Devara: Part 1

Jr NTR, Saif Ali Khan's high-octane actioner misses originality and spark.

While the film is high on action and grandeur, the drama is not that arresting. Jr NTR delivers a stellar performance in this otherwise predictable action drama.

Unable to fully lure us into its furore or make sense of its ambiguity, the curse of the sequel relying on the first one to succeed is fast setting a worrying precedent of fragmented filmmaking. Devara's self-appointed guardian of the sea unleashing violence as a means to end violence is purely Junior NTR fan-tasy, and Saif Ali Khan's brooding antagonist spends most of his time as his glorified sidekick.

Devara Part 1 is an action-packed film, but it fails to engage the audience with a compelling narrative. The film's action sequences, while impressive, cannot compensate for its weak storytelling and character development.

Director Koratala Siva tries to build a larger-than-life story of a fiery young protagonist and sets near a sea shore and a contrived hill tribes for his story. Without any real-life connection, the film rides on wafer-thin plot and loses steam after the second half itself.

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.

The film, which has also been dubbed and released in multiple languages, has a few awe-inducing segments that are enhanced by Anirudh Ravichander's vibrant music score, only to eventually make us wonder if a sequel is warranted.