Devi (2016 film)

Devi is a 2016 Indian trilingual comedy horror film co-written and directed by Vijay. It features Tamannaah Bhatia in the title role with Prabhu Deva and Sonu Sood in the lead roles whilst 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  and Tutak Tutak Tutiya, respectively.

All three versions were released worldwide on 7 October 2016.

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, 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 answers, "Ruby". It is understood that Ruby has possessed her body.

Production
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. 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.

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".

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.