Devil: The British Secret Agent Review

Set in the final years preceding Independence, Devil narrates the fictional account of a secret service agent aiding the British government in capturing Subash Chandra Bose. Amid Morse code messages, secret rendezvous and other clandestine elements typical of a spy film, Devil also folds in a murder mystery. It opens with the killing of a Zamindar's daughter, the circumstances of which prompt the British to send their most sought-after agent to not only solve the murder, but also uncover other mysteries that will inch them closer to Netaji's whereabouts. The agent's codename: Devil.

The entry shot of Devil establishes the mass movie tone. A band of pirates take over a vessel and begin killing off the crew one by one. Then the tide turns. As the camera pans to the mast, the hero, Devil, stands beside a fluttering flag of the British Empire. This scene reveals the film's fatal flaw - the uneasy fusion of a spy narrative with a mass film. Secret agents imply discretion, but mass heroes demand "elevations" and entry shots. Devil attempts to balance both elements, resulting in illogical scenes. Like the scene where Devil turns off the lights and lurks in the shadows to spy on a suspect, yet, in the manner of a mass hero, lights a cigarette and dreamily blows wisps of smoke into the night air.

As the story builds, it becomes nearly as indecipherable as the encrypted messages Devil is trying crack. The writers seem aware of this challenge, utilizing a "hero's friend" character as the audience's mouthpiece. When the story becomes dizzyingly complex, Devil's assistant Sastry (Satya) provides an excuse for a lengthy exposition from Devil by stating, "Naa matti burra ki ela ardham authundhi." Exactly.

However, despite the convoluted plot, it is easy to guess how things will end, because the story must ultimately succumb to the tenets of a mass film. The hero must not be a bad person but rather a good one making compromises for a noble end. The romantic sub-plot between the hero and the heroine Nyshadha (Samyuktha Menon), a character in the Zamindar's household, must end on a happy note. The antagonists, portrayed as brutal British police officers, must meet their demise. And there must be an item song with a nursery-rhyme-level of lyrics ("Dance... dance... This is Lady Rosie").

Kalyan Ram drops into this mass template as easily as anybody else, but does nothing to make himself memorable. The elevations are, in a way, necessary - else he all but disappears into the background. Malvika Nair comes as a breath of fresh air in a screenplay that is a drudge to sit through. Samyutkha Menon is serviceable as the stale heroine character that ought to do not much more than look pretty, despite having a considerable role in the script.

Although the cinematography and production design contribute significantly to the film's aesthetics, they offer marginal enhancements to its overall impact. In all, Devil emerges as a nothingburger of a film - an empty commercial cinema that fades from memory once you exit the theatre.