Devil

Ram, it becomes clear that it is of utmost importance that we acknowledge the displeasing controversy that has arisen over the director’s credit. For the unversed, Devil has released with co-producer Abhishek Nama officially named as the director, after which, Naveen Medaram, who was initially credited as the director, alleged that the film is entirely his creation and that he was denied the recognition. The film is evidently a mammoth of an effort from the makers and that only makes the controversy even more disturbing. So while we refrain from naming the director in this review, it must be stressed that this has been pulled off by a team with a conviction over an idea that most think tanks would deem outlandish, and a filmmaker who does show a certain flair for masala cinema. Now, has that translated into a perfect film? Far from it; there are one too many missteps and yet, you can’t help but be piqued by what they were going for. Devil is a film that takes itself quite seriously from start to finish. Just picture this — in the opening sequence, a star like Nandamuri Kalyan Ram gets a grand entrance as Agent Devil, a British Secret Service agent, standing under the pride of the English flag, to save a British ship from pirates. Yes, you immediately know he wouldn’t end up as a British puppet (the promos don’t hide that as well) but that isn’t any ordinary frame you’d expect from a star of this age, and this is a film that has quite a few such surprises in store." Here's the full review: