DEV FAILS NIHALANI AS COMMERCIAL FILMMAKER
By Pankaj Shukla
Critic's I-view
The Triveni of the diverse capabilities and aura of the three shining stars of the Hindi film industry has united in 'Dev' to produce yet another film on the cop's life. Govind Nihalani is the director whose zest for making good cinema has never rested since the day his name appeared on celluloid. For the first time he was known as the captain of the team way back in 1980 in 'Aakrosh'. Amitabh Bachchan, who rose to stardom with the famous 'Zanjeer' in seventies, is still considered as the first and last choice for most of the frontline filmmakers to portray the part of an honest cop.
And, Om Puri who presented himself as a brave police man in Nihalani's film 'Ardh Satya' in 1983 is the third person in 'Dev'. People have witnessed nearly half a dozen films this year where leading men wear Khaki and do or die for their duty. It was Amitabh who rolled the ball in 'Khakee', to be followed by 'Police Force' and 'Aan'. Big B plays Joint Commissioner of Police Dev Pratap Singh in this Govind Nihalani flick. Amitabh has risen like phoenix in his real life many times and now his role does the same on screen in this film.
A prolific man behind the camera Govind Nihalani has lives about a quarter of his life chasing the dream that one day he will cast Amitabh Bachchan in his film. The titans met last year and the product is in the cinema hall now. 'Dev' is a slow starter for many reasons. If a director makes his name attached to many classy or rather art films in his career (Nihalani has made 10 films of the genre from 'Aakrosh' to 'Deham') then people find it very tough to relate to the same director in terms of commercial cinema. Nihalani burnt his fingers in 'Takshak' where he castAjay Devgan and Tabu to play the lead pair for a story which was set in the turbulence of the modern time. 'Dev' is not very different from 'Takshak'. The catalyst of the film is Farhaan (Fardeen Khan). He is a misguided boy like many who fall prey to greedy politicians.
Farhaan ignites the spark for the plot points that is meant to be a story of relationship between a dead honest and dedicated cop Dev and a Special Police Commissioner Tejinder Khosla. Amrish Puri plays Bhandarkar, the chief minister of the state, and it is Khosla who makes the bridge between the harsh realties of today's politics and a copybook cop Dev. Farhaan has a horror past. His father dies in such circumstances that his patriotism and non-violence seem fake. If Farhaan ignites the flame in an otherwise smooth relationship between Dev and Khosla, then it is Dev who imparts the wound to Farhaan that makes him take a leap to unwelcome world. In between this tangle is also Aaliya (Kareena Kapoor), a charming and loving lady who turns radically after Farhaan gets caught in a web from where it is very difficult to come back sane.
If you think there are shades of 'Fiza' in the film, then one can also notice sparks of 'Mission Kashmir' lying here and there in 'Dev'. The film that meant to complete the cycle of cop roles for Amitabh Bachchan eventually falls short of the expectations of the viewers. And, the reason is not that if the film is bad, it is the timing and the selection of the subject that makes the film look stale. In a time when films like 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' or 'Hum Tum' are raking moolahs at the box office it is stupid to make films on the subjects that only bring pain to the heart. People have witnessed enough blood and gory events in the name of terrorism in Hindi films. Now they want some break. They have moved towards more realistic films that deal with day-to-day problems. 'Dev' is a loser on this front.
Nihalani's all women crew may have worked wonders in terms of technical brilliance in the film but the end result does not excite you. Meenakshi Sharma has written a story that dates back almost 10 years. Nihalani works on a plot that hardly entertains. Sharmistha Roy as the production designer has worked hard to create some fine sets but editor Deepa Gupta goofs up many times in her editing. The film needs to be cut short by at least twenty minutes.
Aadesh Shrivastav's music provides relief. His music is wonderful but the end result of the film may not work in his favor. Aadesh has come out beautifully and with surprise by composing some very melodious and classy tunes for the lyrics written by Nida Fazli. The music and cinematography part gets ten out of ten marks, but it's the plot of the film and its pace that fails to grasp the viewers throughout. The film may get a better response in metros but will find it very tough to make money in small centers. Moreover people are fed up with so many movies on uniformed men. They need a break, and Kunal Kohli's 'Hum Tum' is the first choice for everybody.
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