Even as the film opens with the regular fare of glamourising police brutality, there is a smartness to Deva’s execution that grabs your attention. The background score, the sepia tone, the intrigue in the story’s beginning all indicate that something non-standard is in store for you. Hope springs that it is not the run-of-the-mill police-mafia fare we have been dished out in the past few years. Is that alone enough to give Deva extra points? Nada. By the end, the film holds on its own merit.

Until then though, Shahid Kapoor broods as well as he always does.

The story takes its own time to unfold. The unrushed approach is appealing because the plot is complicated, and the characters quite a few. Alas, it is not because characters or situations are brewing in the pauses; there isn’t depth in the writing in that sense. It is more a stylistic choice that works. And it wouldn’t have, were it not for the story’s complexity.

Fortunately, it is not complexity for the sake of being so. Similarly, the thick, meaty plot isn’t that way just for the sake of wringing your brain in a twist. It all fits in neatly like a snug jigsaw puzzle. While fingers point to many characters it isn’t overt or forced-down-your-throat over-the-top, the kind of execution many Hindi thrillers end up with. I also quite enjoyed the justification for the non-linear narrative. This is nicely wrapped up with some smart one-liners strewn across the run-time.

That’s not to say there aren’t any regular thriller tropes. You have that one character who you can tell was created to be killed. One of the big twists can also be easily foreseen. But now, three hours after being out of the theatre, I have a feeling the film worked because of these cliches make you complacent as an audience. You expect only more unoriginal writing interspersed with all that is working so far. So, though the film is smarter than that, it comes across more well-written than it actually is. Well played, I’d say.

The real problem then is that it glamourises police brutality much like its kin in the industry. It is quite something that no one in the cast or crew of these movies thinks of this as a no-go. Or at least not strongly enough to keep them from participating in it. After all you have Shahid Kapoor of Kabir Singh fame at the helm here. Isn’t it time he and his industry brethren pose some resistance to glorifying the severely problematic.

Until then though, Shahid Kapoor broods as well as he always does. The rest of the cast revolve around him without drawing attention towards themselves, either good or bad. Sure, the women have slightly more to do than the usual, but nearly not ‘more’ enough.

And despite all these glaring and unpleasant failings, the execution lets you enjoy what works even if you can’t ignore what isn’t working. The background score, the camera work, the colour tones add to the flair of the overall product. Enough to let go of the eyeroll inducing, even if sparse, slow-mo shots.

Similarly, the thick, meaty plot isn’t that way just for the sake of wringing your brain in a twist. It all fits in neatly like a snug jigsaw puzzle.

Deva also makes up for it with its conspicuous inclusivity as far as religion goes—something that has visibly reduced in the past few years. Temples, mosques, churches are all part of the milieu matter-of-factly. So are people belonging to different religions. In a similar vein, it was also refreshing to see a Hindi film in the theatre which didn’t have a nationalistic streak.

And gladly, that is not the only thing going for it.

- meeta, a part of the audience