#Review: Dev is the much-needed return of an Indian Jasoos on TV
Finally, TV has an interesting crime drama.
Published: Wednesday,Aug 09, 2017 21:40 PM GMT-06:00
Dev is
Colors' latest offering to the crime/detective genre. The show met with a lot of anticipation and lawsuits as well for the use of a popular Bollywood actor's name. Regardless, we approach
Dev starring
Ashish Chowdhry as the protagonist with a little hope as the promos looked promising. The actor has been on TV before on Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi and it's his return to TV.
We watched the first two episodes to get ourselves a deduction of its worth for the viewers. Here's what we found as we chased
Dev through street corners and flashbacks.
The story so far...
The series' structure is episodic. The first and second episode Case File #1: Where is Aanya? is the first case theviewers will see the lead solve. The Saluja family is in trouble, their daughter has been kidnapped and fate puts
Dev Burman in their path.
Dev is quick to chalk down suspects, you have the maid and her boyfriend, the child's uncle who's a drug user and the father of a child (who is a broke entrepreneur) himself.
Dev goes on chases through the backlanes of Mumbai, tracks kidnappers, makes his promises to the mother of the child and resolves to bring the kid back.
We have unique character introduction stills and a precise marking of the time and locations.Along the way, the audience is given several hints about his character and lot of characters' motives are slowly unveiled. Through the course of two episodes, we are given our first glimpse into
Dev's methods, his nuances, his past and the very puzzling road he takes as he navigates through the case.
The Good-
Dev manages to catch you off guard! Just when you think the clues are obvious and the case is too simple, we are told otherwise. We stand corrected as the plot actually thickens and that realisation is enjoyable.
The detective isn't pretending, this isn't going to be a classic chase followed by a confession from the criminal, this won't be that easy to solve. And so, the show succeeds. To say that his judgement is fogged with Sherlockian deductions would be unfair as many textbook detectives go by the same methods of observation. This character is original, he's a loner, a tea drinker who doesn't carry a phone, possibly an ex-detective from what we're shown of his past and we're pretty much intrigued.
The use of upbeat songs associated with the gangster genre in tense situations is a nice touch. Most of the action takes place at live locations and we were shown some good chase sequences by the director. It has all the ingredients necessary to cook up a good crime drama.
The Bad-
The face-offs between the cop and this 'outlawed' detective are lacking something. We just wish they would have more of a battle of wits rather than glaring at each other and walking off when confronted solving the same case. Also, in some places we see
Ashish Chowdhry overdoing his bits to stay in character as his acting looks forced. Apart from that, revealing
Dev's past already may not be the best move as it isn't hard to figure out that he was in someway responsible for losing a loved one and his lifestyle now is all about brooding over it. We just hope it doesn't dissolve into melodrama.
The Bollywood character comes with an unconventional air about him and it is backed up by the feel of a show that is devoid of a typical daily soap atmosphere.
Sumona Chakravarti who is popular for Comedy Nights With Kapil and
Bade Acche Lagte Hai is a nice addition to the cast as well. We're watching a show from the detective genre after a very long time. Perhaps, as long as way back when the charming Byomkesh Bakshi aired on Doordarshan. We give the revival of the crime/detective genre a big thumbs up. Finally, we have believable situations and original plots that do not rely on mediocre acting or melodrama.
It doesn't sensationalise its subject, doesn't coat it with layers of pretentious character traits and gives us something real to ponder over.
The show isn't very brilliant or outstanding but,
Dev comes as a relief to viewers looking for something beyond daily soaps and it deserves a viewership if it continues to offer mysteries and a consulting detective that doesn't fail to surprise!
Ratings: ****/5 (4/5)
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Comments (12)
Colors Weekend Shows are fantastic and if Dev works then it will be a jackpot for them. Much better than CID and Saavdhan India type shows. Dev as a crime thriller show looks polished and raw at same time.
7 years ago
I really enjoyed this show and will continue to watch it...such a relief from Sass-Bahu OTT drama!
7 years ago
Speaking of crime drama reminds me of special squad- a star one show. Dere also d central character aryan was traumatized by his failure in past to save his loved one...
7 years ago
Awesome show, specially the cinematic slo mos and the retro BGs. A big thumbs up to this review!
7 years ago
Loving Dev. Agree it can do with some improvements. But its a welcome relief from otherwise boring Indian TV drama. Byomkesh Bakshi is a hallmark, I don't think any show can mach upto it. Big Ashish Chowdhry fan here. Also, IF this is not Ashish Chowdhry's first stint on TV as a lead. he has played Raghav Singhania on Ek Mutthi Aasmaan before.
7 years ago
I was really excited for this show as i like detective storeis and i know its an adaptation of sherlock holmes. Unfortunately it was kind of boring for me i think 1 hr is enough to solve that 1st case. still will continue to watch it. nice change from watching manhandling scenes or saas bahu scenes.
7 years ago
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7 years ago
Ashish is brilliant ! Loved him in Ek Mutthi Asmaan too.Show is pacy which is great. Special mention to Sonal Vengurlekar.
7 years ago
i liked the show it has a charm to it
7 years ago
They show is really worth watchable & enjoyable . It's great to see such kind of shows coming up
7 years ago