A strange – albeit not totally unexpected – kind of hysteria enveloped the release of The Devil, the new feature starring Darshan Thoogudeepa. The lead-up to the release has been marred by the 48-year-old actor’s controversy involving the kidnapping and murder of Renukaswamy, himself reported to be Darshan’s fan, which was followed by his conviction and arrest. Yet, despite him currently serving time in prison, The Devil’s theatrical release gained significant traction through advanced bookings and a general frenzied word-of-mouth buzz emanating from the actor’s vast fandom, to eventually make it a one-of-a-kind event in recent pop-culture history.And much to the fans’ delight, the film presents the superstar actor in a grand dual avatar. The Prakash Veer directorial makes no bones about playing up the said demigod presence, and comes fully stuffed with hyper-stylised action blocks, song sequences in pristine foreign locations, a heavy dose of villainy, a few tender, emotional moments on the side, and whatnot. This semblance of a ‘complete package’ even includes Darshan playing the film’s chief antagonist (aside from being the good guy) to raise the stakes for those who had been keenly looking forward to the film.ALSO READ: Dheeram movie review: Indrajith’s film gives Officer On Duty a run for its money in shameless exploitation of crimes against womenYet, what’s delivered doesn’t match up to the anticipation. With an archaic story, a lacklustre narrative and an overall problematic gaze towards the women in the story, The Devil revs itself up simply under the guise of a major star vehicle but fails to live up to the tall promise it boasted. The plot is undone by sloppy writing, the performances feel glaringly over-the-top, and the surrounding tone and style bordering on self-parody don’t help either; so much so that the film even manages to quieten even the most passionate audience members in the cinema hall.Writer-director Prakash Veer opts to set the film against the backdrop of Karnataka state politics, a la the Malayalam film Lucifer. State’s ex-chief minister Rajashekar (Mahesh Manjrekar) is hungry to get back on the high chair, but the enemies lurking within the family in the form of his two nephews manage to put him behind bars on corruption grounds. Rajashekar is widowed, and his only son is away in London, so his biggest asset and proud kingmaker, Ananth Nambiar (Achyuth Kumar), must do whatever it takes to bring his king back into power. The London son is Dhanush Rajashekar, aka The Devil (played by Darshan), a man so unruly and diabolical that each of his theatrics feels comically forceful. On the other side is a humble and innocent eatery owner/struggling actor named Krishna (also played by Darshan), who is far removed from the world of politics and its power plays. When Nambiar learns that The Devil cannot be relied upon, he is left with nothing else but hatching a bizarre plan of using a lookalike to sway everyone involved in the game. The conceit of switching a character with its lookalike is age-old, but that is still not the main concern with the film. Previous outings, including Salim-Javed’s most popular one, Don (1976), showed us that such scenarios are to be tactfully handled and convincingly built, with the screenplay having to dish out entertainment while simultaneously tracing a tricky portion. In complete contrast, The Devil resorts to an incredibly lazy and minimum-effort approach that fails to inspire any confidence in the viewer. Story continues below this adALSO READ: Andhra King Taluka movie review: Ram Pothineni, Upendra star in a complex story made too easy, but also endearingIt doesn’t take anything for Krishna to throw his present life away and go under the radar, to leave his lover Rukmini or Rukku (Rachana Rai) behind, to convince everyone (including his supposed father Rajashekar) that he is the real deal, or to become the most-desired CM candidate among the public. The setup and its execution are made so easy and simplistic that the Devil himself feels bored with it all, causing him to take matters into his own hands and enter the fray. Even then, it’s no great shakes.The work-averse writing goes through one outrageous motion after another to ultimately lead to nowhere. The idea of creating confusion with lookalikes is barely utilised, but whenever it is, the results are underwhelming as well as objectionable. The bigger problem with the film is its treatment of women and how certain references to sexual abuse are made in a disturbingly matter-of-fact manner. In fact, it goes on to position its antagonist – a man who proudly announces at one point that he has raped a woman – as its main attraction, and never really bothers to let him face consequences for his gross actions. The film implies that a generic comparison of this character with the devil would somehow pardon it of all its faults, and it becomes all the more pressing when the audience is openly made to accept this casual disposition. Female lead Rachana Rai, in particular, bears the heaviest burden, while a few scenes featuring Sharmiela Mandre also contribute to a startling normalisation of sexual assault.Watch the trailer of The DevilStory continues below this adSo, when considered from this perspective, The Devil feels irredeemable, and in all frankness, its flaws simply cannot be overlooked. On the one hand, its writing and execution are quite uninspired, and barring a few of Krishna’s antics seen in the first half, there are almost no relatable moments in the film. On the other, it comes across as stubborn and apathetic to understand its own conduct in key situations, which makes it a discomforting watch. The film doesn’t do much to the immense hype it carried with itself prior to the release, nor does it manage to appease the hardcore fans who flung over all boundaries in the actor’s support. What it does, at the very least, is remind us that we all deserve so much more from our entertainers.The Devil movie cast: Darshan, Rachana Rai, Mahesh ManjrekarThe Devil movie director: Prakash VeerThe Devil movie rating: 1.5 stars