
Telugu
potboiler,
forsaking
the
nuances
in
the
Malayalam
school
of
filmmaking
for
boisterous
song
and
dance
and
slow-motion
machismo.
For
homey
touches,
Don‘s
title
song
and
Amitabh
Bachchan’s
iconic
Deewaar
pose
aspire
to
find
angry
young
man
echoes
in
Deva‘s
outdated
daddy
issues
and
social
complexities.
Sans
the
Vijay
brand
of
vulnerability
though,
Deva‘s
aggression
is
all
the
more
empty
and
glaring.
Set
inside
the
Mumbai
police,
which
is
portrayed
like
a
dangerously
wayward
organisation
bereft
of
law
and
order,
the
Amar
Akbar
Anthony
of
khaki
verse
—
Dev
Ambre
(Shahid
Kapoor),
Farhan
Khan
(Pravesh
Rana)
and
Rohan
DSilva
(Pavail
Gulati)
—
ruffle
a
shady
politician’s
feathers
as
well
as
make
a
dent
in
mafia
monopoly
even
as
Pooja
Hegde
checks
off
the
righteous
journalist
stereotype
and
obligatory
love
interest
in
a
bit
role.
Whatever
little
intrigue
the
movie
has
to
offer
kicks
off
following
Dev’s
amnesia
and
the
mysterious
death
of
a
colleague.
As
slick
and
glossy
Deva
tries
to
be
when
not
resorting
to
sloppy
VFX
for
fake
looking
monsoon
or
vehicle
collisions,
its
elaborate
setup
neglects
to
establish
the
basics.
Not
only
does
the
BFF
troika
seem
unlikely
recipients
of
the
Jai-Veeru
trophy
but
even
their
flimsily
conveyed
predicament
is
all
too
wishy-washy
—
be
it
Deva’s
hostility
stemming
from
the
scars
of
an
ugly
past,
Rohan’s
mixed
feelings
on
dishonesty
and
dosti
or
Farhan
cleaning
after
his
friend’s
mess.
You’d
expect
better
when
the
people
behind
the
changes
are
the
creators
of
the
original.
Alas,
like
many
Hindi
remakes
of
acclaimed
South
movies,
a
bold,
clever,
layered
thriller
takes
the
shape
of
a
safe
playing
vanity
project.
Quite
needless
when
you
already
know
the
extent
of
Shahid
Kapoor’s
talent.
The
only
person
who
needs
reminding,
in
a
movie,
ironically,
about
remembering,
is
him.
Deva
Review
Rediff
Rating:
