Devil: The British Secret Agent

Devil: The British Secret Agent is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written by Srikanth Vissa and directed by Abhishek Nama and Naveen Medaram. Produced by Abhishek Nama and Devansh Nama under Abhishek Pictures, it stars Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, Samyuktha Menon, Vasishta N. Simha, Edward Sonnenblick and Elnaaz Norouzi.

Devil: The British Secret Agent was theatrically released in India on 29 December 2023 and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot
The story is set in 1945 pre-independent India. Agent Devil is an officer of the IPI, who is sent undercover as a police officer to investigate the death of Vijaya, the daughter of a landlord in Rasapadu under Madras Presidency. Vijaya's father is arrested as the killer owing to his shame in Vijaya falling in love with Bhuma, a domestic worker in their house. Devil's investigation almost immediately leads him to believe that the landlord is innocent and that Vijaya's death is part of a much bigger conspiracy. Bhuma is revealed to be missing and a cook in the house named Rani is discovered to be dead. In the investigation proceeds, an unknown assailant finds out wounded Bhuma and kills him along with his father Ramana who is also a domestic worker in the house.

Simultaneous to the investigation, Devil falls in love with Nyshadha, the niece of the landlord's wife. She is a Barrister from London and being an orphan resides with the family. However, Nyshadha is hostile towards Devil. Based on accounts of the landlord's neighbour and business partner Patwari and his celebrity wife Rosy an Anglo-Indian woman, Devil discovers that Patwari informed the landlord of his daughter's affair after discovering his own wife's affair with the landlord. However, Patwari had not witnessed the murder and that rather, Vijaya subdued her own father, rendering him unconscious and asked Bhuma escape.

Devil finds Nyshadha having a rendezvous with a stranger in her room and confronts them. The stranger is revealed to be Samudra and Nyshadha reveals that she and Samudra are a part of the Azad Hind Fauj, colloquially referred to as the INA. Then Nyshadha reveals to Devil that the code has been stolen from her by unknown person which links to INA at the time of Vijaya's murder, and claims that she and Samudra are innocent. Then Devil discovers that Subhash Chandra Bose is due to land in India soon and the whereabouts of his landing are to be known only to Trivarna, Bose's close confident and second-in-command whose identity is unknown. Clement, a British officer, is later assassinated by Trivarna, who is revealed to be INC leader Manimekala for killing one of the INA Agents Venkata Chalam. Meanwhile Nyshadha begins to fall in love with Devil after he is successful in the landlord's acquittal regarding Vijaya's murder case.

It is revealed that Devil was sent undercover to Rasapadu to investigate Nyshadha as she was revealed to have decoded and sent out the message which specified details of Netaji's landing. The codes were leaked by Agent Trojan to General Kenneth Bracken, who assigned Devil to go after Nyshadha. After the first part of the codes, which specifies the time and location of the landing, are cracked, Bracken deems Nyshadha useless to them and has orders sent out for her to be killed by tribal decoits. However, she is saved by Devil. The latter tells Bracken that he managed to crack the second part of the code, which says Nyshadha has to meet Trivarna and exchange the "All Clear" message for Netaji to land in India and therefore, Nyshadha must remain alive.

Nyshadha is arrested, but is rescued by Devil, rendering her a fugitive with a ransom of Rs.500 on her head, which leaves her unable to contact Trivarna. She entrusts Devil with the task of contacting Trivarna. Devil posts a letter with the decoded message, which is obtained by Manimekala. Meanwhile Shafi, a close confidant of Trivarna, meets the second-in-command of INA and alerts them the code has been leaked and plans about the new destination of Netaji.

Later INA allies in Rasapadu, including Samudra and Shafi, are captured and brought to Bracken, who then discovers that Manimekala is Trivarna. An attempt to capture her is made and she is brought to Bracken by Devil. In a turn of events, Devil kills all of the soldiers, who were handed the task of killing Manimekala and the other allies, revealing himself to be the actual Trivarna. It is revealed that Devil took up work in the IPI on Netaji's orders and arrived in Rasapadu not to investigate Nyshadha, but to find out Agent Trojan's identity for leaking the codes. He was the one who ordered Manimekala to kill Clement and in the message he warned her to be safe regarding the search of IPI.

After solving the murder of Vijaya, Devil realises that Samudra is Agent Trojan, an IPI Agent working with the INA. Samudra who came secretly to Nyshadha's residence to meet her was seen by Rani who thought they both were lovers and helps him to get the duplicate keys of the bungalow. Taking advantage of this, he meets her frequently. After Vijaya subdued his father to save Bhuma, Samudra entered Nyshadha's room and stole the codes. Vijaya watches him and tries to alert the servants but a scared Samudra kills her. Later Rani sees him covered in blood and becomes worries for Nyshadha. Without a second thought Samudra kills her too and drowns her body in the well. Meanwhile Bhuma decides to fight back regarding his situation and came back home but is horrified after witnessing the murders of Vijaya and Rani. A chase ensures between them but Bhuma escapes narrowly with the wounds. Later, Samudra finds out Bhuma and Samudra kills the father and son and leaves. It reveals that he gave information regarding the INA Agents to be arrested and is responsible for Venkatachalam's death.

