Oh dear.. the summer is here and along comes the first of 4 major releases of movies starring the one and only Amitabh Bachchan... Govind Nihalani's Dev is another cop movie which deals with the high levels of corruption in modern day India... Its hardly surprising, as we have seen the same story in other cop movies this year, including Big B's Khakhee...



So whats so special about Dev... Well firstly Govind Nihalani has numerous hard hitting controversial movies under his belt including great movies such as Ardh Satya, Drohkaal, Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa and Thakshak, all of which have been critically acclaimed... Now we get a chance to see the Big B working along side this talented director... and to tell you the truth, its nothing short of amazing... As a die hard Amitabh Bachchan fan, you would expect a biased review, but even I can accept that movies such as Mrityudaata, Jaadugar and the Disco Bhangra scene in Ganga Jumna Saraswati are nothing short of pathetic.. Many critics have already given Dev negative reviews, but trust me, Dev is nothing short of astounding...



So, I bet you are thinking what is Dev about... Dev is the story of Dev (Amitabh Bachchan) and his best friend Tej (Om Puri). Both characters play the police officers whos ideologies of methods of law and order become the barrier inbetween there friendship.. The movie begins with a steady flow of hard hitting dialogues against Muslims living in India and their continuing involvement in terrorist attacks and bent politicians... I was ready to throw in the towel just before the interval, and I honestly could not believe how Big B signed up for such a role... But the movie picks up pace very quickly in the second half and really does encapture the audience with its hard hitting scenes of Hindu-Muslim tension and the amazing on screen presence of Amitabh Bachchan. Fardeen Khan plays the role of Farhaan, a law student who has recently graduated and is moving back to Mumbai. His daily dose of humiliation and isolation for being a Muslim in India, makes him feel extremely uneasy and chooses a life of terror and death to help overcome his confused state of mind... Bet you are thinking run of the mill Bollywood film?? Well the movie has a lot more to offer and the supporting actors such as Kareena Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri and Amrish Puri provide solid performances that do complete justice to this movie.



As normal, Amitabh Bachchan on screen is nothing short of amazing... He really does grab the audience with his powerful dialogues. His on screen anger and emotion is amazing and unfortunate that there are no other performers out there that can pull of a role like this with such calibre. This movie is only possible because of Amitabh Bachchan, without him no one else would have been able to do the role he has played.

Om Puri is again great... Many of his lines remind me of his role in East is East, and it is good to see him doing more Indian cinema which he can be appreciated for. Seeing both Om Puri and the Big B on screen together was exhilarating and I just hope we can see more of these two talented actors together.

As for the supporting actors, all have provided excellent supporting roles. Suprisingly, Fardeen Khan has managed to do an excellent job as Farhan - the confused Muslim. Similarly, Kareena Kapoor has show her acting skills again, after her brilliant role in Chameli... She is more than just the irriating Poo which we saw in K3G..



Another plus point of the film is the cinematography... The riot scenes are extremely convincing and are not just the same old oil cans burning... I think Bollywood could use this movie as an example of well shot cinematography and ditch the same old crap we see in many movies nowadays..

All in all, Dev is an excellent movie... Even I didnt expect anything from this movie, but I have been pleasently surprised... But be warned, if you are looking for a masala type movie, this is definately not for you... I got sick of hearing the teenage girls screaching over and over again that the movie was "crap." Im sorry darlings, if you really want to see Fardeen Khan strutting in his underpants then watch Jaanasheen.. you`ll get your masala.. Dev is seriously on another level and does need the right sort of head screwed on to enjoy it...

Do not miss it guys....

Faddy Review: 8/10

An indian police officer can not have any kind of facial hair other than a Mustache. This is a big mistake in the movie.

faddy ur review is pretty good, and u r a fan of AB, so y the 8/10 rating?

excellent movie with a hard hitting ending

I don't know about the movie, but this review was very well done... it gets the reader interested in this film!

INDIAN POLICE OFFICERS can have HIGH LIGHTED HAIR, RED/GOLD like CHARAS and ? Sunil shetty guy!Ajay Devgun!

personally i dont feel any movie is worth the 10/10... maybe the regular anti-islamic slander kind of annoyed me, thats why i marked it a bit lower.. but i still give 10 thumbs up!!

arsh..yea i know what you mean. I get annoyed by these little things.

Faddy like armaan said, ur review will make people to go see the movie.

Faddy Bhai ... Cant wait to see this movie now after reading your review excellent review! Thx for ur input!

thanks for the apprecaition.. all i can say is bring on Lahshya and Deewar... a treble dose of AB.. what more can i ask for....

I didnt get u miyan? are u offended by my portryal of INDIAN POLICE OFFICERS? Believe me, there should be some difference in POLICE MAN or an INDIAN JIGLOO!! GOTTY/HIGH LIGHTS/ATTIRE should be RESPONSIBLE!

I also, found SRK WELL GROOMED HAIR STYLE, VERY UN AUTHENTIC of an ARMY COMMANDO!(First thing, he did not have PHYSIQUE/PERSONALITY of a COMMANDO)

Look at Ajay in MASTI, he is wearing a short HIGH RIDING SHIRT and LOW RIDING JEANS!! With COLORED HAIR etc!! I dont think, it is JUSTIFY to PORTRAY PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC SERVANTS in such UNRESPONCIBLE WAY, esp when their REPUTATION is already TARNISHED!

no arsh..I was saying whatever u mentioned is true, and its not right. Who in the world can watch MHN and say oh sharukh did an excellent job?? he can only fit to do one role perfectly without make up and that is jumps around trees in a Zoo themed movie.

'Dev' bombs but finds appreciation!
By Our Correspondent ©2004 Bollyvista.com

The much-hyped 'Dev' (with Amitabh Bachchan and Om Puri) failed to ignite the box-office but has found tremendous appreciation, especially among cinema veterans and the older crowd. Not surprisingly, considering Govind's (Nihalani) cinema has always been associated with class, sensitivity and intelligence. "It was too long and verbose," remarked a trade source. But he added in the same breath, "But very well made!" That's vintage Govind for you!

Agree with you totally! The second half of the movie does indeed pickup where the first half, while good was slow. I really enjoyed this flick.

Faddy, thanks for the review. What an incredible movie of substance! It was fantastic and definitely not a "feel-good" movie at all. It made me uncomfortable so many times. I really applaud Govind Nihalani for not flinching to show the communal violence issue and to show it so boldly.

Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor were all really great. The scene where AB is talking about the burning was so haunting. Very very good acting by AB here. Om Puri is always very good and it was really impressive to see both actors squaring off each other so well. For the first time, Fardeen impressed me. And, Kareena was at her fiery best. She looked great and acted great.

I liked this film! It gave a very fair representation of some of the recent Hindu-Muslim riots in India, and the involvement of the Indian politicians and police force in encouraging the massacres. Not sure why it gave a warning that the film is a form of fiction, when many of the events in the film actually happened!