The Devil Review: Mixed Buzz as Darshan’s Comeback Hits Big

The Devil Review: Mixed Buzz as Darshan’s Comeback Hits Big

Bengaluru's UB City multiplex thrummed with a cocktail of adulation and apprehension on December 9, 2025, as the much-hyped premiere of The Devil ignited a firestorm of reactions, marking Darshan Thoogudeepa's audacious return to the big screen. The Kannada action saga, helmed by newcomer director Vinay Raj and backed by a Rs 120 crore budget from V Creations, rolled out its crimson carpet amid a sea of 3,000 fans brandishing "D Boss Forever" placards, their chants drowning out the drizzle. Darshan's towering turn as Arjun Veer, a tormented ex-cop unleashing hell on a drug cartel, commanded the 2-hour-25-minute runtime, eliciting roars from devotees and raised eyebrows from detractors in equal measure. "Darshan's fire is unquenched—but does it burn too bright for the ashes of his past?" pondered a viewer in the post-screening haze, capturing the mixed buzz enveloping this controversial comeback. With the film storming 1,500 screens across Karnataka on December 10—dubbed in Telugu and Hindi for pan-South reach—the release is poised for a Rs 30 crore opening day, per trade whispers, testing the limits of Darshan's mass magnetism against the lingering shadow of his 2024 Renukaswamy murder conviction.

The premiere, a spectacle of strobe lights and star power, drew heavyweights like Sudeep and Rakshit Shetty, who flanked the absent Darshan—serving a life sentence in Parappana Agrahara jail, out on interim bail for filming—to lend fraternal fervor. Producer Chandru Bilehal, beaming through the bedlam, touted The Devil as "Darshan's defiant dawn," shot in 2023 before the scandal shattered his stratosphere. Protests simmered outside: women's collectives from the Karnataka Film Chamber decried the "glorification of guilt," unfurling banners reading "Art Without Accountability," while fans fired back with fireworks and fan cams. Early indicators dazzle: advance bookings hit Rs 12 crore in Karnataka alone, with Telugu territories adding Rs 5 crore, signaling Darshan's die-hard dominion endures. Yet, the buzz buzzes with ambivalence—80 percent positive on BookMyShow previews, but social sentiment skews 55-45 split, hashtags #DBossRedemption clashing with #BoycottDarshan in a digital duel.

Darshan's Descent: A Comeback Carved in Controversy

Darshan Thoogudeepa, the 47-year-old "D Boss" whose box-office bravado has bankrolled 55 films since his 2001 Majestic breakout, dives back into the fray with The Devil amid a maelstrom of moral minefields. His June 2024 conviction for the abduction and torture-murder of fan Renukaswamy—tied to online jabs at Darshan's alleged affair—drew a life term, a saga that scorched his "Challenging Star" sheen and sparked nationwide debates on celebrity culpability. Filmed pre-fall in 2023 across Ooty's misty hills and Hyderabad's humid hangars, The Devil casts Darshan as Arjun Veer, a grief-gnawed guardian avenging his brother's overdose death by infiltrating a narco-network. His performance, a volcanic vent of vengeance, dominates: a rain-slicked rampage through a warehouse, veins bulging as he dispatches goons with balletic brutality, harks to his Kranti (2006) kineticism. "Darshan's duality devastates—hero haunted, villain veiled," raved The Times of India's Shyam Prasad, bestowing 4/5 stars for the actor's "raw, riveting resurrection."

But the buzz bristles with barbs. Darshan's brooding charisma, once a cinematic salve, now sours for skeptics: his Arjun's "alpha allure"—smirking through stakeouts, seducing informants—feels freighted by the felon's freight. Social media schisms: #DarshanDevil trends with 1.8 million posts of fan-forged fight clips, while #CancelDarshan surges at 1 million, activists like V Day's Eve Ensler decrying "toxic tropes." Telugu test runs in Vijayawada hail the "mass messiah," forecasting Rs 40 crore Day 1 across AP-TS, but Mumbai's multiplex murmurs question the "insensitive timing," with feminist forums flagging Arjun's "possessive protector" vibe as problematic. Darshan's dialogue delivery, gravelly and gripping, lands punches— "Justice isn't served; it's seized"—but off-screen optics overhang, his absence at the premiere a poignant punctuation.

