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For me, it was a choice between Tiger Returns, Gachchi and Deva Ek Atrangi… hard decision. Reviews for Tiger were average, Deva were negative to average, Gachchi were tops. I was seriously unable to decide; the pull of Salman was there – but my gut was telling me no; I went with my gut. I went into customer reviews, detailed opinions, to arrive at my decision… choosing between the two Marathi movies was a tough call to take. The clincher was the customer reviews – which, unlike inTiger, were speaking of a broad spectrum of cinametic ability in both Marathi movies. Again, it was the audience reviews that were covering a broader cinematic view, doing the critic’s job!
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So it was with a mixed feeling that I walked into the hall, acting only on my gut, and a deep between-the-lines reading of customer reviews… I needn’t have worried. I was blown away, right from the first few minutes. A very sensible story, logical, plausible, with a tremendous feel-good component; superb cinametography, great script, and lovely, ideal music to go with it. This movie was a complete package, deserving a place on my blog, which documents only the movies I feel are very special.
Deva is the story of a writer, who started from blogging and grew to being a writer. To some, that may seem far-fetched; to me – this is not only plausible, but also completely logical and realistic, as I am from the digital field as well as an established blogger. Further, her genre was travelling, which is one of the few monetizable segments in blogging in India. So, the base concept is rock-solid. Her first book made her a celebrity; in hunting for ideas for the next book – she comes to learn of Deva, Ek Atrangi.
She is in beautiful, scenic Konkan when she becomes engaged in her hunt for this mystery man – and from here starts a visual treat of awesome camerawork, as we are treated to some lovely scenic beauty, nature in all its resplendent ethereal magic. You don’t need Switzerland or Kashmir all the time – there are a multitude of treasure spots in India. It requires an appreciation for beauty, art, nature, imagination, visualisation – and a high caliber director and cinematographer. We had all of that in this lovely lovely treat of a movie. A movie is more than special effects; it is about natural emotions, humans, acting, music, camerawork and more.
It isn’t just camera stuff going on here; that is just the backdrop to a very heart-warming and motivating story that impresses you and leaves a deep impression. The overall story – that of the happy go lucky Deva, an accomplished artist, philanthroper; a man who gives his all for society, a man who lives for the people, not for self. A totally selfless human – or rather, a genuine refreshingly honest and decent human being. Kudos for the characterization of this main character.
This has been told in a unique and lovely manner, which entertains and engages the viewer throughout. There isn’t an idle moment in the entire movie. Deva’s story has been told through lovely anecdotes, all by other people who come into his life one by one. This is a fantastic approach that builds a solid and towering main protagonist in the story – without overloading his screen time. In fact, Ankush Chaudhury’s screen time was lesser than Tejaswini; his persona has been built up through a superlatively crafted script – a work of near-genius.
Furthermore, the entire movie is built around two lead protagonists – and none of them is Deva. The whole story has been crafted and setup around Tejaswini Pandit and Spruha Joshi– who deliver superb performances – they live the part every minute, fitting into their respective roles to perfection. It was nice to see this approach, giving the term “leading lady” a special meaning and importance. For sure we need more such themes. The buildup achieved of Deva through them is near-mythical, surreal and very, very deeply moving. And that is where Ankush Performance stands out : perfect! He had to do just enough; not too much – not too little. Superb!
The music – there isn’t a needless song anywhere. The songs are suited to the movie, and very melodious, especially the number Tu Bhet Naa Re Roz Roz Navyaane. They carry the movie along, not stagnate, which is a definite plus. And if all of the above is so nice – it stands to reason that the direction involved will have to be of a lovely and great quality, isn’t it? As far as I am concerned, the ethereal beauty of the backgrounds, the performances of the actors sealed the direction bit. Had even more actor, even the bit parts, done too much, it would have spoiled it. Luckily, that didn’t happen. Overall, rated 4.5 stars out of 5! Great job done, Team Deva Ek Atrangi!
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