Sat Feb 01 22:02:52 UTC 2025: ## Bollywood Thriller “Deva” Premieres at Sundance: Style Over Substance?
**Park City, UT** – The Sundance Film Festival saw the premiere of the Bollywood thriller “Deva,” starring Shahid Kapoor. The film, adapted from a screenplay by Bobby-Sanjay and featuring six credited writers, follows the story of a volatile police officer, Dev, who unravels after a motorcycle accident leading to memory loss.
The film’s premise, a whodunit with a pre-established killer, initially promises an engaging mystery. However, critics have noted that the film prioritizes style over substance, focusing excessively on convoluted plot points at the expense of character development. While Kapoor’s performance is lauded as magnetic, the supporting characters remain underdeveloped and lack depth, hindering audience engagement.
The reviewer criticized the film’s overuse of tired tropes, particularly regarding the portrayal of a female journalist character, and questioned the film’s attempts at social commentary, deeming them weak and inconsequential. Despite impressive stunt work and sound design, the plot is deemed confusing and lacks compelling characters and logic.
While praising Kapoor’s ability to portray two distinct versions of Dev – pre- and post-accident – the reviewer points out that “Deva” ultimately serves as a showcase for Kapoor’s talent rather than a cohesive and well-developed thriller. The excessive use of “swag” throughout the film also drew criticism. Ultimately, the film is deemed more spectacle than substance, and viewers seeking a logically sound thriller may be better served elsewhere.
First Piper 