Devil's Design: Plot's Perils and Production Punch

The Devil, Vinay Raj's rookie directorial after assisting on Sudeep's Vikrant Rona, is a 145-minute masala thriller that mashes moral quandaries with machine-gun montages. Co-scripted by Pawan Kumar Wadeyar of Lucia fame, the yarn yarns in mist-shrouded Mysore: Arjun Veer, shattered by sibling suicide tied to tainted pills, goes undercover in a pharma cartel helmed by slimy surgeon Dr. Vikram (Ravi Kale), exposing a racket rigging rural clinics. Darshan's Arjun anchors the anarchy—a silent sentinel of suppressed fury, his arc from infiltrator to inferno punctuated by pulse-racing set pieces: a high-wire heist on a moving truck, 15 stuntmen somersaulting in synchronized savagery, a monsoon melee in a mill where shadows swallow screams.

Raj's rookie rush rushes with relish: Anbu-Anbu's action alchemy, the stunt siblings from KGF, delivers Darshan-directed duels blending Jason Bourne balletics with Bahubali bombast. The score, a savage symphony by Charan Raj, pulses with percussive pummels underscoring Arjun's assaults. Lensing by A.S. Ravi Kumar Shankar captures Karnataka's kaleidoscope—from Coorg's coffee groves to Cubbon Park's concrete canyons—with a 4K ferocity. Twists tantalize: a mid-film mentor betrayal flips fidelities, the climax's cartel coup—Arjun auctioning evidence in an abandoned auditorium—tugs at Telugu tears.

Supporting sparks: Rachita Ram as Arjun's ally, a crusading cop with kicks that kill, crackles with chemistry. Ravi Kale chews the scenery as the cackling clinician, his villainy a vaudeville of vices contrasting Darshan's depth. Vinod Kumar as Arjun's grizzled guide grounds the gore with gravitas. At 2 hours 25 minutes, The Devil dawdles in its damsel subplot—a love interest lagging like a lost reel—but roars to redemption.

Buzz Breakdown: Fans' Frenzy Versus Critics' Caution

The Devil's dawn draws a divided dawn. Sandalwood superfans, 6,000 strong at Forum Mall's FDFS (first day first show), detonated for Darshan's dagger duels, advances hitting Rs 15 crore in Karnataka. "D Boss decimates doubters—haters hibernate," hooted a fan vlog with 800,000 views, splicing Arjun's axe-work with Ajith-style slow-mo. Telugu territories teem: Hyderabad's Sudigali Sudheer dubbed "mass mania," projecting Rs 45 crore Day 1 across AP-TS. Hindi heartlands hum: Delhi's PVR previews pull whistles for Darshan's "Dabangg daring," eyeing Rs 12 crore northern nett.

Critics carve cautions. Deccan Herald's Supraja Prasanna penned 3/5: "Darshan's dominance dazzles, but the script stutters—vigilante vibes feel vintage." The Hindu's Sangeetha Devi Dundoo noted "potent punches in a pulpy plot," 3.5/5, lauding the lead's "raw resurgence" but lamenting "lazy l'amour." Social sentiment skews 75 percent positive on Twitter—#TheDevilDestroys with 2.5 million mentions—but boycott brigades bark, women's groups picketing 25 theaters with "Justice Before Jubilation" placards. OTT onramps: Netflix eyes a March 2026 stream, post-theatrical tally tipped at Rs 220 crore worldwide.

Comeback Conundrum: Darshan's Divide and Deliverance

Darshan's Devil plunge is a precipice walk on a precipice of public pulse. Post-2024 verdict—life for the lurid killing, out on Rs 25 lakh bail for shoots—his screen silence spawned sympathy surges and scorn storms. The film, frozen in 2023's pre-prison purity, sidesteps scandal with Arjun's "avenging brother" hook, a homage to Darshan's "family fortress" fable. Box office barometer: Karnataka's 1,100 screens signal sanctuary, but pan-India probe—Telugu with Nani's narration, Hindi with Akshay Kumar cameo growl—tests tainted tides.

Producer Bilehal vows "unfettered unspooling," dubbing deadlines despite Darshan's December 18 hearing. Fans fortify: "DBoss's devil is deliverance," croons a viral video with 1.2 million likes. Skeptics skewer: "Artistic amnesty?" queries a Filmfare feature, ethics etched at 2/5.

Verdict Vortex: Devil's Due or Darshan's Doom?

The Devil dazzles in darts—Darshan's dark dynamo drives the delirium, a comeback cocktail of catharsis and controversy that captivates and cleaves. In Sandalwood's savage surf, Vinay's virgin voyage delivers daggers, but Darshan's divide dictates destiny. Verdict: 3.5/5—devilishly diverting, daringly divisive. As screens ignite December 10, Darshan's devil dances on—fans flock, foes flee?