Devi

Perhaps I expected too much from the book, but I can hardly be blamed. At first glance, the comic tricks you into believing you are in for an exciting, oriental and thoroughly unique ride, but just like any of the products Made-in-India, it disappoints you with its lack of quality and substance. I found it particularly excruciating to read the comic, and accomplished it only because I had to write its review later. It would be an understatement to say that I have never read a book that I disliked so much.

The title of the book implied that the story would be about a strong female lead, who fought bravely and broke stereotypes. This appealed to the feminist in me, and I hoped to find a book that portrayed the true strength of the woman. What I got, however, was a pictorial version of a poorly thought-out commercial Bollywood movie, which reinforced stereotypes and made me flinch. I should have got an inkling of what was to come when I saw the introduction by Priyanka Chopra (who has obviously not read the book), but I had high hopes, which blinded me.

The first part of the book was barely bearable; there was a powerful Goddess, who defeated a fallen God and saved the planet. Just like any low quality Bollywood movie, there were cliché dialogues and highly dramatic scenes. There was even a scantily clad woman to spice things up; it seems irrelevant that the sexy woman was the heroine. To be true, I have nothing against women who dress minimally. However, the way the artists portray the lead character makes you wonder if they were having an erection while drawing her.

She has the kind of figure every man fantasizes about; she is nubile and sensuous. Her clothes cling onto her for dear life and her face has features which could belong to anybody (how convenient for a lead character!). It makes me wonder if having a fully clothed heroine

would have changed the comic in any way. Was it so highly imperative to the story that the lead character be practically naked? I assume the artists drew her the way they did to attract more readers. I also assume that objectifying women in such a fashion is highly advantageous to the cause of women empowerment, that Priyanka Chopra very sincerely (and innocently) talks about, in the beginning of the book.

The second part of the book introduces us to the real protagonist of the story, Tara Mehta. Aside from the fact that she has a great body, nothing much else is known about her. She has a boyfriend, who is a gang lord with rippling muscles and an evil aura that she fails to pick up on. A part that will always linger in my mind when I think about the book is the scene where she distributes sports items to a bunch of poor, underprivileged kids.

It made me want to gag when I saw it. I take it the author wanted to show us that the heroine was a kind person, but he was trying too hard. In the next few pages, the creator tries to acquaint you with Tara Mehta with similar frames, but the attempt is futile. She has no depth in her character; she is simply a woman, who is as clueless about herself, as we are about the origins of the Earth. She is neither unique nor ordinary; she is simply bland and uninteresting. She is evidently a mere object, who happens to play the lead because they wanted a woman... any woman.

Rahul, who plays the male lead character, is Tara's sidekick after she turns into Devi. He is your cliché handsome cop, who has lost faith in humanity. It is evident he has a bitter past, which led him to take to drinking and smoking. Knowing Tara's great taste in men, he seems to be next in line to be her love interest. Again, a cliché, which could have been avoided. What scares me about Rahul is that he seems to have more depth as compared to Tara. We can correctly assume that there were no women involved in the making of the comic.

I do not want to get started on Kratha, the apsara, who decides to

start killing because she was tired of "dancing to the tune of the Gods". Metaphorically speaking, she is the closest thing the comic has to a strong character. They portray her as an individual who breaks free from a system that everyone is accustomed to. However, she takes to killing, which adds a negative connotation to the whole scenario. Thus, the book almost seems to be against breaking free from institutions and patriarchy. (Again, I think of poor Priyanka Chopra, who possibly paid someone to write those lies for her.)

The lack of depth and research in the book is appalling. Clearly, the comic was created by men who know nothing about women, the problems they face or the quiet strength they possess. I can also go so far as to say that they don't want women to break free and stand for themselves. They have antagonised men throughout the book, from fanatical members of secret cults to Lord Bala himself: again, a very wrong and unhealthy thing to do. The only aspect that made the book even remotely bearable was the artwork.

When I started reading the book, I was overawed by the images. They were seamless, flawless and magical. The amount of detailing, the perfection in the colouring and the chatpata Indian twist was refreshing. I was so impressed by the artwork, that I started to wonder how they managed to create them. I suspected the comic of using software for drawing and colouring and wasn't surprised to know that they actually worked with iPads.

This knowledge lessened the reverence I felt toward the artists, but I had to give them credit for visualisation, creativity and imagination. Each frame was unique and incorporated some style or the other, adding volumes to the feel of the story. However, despite the miraculous art-work, the action scenes were not effective enough to me. There was not much motion, and the characters only seemed to pose for the frame; they didn't look like they were fighting in actuality. The punches, kicks and slashes were not sufficiently weighty. My reading partner did not notice this particularly, so I assume I felt this because of my constant exposure to shonin manga.

The ending of the book, however, was the most horrifying thing for me to read. Tara becomes Devi, so that she can save the world from Lord Bala's clutches, but decides that she doesn't want to save the world after all. For some strange reason, she assumes that the task of saving the world is demeaning and is against her rights. She fights for herself, saying that she is her own person and complains that no one asked her if she wanted to save the world. She finds it offensive that the task was thrust upon her without her permission. So, she walks away.

A very irresponsible thing to do, if you ask me. If a woman is assigned a task, like saving the world, she should do it. It is an opportunity to rise above the rest and do something meaningful. However, our heroine doesn't want to rise to the occasion and do anything for the society. The ending almost seems to mock the cliché view of feminism; the way feminists take offense at the littlest things, causing rifts and unnecessary trouble.

I feel pity for the International audiences who have the misfortune of reading the story. They know nothing about India: its culture, its women, its artists... Their level of knowledge seems pretty much the same as the creator's. Such a sorry state, such a waste of time!