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Devi
Theatrical release poster in Tamil
Directed by	A. L. Vijay
Screenplay by	A. L. Vijay Sathya Chintan Gandhi
Story by	A. L. Vijay Paul Aaron
Produced by	Prabhu Deva
Starring	Prabhu Deva Tamannaah Bhatia Sonu Sood
Cinematography	Manush Nandan
Edited by	Anthony
Music by	Songs: Sajid–Wajid Vishal Mishra Hindi Songs: Gurinder Seagal Raaj Ashoo MusicMG Background Score: Gopi Sundar
Production companies	Prabhu Deva Studios Vels Films International M.V.V. Entertainments Kona Film Corporation Shakti Sagar Productions Pooja Entertainment
Distributed by	Auraa Cinemas
Release date	7 October 2016 (2016-10-07)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	India
Languages	Tamil Telugu Hindi
Budget	₹11 crore

Devi (transl. Goddess) is a 2016 Indian trilingual comedy horror film co-written and directed by A. L. Vijay. It features Tamannaah Bhatia in the title role with Prabhu Deva and Sonu Sood in the lead roles and RJ Balaji, Saptagiri, Rajiv Thakur and Murali Sharma in supporting roles. In addition to Tamil, the film was also simultaneously shot in Telugu and Hindi titled Abhinetri (transl. Actress) and Tutak Tutak Tutiya, respectively.

All three versions were theatrically released worldwide on 7 October 2016 and were a commercial success at the box office.

Plot

Krishna is a happy-go-lucky Tamilian (Telugu in Telugu version) who works in Mumbai. He is originally from Coimbatore (Rajahmundry in Telugu version). He spends his time searching for his dream girl. He wants his life partner to be educated and have supermodel looks. He does not want a country girl for a wife. His grandmother is on her deathbed, and his father wants him to get married. His father, with the aid of his grandmother, chooses a girl from their village named Muthampatti (Vetapalem in Telugu version). He tries many times to stop the marriage, but nothing works. He marries the girl, Devi, unwillingly. He tries to get rid of her and shifts to a new house to hide her from his friends.

After moving to the new house, Devi's personality changes, which surprises Krishna. He unwillingly takes her to a film festival where, to his shock, she dances and calls herself Ruby. She attracts the attention of actor Raj Khanna. Krishna inquires about the house with his neighbours and, to his disbelief, learns about the past owner, a girl called Ruby. She was an actress who was supposed to debut with Raj was replaced by another actress, which caused her to fall into depression and commit suicide in that very house. He finds out that his wife is possessed by Ruby. Ruby gets an acting offer for the third sequel of Revolver Raja with Raj, and she forces Krishna to let her attend every rehearsal. Eventually, Krishna makes a deal with her to end this after one movie. Through the film making process which involves Krishna lying to Devi, Krishna begins to appreciate his wife and falls in love with her. Ruby and Krishna also become close friends.

At the release of the movie, Krishna praises Ruby for her acting, but she betrays him and does not leave Devi's body as promised. Krishna tries to make her leave by exposing her in the press conference, but she tricks him. At that point, Raj also proposes to her. She faints and is rushed to the hospital. The doctor reveals that Devi is pregnant with Krishna's child. Krishna begs Ruby to leave his wife's body, and Ruby obeys. The movie ends with Krishna and Devi happy together, while we see Ruby's name on a name tag in a trash bin disappear.

In the Tamil and Telugu versions, after a few years, Krishna and Devi live happily and have a child by the time. Krishna goes out to work, but he is possessed by Ruby, whose name tag is back again. This scene sets the stage for the sequel.

In the Hindi version, Raj is swarmed by his fans asking for an autograph, and in the midst of all, he recognizes a hand stretched out, asking for his autograph. He asked for her name, and she answered, "Ruby." It is understood that Ruby has possessed her body.

Cast

Production

"The trilingual shoot was a very strenuous task. It is a bad idea. Of course, all of us knew the three languages but it was very tiring. Prabhu sir handled it much easily than I did. Also, I had two roles to play and the top of all these, the dance sequences too which was a crucial part of the film. Even I had to act thrice and dance thrice. In fact I was the one who gave this bad idea to make it in all the three languages".

Devi was announced as a trilingual film to be made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi after Tamannaah Bhatia's suggestion since Prabhu Deva also knew all three languages. In June 2016, the Telugu version was revealed to be titled Abhinetri (transl. Actress). The Hindi version was initially titled Two in One. Hollywood director Paul Aaron co-wrote the film with A. L. Vijay. Tamannaah and Sonu Sood play actors in the film. Devi was simultaneously filmed in Telugu and Hindi, respectively with a slightly different supporting cast for each version. Tamannaah dubbed for herself for the Hindi version.

