Devara Part 1: The battle of greed vs. fear – What it teaches us about money

When your ancestors have been great warriors of the sea - looting the British ships to fuel the struggle for freedom - what do you do to survive in times of peace? Old man Singappa tries to explain the survival of four mountain villages to a visitor who comes in search of a smuggler at sea.

Devara and Bhaira are two giant warriors brought together by a common goal: their skills at looting cargo ships just as their ancestors did. Neither knows what the boxes contain. Only that a man has been paying the seafarers money so essential for the survival of the villagers. Bhaira’s need is fueled by greed, and Devara wants to retain honour. When a young lad is killed inadvertently, Devara realises that they have been helping smuggle arms into the country. With his physical superiority, he tries to keep everyone in line, but Bhaira sets fifty outsiders to ambush Devara.

Devara kills them all, but vanishes after proclaiming in the blood of his attackers that he will be the fear that lurks in the seas and the mountains, and should anyone venture into the seas to smuggle goods, he will turn the seas red in vengeance. How Bhaira bides his time and how Devara keeps his people following the straight and narrow is the tale.

Greed vs. fear: Who should win?

Bhaira is the head of a village of warriors, and hates the fact that everyone has to obey Devara’s orders. Bhaira (played with all the jealous rage of Langda Tyagi by Saif Ali Khan) has been biding his time to get even with Devara. Bhaira also has to appease his warriors who have been now tamed by Devara’s orders into becoming fishermen.

In real life, when you have been used to making lots of money, it does become difficult when your income is whittled down by market forces. You become Bhaira, blinded by greed and you will make mistakes. Devara, played by NT Rama Rao Jr. also makes the same mistake. He believes the legend of fear that he has created will push all to toe the line. You know that excessive fear can drive down the market and excessive greed has the opposite effect.

As a smart investor you will look out for these seven indicators to figure out whether greed rules the market or fear: Stock price momentum, the strength of the stock price, trading volumes aka the stock breadth, how options are doing, the yields on junk bonds and investment grade bonds, market volatility and yes, you must keep an eye on whether there is a difference in returns for stocks compared to treasuries.

How good is your credit?

Devara relies on his sheer physical strength and his innate decency to keep everyone believing that all is well with them even though they are facing hardships because Devara has ordered them all to not smuggle illegal arms into the country. He has built respect among the villagers. He is happy to support his people and take care of those who wish to send their kids to school instead of the seas.

If you wish to finance a bigger home, expand your business, you will need to apply for loans or look for investment partners. The money that you will be able to get from the market depends on how good your credit is. What do the lenders look for?

They would want to see your payment history. Have you ever defaulted in a payment? Do you always pay your bills on time? Do you have a large or a small debt that needs to be marked off as a red flag? Do you have a goodexperience using multiple types of credit—such as credit cards and car loans? Lenders are always interested in how you have handled the type of credit you are now applying for.

Bhaira is all bad and Devara is all good is a simplistic explanation which the film offers and that seems to work for all the violence shown in the film. Although a couple of moments where the women taunt the evil men, the women in the movie are predictably pointless (will someone write a role where Zarina Wahab does not cry?) Jahnvi Kapoor just fails to convince us in her repetitive lust, ‘I need a man who will make my heart race!’

Thankfully this is a warfest, and the women can be totally ignored. So look out for magical moments in the film instead. That trail of blood which dramatically completes the circle of the moon during a fight is one such example that makes 178 minutes of the movie worthwhile.

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.