You always find good things in every  A.L.Vijay  film. It is in the overall scheme of things that you see something amiss most of the times. The final product somehow always seems less than the sum total of the highlights. A.L.Vijay is someone who consciously avoids repeating genres and with Devi he ventures into the horror comedy space.

Plot:

A spirit wants to rent a village belle's body to become an actress.

Cast:

Prabhu Deva has always been a likable actor. Even in the most mundane of films he has a presence.  We have no qualms when he is introduced in Devi as a 34 year old eligible bachelor. He could even pass off as someone much younger and we might not battle an eyelid.The actor is in good form in Devi and he makes the jokes work. He rocks the scene where he lies down on the floor of his office and creates a ruckus akin to a kid whose chocolate has been snatched off. Does it even need to be mentioned that he dances like a dream. Tamannah puts in a sincere performance.She is at home as Ruby and is an absolute eye candy (This is the first film of the director where the heroine bares her midriff). As Devi, she tries to stay as low key as possible but you do not buy her as the village belle. It is Devi who starts behaving like Ruby when the spirit enters her. But it actually feels otherwise as Tamanna seems to connect only with Ruby. RJ Balaji brings a few chuckles with his madcap humour. The remaining cast which was probably chosen keeping in mind that this is a trilingual keep alienating the film from us.

Devi works as a reasonably engaging flick with a lighthearted treatment. Apart from an eerie feel when the title rolls, the film does not really employ anything remotely close to horror. There is actually no intent to give you a jump scare. Though the events happen in a household in Mumbai there is a surreal feel to the ambiance. The VFX is very good and is neatly done with minimal gimmicks. There is a definite nativity issue with the film. The characterization of Ruby, Sonu Sood and the entire episode about a film-shoot look straight out of a Hindi film with even shades of Om Shanti Om creeping in.Why have a film(within the film) that is being shot in Mumbai with a hero named Rajesh Khanna and then sell it as a Tamil film shooting spot. Dubbed films at times seem much easier for the viewers to accept/relate as they know what they are stepping into. These bilinguals and trilinguals are what keep us confused at times. They are neither here nor there.

Bottomline:

Devi has very few laugh out loud moments. At best, it is a reasonably pleasant watch with a constant smile at the corner of our lips. 

Ratings: 2.5/5