Devara Part 1 review: Jr NTR, Janhvi Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan's film doesn't live up to the legend it spins

Devara Part 1 review: Jr NTR struggles with an underwritten character, Saif Ali Khan doesn't get his due and Janhvi Kapoor's Telugu debut is bland.

Devara Part 1 review: Koratala Siva’s much-hyped Devara: Part 1 released in theatres this Friday. Even with Jr NTR playing dual roles, Saif Ali Khan constantly brooding and scheming while Janhvi Kapoor looks pretty as a peach with nothing much to do, the film struggles to live up to the legend it spins. (Also Read: Devara Twitter reactions: Fans call Jr NTR's movie the ‘next South Indian blockbuster’; others are less impressed)

Devara Part 1 review: Jr NTR plays dual roles as Devara and Vara in Koratala Siva's film.

Devara: Part 1 story

To Koratala’s credit, Devara: Part 1 kind of starts out well if you put all logic aside and suspend disbelief. In a place called Yerra Samudram (Red Sea) near Ratnagiri, made up of four clans, there are people who live without fear. Their ancestors were warriors who fought against colonisers in their own way, but now, the men there are forced to put their skills to use for illegal activities.

Bhaira (Saif), the leader of one clan, is more than happy to do that, but Devara (Jr NTR), the leader of another clan, begins to chafe against what they do. After growing a conscience overnight, Devara wants the men to earn money through honest means. And when things escalate, he gives them an ultimatum.

Devara: Part 1 review

If you’ve paid close attention to the trailers of Devara: Part 1, this is a story you can predict from a mile away. The film's first half takes its time to set up the legend of the titular character and how he came to be the protector of the seas. Anyone who dares cross him is marked and almost left for dead. The men who never knew fear now do.

And even if you take this legend at face value without questioning it much, the second half of the film just topples like a house of cards. Bhaira is suddenly on a silly mission like a toddler who can’t take no for an answer, and Thangam (Janhvi) is oscillating between dreaming up a duet number with Vara (also Jr NTR) and detesting him for supposedly not being as brave as his father Devara. There's too much exposition for little pay-off.

The campiness of it all

Oddly enough, Devara: Part 1’s fun moments occur when Koratala decides to go so over-the-top campy that you can’t help but be entertained. Devara jumps out of the water like a slick dolphin in his entry scene. In another, he single-handedly holds a man from falling, all while he’s also trying not to fall. Even gravity is on his side as he lands on a boat perfectly like a superhero. Anirudh Ravichander's background score and Fear Song add to it.

It all sounds like a long tale told to a child to teach them the value of morality - because it probably is. Koratala tries to pull off the same campiness in the film's second half by introducing a new story that almost negates something he has already set up. The issue is that anyone paying attention already knows this is coming, so it isn’t the ‘gotcha’ moment he thinks it is. The stellar 40 minutes at the film's end that Jr NTR promised in numerous interviews never came.

A stellar cast wasted

Devara: Part 1 boasts of names such as Shruti Marathe, Prakash Raj, Srikanth, Shine Tom Chacko, Narain, Kalaiyarasan, and Murli Sharma, apart from the lead cast, but none of them get fleshed-out characters. Kalaiyarasan and Srikanth’s characters, in particular, could’ve been more vital, given that they’re leaders too.

Jr NTR’s performance and Koratala’s writing falls short when it comes to Vara, especially when compared to Devara. The actor makes it work even if the director doesn’t fully put his mind into filling loopholes with the titular character. Particularly in the song Ayudha Pooja and a penultimate scene at a wedding. But he falls short when playing the son because his wide-eyed act feels unconvincing.

Saif is decent as Bhaira, with his brooding face and body language doing most of the work. But his character, too, needs gravitas to be considered a formidable foe to Devara. Unfortunately, Janhvi’s big debut in Telugu is more a whimper than a bang. Thangam is written as someone who has nothing better to do than fawn over men. She does her best with what she's given.

In conclusion

Early on in the film, Prakash’s character Singappa tells Ajay’s Sivam, “Bhayam ante ento teliyali ante Devara katha vinala. (You need to hear Devara’s story if you want to know fear)” You soon realise that the legend of Devara is bigger than reality.

And the same holds true for the film, which turns out to be underwhelming. Koratala cannot help but write characters who want to save the world, and while that might not be a bad thing, it does feel repetitive. With a Baahubali-esque ending setting up the story for a sequel, here’s hoping there are better things ahead.