Early on in Deva, Shahid Kapoor’s Dev Ambre roughs up a group of ruffians and declares, “Mumbai kisi ke baap ka nahi, police ka hai”, with a roar. It marks Malayalam filmmaker Rosshan Andrrews’ entry into Hindi films with a blend of realism and style that doesn’t exactly land, except for Shahid’s performance.
Dev Ambre is a rebellious cop with a traumatic past and a simmering rage which is reminiscent of Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay from Deewaar. Like Vijay, Dev is burdened by the shadow of his father’s criminal past which he channels with a raw intensity.
Deva begins with a road accident that leaves Dev with no memory of his past. Moments before his bike collides with a truck, he is on a call with his colleague, DCP Farhan (Parvessh Rana), revealing that he has just solved a critical case — the murder of their fellow officer, ACP Rohan D’Silva (Pavail Gulati).
As Dev struggles to rebuild his life after the accident, he finds himself drawn back into Rohan’s murder investigation. Retracing his steps, he uncovers unsettling truths that force him to confront a reality he wasn’t prepared for.
Thematically, Deva puts the spotlight on a police force that is riddled with corruption and moral ambiguity but style overwhelmingly overshadows substance in the film. One moment Pavail Gulati’s Rohan goes into a monologue against corrupt officers in the police force, and the next moment he is receiving an award for an extra-judicial killing. Moreover, the psychological conflict Dev faces after his memory loss, which in essence is the film’s emotional core, is barely explored.
While the makers have denied that Deva is a remake of Andrrews’ Mumbai Police, the skeletal framework is unmistakably borrowed from the 2013 Malayalam film. Andrrews frames the story as a whodunnit but the pacing feels sluggish, especially in the first half. The introduction of characters like Pooja Hegde’s Diya, Dev’s love interest, feels abrupt.
The interval block, a meticulously choreographed action sequence, injects much-needed adrenaline into the plot, reminding viewers of Andrrews’ ability to build tension, and cinematographer Amit Roy gives the film a sleek, polished look complemented by A Sreekar Prasad’s crisp editing. But Deva needed a stronger storyline and a sharper runtime. At 156 minutes, it is a stretch.