DSP Dev Movie Review: Punjabi Mania present before you full movie review of recently released Punjabi movie titled ‘DSP Dev’.
Cast: Dev Kharoud, Mehreen Pirzada, Manav Vij, Aman Dhaliwal, Girija Shankar, Shavinder Mahal, Nita Mohindra, Tarsem Paul, Lakha Lehri, Mahavir Bhullar, Sukhwinder Raj, Ram Aujla, Rajiv Rishi, Deep Sehgal, Milanpreet Kaur and Hashneen Chauhan.
Director: Mandeep Benipal.
Producers: Ravneet Kaur Chahal, Rajesh Kumar, Gunbir Singh Sidhu and Manmord Sidhu.
Music: Gurmeet Singh, Laddi Gill, Cheetah.
Genre: Action, Drama.
Running Time: 143 minutes (U/A certified).
DSP Dev Movie Review
‘DSP Dev’ is a story of village Daulatpur (in Firozpur), also known as the Capital of Drugs. Men, women and children are seen making, packing or selling drugs from the word go. The introductory sequence which shows all these glimpses is both gripping and panicking.
However, what causes most panic is the bringing into light the antagonist in Rana Brar (Manav Vij). Son of MLA Bakhtawar Brar (Girija Shankar), Rana is known as the ‘King of Border Area’ primarily because of his supremacy in selling drugs, involvement in illegal mining and other lawbreaking businesses.
The father-son duo has a sound network among the police department which helps them in carrying out their businesses. The transfer of a corrupt officer in DSP Dev Shergill (Dev Kharoud) from Mohali to Firozpur further aids the Brars in their illicit line of work. The trio works hand-in-hand to gain unfair commercial advantages.
DSP Dev, son of an honest and martyred police officer, transmutes from being a puppet into a lionhearted officer on the back of certain events in his life. Watch the movie to know what causes him to change his path and whether he sticks by against a daunting opposition under daunting circumstances.
Direction and Writing
DSP Dev is the third time when director Mandeep Benipal and actor Dev Kharoud have come together in the last year or so. Titled after a police officer, the duo traveled on similar roads despite doing something novel.
Benipal deserves applauds for the intriguing start to the movie which grabs full attention at the outset. Not just introducing but well-defining the villain before the actor works extremely well for the movie as the viewers know what danger lies in front of the antagonist.
Benipal was also successful in his attempt of creating village Daulatpur. The feel around the same constantly alerts you that something false-hearted is about the happen.
There’s a narrow margin between the laying importance on Kharoud’s character especially his journey of becoming a DSP and dragging it. Unfortunately for the movie, Benipal and and writer Inderpal S cross that margin. Therefore, affecting the movie in the first half.
While Inderpal’s screenplay in found wanting on a few occasions, him awarding Kharoud at the climax is questionable. While the character did change his path midway, he still should have been held accountable for his wrongdoings of the past. The same will unequivocally go down as a chink in the armour as far as writing is concerned.
Acting
DSP Dev belonged to Dev Kharoud and his powerful performance. While there’s a lot to like about Kharoud and his acting, DSP Dev also highlighted the fact that comedy doesn’t come natural to him and even then he outshines in the comic portions besides doing exceedingly well in the Action Part.
While Gurpreet Bhullar’s dialogues further up the ante for Dev Kharoud, him embossing into a Police Officer will go down as a second to none performance in the recent times as a leading hero.
Without proceeding any further, let’s take a moment to talk about Manav Vij. It becomes hard to believe that the actor played an out and out negative role for the first time in his career. What I really wished for during the movie was more screen time given to Vij but that didn’t happen.
It is Vij’s ascendancy in the movie which brings out the best out of Dev Kharoud. The lead actor provides a rationale for standing tall in front of a menacing Vij. Kharoud’s performance in the climax is surely a personal attainment for the actor.
Mehreen Kaur Pirzada, who made her Punjabi debut with the movie, registered a praiseworthy and confident performance. Among the other actors who leave a mark without a doubt are Girija Shankar and Aman Dhaliwal (as Param Veer, Dev’s childhood friend and Rana’s cousin). Having watched the former on-screen after a long interval, it calls for another good decision with respect to the casting of the movie.
Music
You don’t expect music to be the highest point of a cop-drama and DSP Dev is no different. That being said, it doesn’t mean that the movie’s songs aren’t worth listening to. While ‘Akh Da Nishana’ can be a delight for fans of Sapna Choudhary, ‘Wadde Jigre’ is another song which comes at a suitable time in the movie.
Final Verdict
While there is no compulsion of delivering social messages in a movie, DSP Dev successfully doing the same calls for another bout of laurels for the team. Given the drug-related condition in the state, such a movie has it in it to impact the affected in an affirmative manner. Therefore, Dev Kharoud and Manav Vij’s dust-up is worth-watching in a cinema near you!
