Essential Viewing for John Wick and Memento Enthusiasts: The Underrated Indian Film, Deva on Netflix
Any action movie enthusiasts with a Netflix subscription who haven't given their Bollywood collection a shot are missing out. Indian cinema hosts some of the genre's most thrilling, yet often overlooked in the U.S., releases, like the Hindi-language 2025 film Deva.
I recently gave this reimagining of director Rosshan Andrrews' own 2013 drama, Mumbai Police, a shot. To my surprise, it brought to mind an unusual blend of films that I love: the John Wick franchise and one of the best movies of the 2000s, Memento. If you're a fan of either, then I'd say Deva is worth your time, but there are even more reasons to check out one of the best action movies you likely haven't seen.
Deva's Leading Man Is a Total Badass
Shahid Kapoor, star of Amazon Prime's Farzi, a show that fans of The Gentlemen would appreciate, heads up the Deva cast as Dev Ambre, a cop who bends the rules like he's the Dirty Harry of Mumbai. However, if the hero of one of Clint Eastwood's best movies also had killer dance moves, you'd have Dev.
His tactics are more akin to Keanu Reeves' stoic assassin from the John Wick movies - the best action movie franchise of all time, in my opinion. The fight choreography is exquisite - even more "balletic" than the new John Wick spin-off, Ballerina - but brutal enough to establish Dev as a man few would dare to mess with. Even when his recklessness stretches beyond the line, his charm wins you over. However, it's when he suffers an accident that he earns your real sympathies.
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Dev's Amnesia Adds a Twist to the Plot
Deva starts with Dev (Kapoor) getting into a motorcycle accident and later waking up with no memory of who he is. To add to his trouble, just before the incident, he informed his superior, Farhan Khan (Pravessh Rana), that he had solved the murder of their friend and colleague, Rohan D'Silva (Pavail Gulati), which he now must re investigate, all while hiding his amnesia.
The narrative is also told in a non-linear way, jumping between the life of Dev's pre-amnesiac self, labeled "Dev A," and his new self, called "Dev B." This structure brought Memento to mind, though I won't pretend that Deva is anywhere near as revolutionary or thought-provoking as that acclaimed Christopher Nolan film. Still, it's an engaging, if predictable, mystery with a protagonist whose memory complicates his deeply personal mission.
Deva Concludes with a Mind-Blowing Plot Twist
Like Memento, the ending of Deva delivers a pretty shocking plot twist. In fact, the twist caught me completely off guard. While not the most original twist, the story did a commendable job keeping it hidden until the moment it's revealed, which I couldn't help but admire. However, you'll have to stream Deva on Netflix to experience it for yourself.
You know, it's ironic that the first Indian movie I ever watched was Ghajini, a revenge movie about a man with short-term memory loss that's loosely based on Memento. And now, my first return to Bollywood is similar? Fancy that.
Still, as you can see, Deva is worth checking out if you're looking for something new in the action movie genre. Happy streaming!
Sentence 1: Daily blend the action-packed thrill of the John Wick franchise with the intricate storytelling of Memento, Deva offers an entertaining daily blend that should be on movie-and-TV enthusiasts' to-watch list.
Sentence 2: If you're intrigued by the dance moves of Dirty Harry, the brutal fight choreography of John Wick, and the mind-bending narrative of Memento, Deva's unique combination of entertainment elements is right up your alley.