Soundtrack

Tamil version

All lyrics are written by Na. Muthukumar

Telugu version

Hindi version

Reception

Abhinetri

A critic from The Hindu rated the film 3 1⁄4 out of 5 and opined that "Except for the 'Tutak Tutak Tutiya' number where the lyrics seem more Hindi than Telugu, the makers ensure that Abhinetri remains a Telugu film at heart". 123 Telugu gave the film a rating of three out of five and said that "Abhinetri is a very simple tale that keeps you occupied (if not entertained) for its two hours duration. if you ignore the few gltiches here and there, it is a movie that can be watched once." Jeevi of Idlebrain gave the film the same rating and noted that "Abhinetri is one such kind of film that works based on its content, not just because of the thrills and fear factor". His only criticism was that the film had the effect of "a dubbing film".

Devi

M. Suganth of The Times of India gave the film a rating of three-and-a-half out of five stars and said that "Vijay gives us a story that is quite simple and at the same time empathetic". Behindwoods gave the film the same rating and said that "A wholesome ghost story that engages and entertains". Sify called the film "engaging" while criticizing the film's Hindi-dubbed feel and Bollywoodesque songs. The Hindu said that "Devi works as an engaging horror film, save for the overdose of dance and frolic that takes away the thrills" and added that "Devi is A.L. Vijay's way of saying he can do pei-sa vasool entertainers too". Onmanorama wrote that "Devi works solely because of its treatment of the genre and for bringing back Prabhudheva in a memorable role".

Tutak Tutak Tutiya

Hindustan Times gave a rating of two out of five stars and opined that "If you are looking for an entertaining, paisa-vasool movie, Tutak Tutak Tutiya should be your pick". The Times of India gave the film a rating of three out of five stars and wrote that "Despite being a tad underwhelming, Tutak Tutak Tutiya is a fairly enjoyable film that can be watched on a family outing". The India Express gave the film a rating of a half out of five stars and stated that "What happens when Prabhu Deva is not given enough dance numbers but is expected to act and Tamannah Bhatia is turned into a sari-clad frump? Horror!" IANS rated the film 2 1⁄2 and wrote that "Overall, while the film is engaging and intriguing, it suffers from a fatigued second half and an absurd ending. But nevertheless, it keeps you in splits. A better star cast would have elevated this film".

Awards and nominations

Sequel

After the success of Devi and Abhinetri, the makers planned a sequel, titled Devi 2 and Abhinetry 2. The film was released on 31 May 2019, with Tamannaah Bhatia, Prabhu Deva, RJ Balaji, and Saptagiri reprising their roles.

References

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3. "Abhinetri Tamannaah". Deccan Chronicle. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
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6. Pillai, Sreedhar (24 December 2016). "Kollywood's 2016 report card". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
7. "Farah Khan to play herself in Tamil film Devi(L)". IANS. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016.
8. Shekhar, Arunkumar (17 December 2018). "Santhana Bharathi's son Sanjay debuts as director". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
9. Soman, Deepa (27 January 2017). "Playing a villain fascinates me more: Abijith Paul". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
10. "SRK May Make a Special Appearance in Sonu Sood's Tutak Tutak Tutiya". NDTV. 10 September 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
11. ^ "Prabhu Deva, Tamannaah Bhatia reveal why they had to shoot their next thrice". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
12. ^ "Tamannaah Bhatia plays an actress in Devi(L)". IANS. 15 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
13. Thomas, Elizabeth (11 June 2016). "Break from navy, break in films". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
14. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (28 September 2016). "Tamannaah Bhatia: 'Tutak Tutak Tutiya is an important film as I'm paired with Prabhu Deva'". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
15. "Abhinetri: Here to entertain". The Hindu. 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
16. "Abhinetri telugu movie review". 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
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19. "Devi (Aka) DeviL review". 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
20. "Devi review: A neat feel good horror comedy". Sify. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016.
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22. "'Devi' movie review: delightfully refreshing horror-comedy". Onmanorama. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
23. "Tutak Tutak Tutiya review: Prabhudheva flaunts great comic timing amid misogyny". 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
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26. "'Tutak Tutak Tutiya': Refreshingly funny (IANS Review, Rating: **1/2)". Business Standard. 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
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28. "64th Filmfare South Awards 2017: Here's Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Tamil nomination lists". Ibtimes.co.in. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
29. "Devi 2 goes on floors". Cinema Express. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.

External links

• Devi at IMDb
• Abhinetri at IMDb
• Tutak Tutak Tutiya at IMDb

• 2016 films
• 2010s Tamil-language films
• 2010s Indian films
• 2010s Telugu-language films
• 2010s Hindi-language films
• Indian multilingual films
• Films directed by A. L. Vijay
• Films scored by G. V. Prakash Kumar
• Films scored by Sajid–Wajid
• Films scored by Gopi Sundar
• Indian comedy horror films
• 2016 multilingual films
• 2016 comedy horror films
• Films about Bollywood
• Films set in Mumbai