Film: Dev
Director: Rajath Ravishankar
Cast: Karthi, Rakul Preet Singh, Ramya Krishnan and Prakash Raj
Rating: 2/5
Karthi’s Dev, directed by debutant Rajath Ravishankar, is one of those films you wish you could take seriously because it sounds adventurous (thanks to the promos), but it never really makes an impact and that’s a downer. It’s a film with a lot of good intentions and sugar-coated life lessons but these elements mean little as the film works neither as an adventure film nor as an endearing story of self-discovery and love.
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Karthi plays Dev, an adventure seeker and he lives by his rules. He’s someone who takes a lot of pleasure and excitement in all the thrills life throws at us. He has absolutely nothing to worry about in life. He believes in exploring the world and meeting new people. He falls in love when he meets Meghna (Rakul Preet Singh), who has a very different approach to life and has her own reasons to not believe in men. What happens when the lives of these two characters cross paths? This forms the crux of the story.
Unlike most stories of self-discovery, Dev never really makes us root for the protagonist. Dev belongs to a well-off family and this means he can afford to travel the world and do whatever he desires. Stories about self-discovery are about struggle and pain which Dev has never experienced in life.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike most stories of self-discovery, Dev never really makes us root for the protagonist. Dev belongs to a well-off family and this means he can afford to travel the world and do whatever he desires. Stories about self-discovery are about struggle and pain which Dev has never experienced in life.
{{/usCountry}}In another scene, when Dev is made to realize there is more to life than just travelling and meeting new people, he decides to climb Mt. Everest and it leaves us wondering why. We don’t quite understand the point both Dev and director Rajath are trying to make.
The film really struggles to make a point, let alone entertain. Good intentions alone don’t really make a film standout and there can’t be a better example than Dev, which tries to be ambitious but drowns in its own mediocrity.
Despite the presence of actors like Prakash Raj and Ramya Krishnan, it’s disappointing that they hardly have any scope to perform. Rakul Preet plays a self-made entrepreneur but hers is a confused character that is unbearable to watch after a point. Karthi is earnest as Dev, and he owns his character with confidence. Last seen playing a farmer in Kadaikutty Singam, it’s refreshing to see him in an urban character.
Dev is also mostly dreary and the whole Mt. Everest stretch sticks out like a sore thumb. Harris Jayaraj struggles as a composer and most of his songs are rehash of his own tunes. The film is exquisitely shot and the visuals look bright, but they don’t make much of a contribution to an otherwise boring film.
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