Samudra simultaneously reveals Devil's identity to Bracken and goes to Nyshadha, revealing to her that Devil is not a police officer, but an IPI Agent and has been working against their organisation. Samudra takes her to the location, where Netaji is about to land, but is stopped en route by Trivarna, who is shot by Nyshadha with a broken heart before he can reveal the truth. At the location, Bracken intercepts Nyshadha and Samudra, who reveals his identity as Agent Trojan and announces that he is using her to catch Netaji to earn 1 lakh pounds and British Citizenship. However, Nyshadha reveals that Devil had communicated to her in morse code that Devil is Trivarna and instructed her to divert Samudra and announce that no one can stop Netaji from entering India. Trivarna arrives, taking down Bracken's troops single-handedly and eventually killing Bracken and Samudra. Before killing Bracken he announces that he will continue as a British Secret Agent to spy on IPI and other agencies. Netaji successfully lands in Mahabalipuram a new "All Clear" location and Trivarna, whose true identity remains unrevealed to the public and the history, resumes his work for the IPI and spying on them for INA, which hints towards a sequel.

Cast

 * Nandamuri Kalyan Ram as Trivarna alias Agent Devil; a double agent spying on IPI; head of INA covert operations
 * Samyuktha Menon as INA Agent Nyshadha, Trivarna's love interest and INA's morse code operator
 * Malvika Nair as INA agent Manimekala, and the leader of INA spies in South India, Right-hand woman to Trivarna
 * Mark Bennington as Bracken, the chief of IPI unit in South India
 * Vasishta N. Simha as INA agent Samudra alias Agent Trojan, A double agent spying on INA for IPI
 * Edward Sonnenblick as Bell, Bracken's trusted aid and close confidant.
 * Satya as Sastry, Trivarana's assistant and close confidant.
 * Shafi as INA agent Shafi, who disguises himself as a press photographer, coordinates with members and INA; close confidant to Trivarna, Nyshadha, and Samudra
 * Uttej as INA Agent Venkata Chalam, who was tortured and killed by Bracken and Bell
 * Ajay as Patwari, neighbour and business partner to Zamindar
 * Elnaaz Norouzi as Rosy, wife of Patwari
 * Srikanth Iyengar as Police Officer Venakata Swamy, a corrupt and negligent cop who initially investigates Vijaya's murder case.
 * Ammu Abhirami as Vijaya, Zamindar's daughter
 * Ester Noronha as Rani, a cook in the bungalow.
 * Amit Sharma as Bhuma, Vijaya's love interest and a servant in the Zamindar's Bungalow
 * Ananda Chakrapani as Ramana, Bhuma's father, a loyal servant to Zamindar
 * Seetha as Vijaya's mother
 * Nithin Mehta as Zamindar, Vijaya's father
 * Chatrapathi Sekhar as Rani's husband, a lock smith
 * Hari Teja as servant to Zamindar

Production
The film was announced in July 2021. Naveen Medaram, of Babu Baga Busy (2017) fame, was the initial director of the film and even shot for 105 days in Karaikudi, Visakhapatnam, and Hyderabad. However, owing to creative differences he was replaced with Abhishek Nama. The filming was wrapped up in April 2023.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack album and film score of the film was composed by Harshavardhan Rameshwar. The music rights of the film were acquired by ICON Music. The first track from the album, "Maaye Chesi", released on 19 September 2023, followed by the second track, "This is Lady Rosy", on 27 November 2023, and followed by the third track, "Doorame Theeramai", on 18 December 2023.

Theatrical
Devil: The British Secret Agent was expected to be released theatrically on 24 November 2023, but postponed to 29 December 2023.

Home media
The film premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 14 January 2024.

Reception
Raghu Bandi of Indian Express gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Kalyan Ram is sincere in a film lacking originality or depth. Devil is strictly for fans of the actor." Abhilasha Cherukuri of Cinema Express gave the film 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Nandamuri Kalyanram's latest outing is a genre-friendly yet overdrawn tale of Independence-era heroism." Suresh Rachamalla of News18 gave 3/5 stars and praised its story, cast performances and production values, but criticized its first half and songs. Suhas Sistu of The Hans India gave 3/5 stars and wrote ""Devil" is a watchable period action drama featuring an interesting storyline and commendable twists. The lack of a gripping first half prevents the movie from reaching its full potential. However, if viewers can overlook some minor flaws, the film offers an engaging experience, making it worth a try." Neeshitha Nyayapati of Hindustan Times wrote "Devil turns out to be yet another Telugu film that tries way too hard to seem cool while pulling off a tale of espionage. Irrespective of who directed the film, the off-screen drama seems way more interesting than the on-screen one."