Kuberaa, directed by Sekhar Kammula, is a story that talks about the discrimination that exists in our society and the class disparity that affects the lives of so many people. Deva, a man who used to beg on the streets, never pitied his own existence. He knew life was tough, but he still regarded each day as a blessing. But then, one day, his life changed when he came across a man who treated him and others like him as fodder. So let’s find out what happened with Deva and if he was able to overcome the obstacles that came his way.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Neeraj hire Deepak?
Neeraj Mitra’s company, Global Enterprises, was given the responsibility of offshore drilling in the Bay of Bengal, and luckily, they struck gold. They found around 14 trillion cubic tons of oil, and Neeraj knew what it meant. He went to meet Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Siddappa, from the ruling party, and made an offer, which the latter seemed quite interested in. He said, though the natural resources belonged to the people of the country, he needed to take advantage of the situation and help his cause. He asked him to not tell anybody that he had found oil, and then later buy that same oil from him and sell it to the people at a subsidized rate. Neeraj believed that people would see it as an act of kindness, and it would help Siddappa hold his seat for the next two terms. Siddappa didn’t take much time to make his decision, as fooling people and betraying their trust were things that he was quite comfortable doing. But in exchange for making Global Enterprises the sole owner of that oil reserve, he asked for one lakh crore rupees, as he needed to look after his own people and make sure that everybody was on board with the plan. Neeraj asked his right-hand man, who was handling the drilling operation, to kill everybody who knew about the oil. It was reported in the media that the oil rig caught fire and everybody who was working there was burnt to death.
Neeraj was the kind of man who didn’t bat an eye before taking the decision to kill people. For him, the life of a common man didn’t hold any value. He was the most terrible, emotionless capitalist out there. Neeraj needed a man who could handle the entire deal for him. He needed somebody who could be trusted and who had the acumen to launder this huge amount of money. He knew that transferring such a huge amount of money into the minister’s account was not going to be an easy job, and the possibility of the law enforcement authorities finding out about it was quite high. It was at that moment Neeraj’s father told him that an ex-CBI officer who had once conducted a raid and confiscated all their black money could be a good fit for the job. That CBI officer was serving his time in prison after having conducted a raid at a minister’s house. Deepak Tej was paying the price of his honesty, and that minister made sure that he wouldn’t come out of prison any time soon. Deepak rejected Neeraj’s offer when they met for the first time. But then the court did not acquit him and found him guilty of all charges, and I believe that’s where an honest civil servant lost faith in the entire system. Deepak decided to join Neeraj’s company, and afterwards, the corrupt capitalist made sure that he was acquitted of all charges and released from prison.
How did Deva escape from captivity?
Deepak decided that, in order to ensure that the authorities didn’t get a whiff of what they were up to, he needed to find some people who had no relation whatsoever with Neeraj so that the fraudulent transactions could be conducted in their names. Deepak didn’t know where he would find those people, but later that day, he was in his car when he saw some beggars at the traffic signal. He realized that if he found some beggars and opened some shell companies in their names, then he could launder the money and show it as a clean transaction. Neeraj’s men brought in 4 beggars, and they all were made to stay in Neeraj’s guest house, where they got formal training on how to conduct themselves so that nobody suspected them of foul play. Deva, Khusboo, Dibya, and Khelu had no clue what was happening with them. All those poor souls were concerned about was that they got something to eat and fill their stomachs. They did what was asked of them, and it seemed like the plan would be a success. Things changed when Deepak got to know that Neeraj had plans of killing each one of them after the ‘benami’ transaction was complete. Deepak tried to make Neeraj understand, but the thing was, it did not matter to the latter if those four lived or died. Neeraj felt that he was already doing them a favor and that they would have met their fateful end on the streets anyways. That privileged man didn’t hesitate before treating these people like insects, and he didn’t have even a shred of guilt about what he was doing. Deepak knew that it was not the right thing to do, but he kept following the orders, as he didn’t want to go back to prison and be forced away from his family. Khelu was the first one to be killed, and he was fed to the sharks by one of Neeraj’s men, Robo. Dibya became the second victim, and Deva realized that Neeraj and his men were up to something. He didn’t want to die, and he also wanted to save Khusboo’s life, who was pregnant at the time. Deva was able to escape from captivity due to Robo’s negligence. Deva felt that Deepak was the only person who could help his cause, and he had no clue that he was equally involved in the entire plan, if not more. Yes, I do agree that his conscience was still alive, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have blood on his hands.
Why did Deepak sacrifice his life?
Deepak was told that he only had a limited amount of time to find Deva and bring him back. Deepak, for the longest time, tried keeping his conscience alive, but then one day he just couldn’t take it. He used to be an honest cop, and he knew that all he wanted was to stand in front of the mirror and be able to look himself in the eye. He wanted his children to be proud of their father when they grew up. He knew that his family would pay a huge cost for it, but still he decided to help and expose Neeraj. Meanwhile, Deva had met a girl named Sameera by coincidence. Sameera’s lover, after promising to marry her, had abandoned her. She would have probably taken her life had she not met this man, who, though he was wearing decent clothes, claimed to be a beggar. Sameera was contacted by Deepak, as the latter came to know that she had met Deva, and it was her mobile through which Deva had called Deepak. Deva, for the longest time, believed that only Deepak would be able to help his cause, but then it was Sameera who told him that people were not so trustworthy as he believed them to be. Deva had a change of heart once he understood how selfish the world could be. He decided that he would make the perpetrators pay for what they had done. He didn’t want anything for himself, but he knew that even if he could coerce Neeraj to spend a fraction of the entire money that was to be pumped into the deal, then the lives of many underprivileged people would change forever. Deva decided to hunt the hunter, and he wasn’t scared of anything, as he knew that the worst they could do to him was kill him.
Deva called Deepak in the hopes that he would come searching for him. That was exactly what happened, and Deva was able to abduct Deepak and take him to the flat that was owned by Narayan Gaikwad, the government officer who had facilitated the entire agreement. Deva had already found a lot of cash in that apartment, and he had made up his mind to use it to uplift the downtrodden. Deva asked Deepak to give him the cash that was deposited in the Swiss bank account that was in his name. Deepak told Deva that he was on his side, and that he had been gathering evidence to expose the entire racket. He told Deva there were so many people involved in the scam that he wouldn’t be able to do anything until he had proper evidence. Sameera, who was also present at the scene with Deva, told him to not trust Deepak, as the man had betrayed them once. But something inside Deva told him that Deepak wasn’t lying about it. He also got to know that Deepak had saved Khusboo’s life and made Neeraj believe that she had been killed. Deva made it very clear to Deepak that if he let him meet Khusboo, then he would do whatever he asked of him. Deepak took Sameera and Deva to where Khusboo was staying, but unfortunately, Neeraj’s men tracked them down and arrived at the scene. Deepak gave all the evidence he had gathered to Deva and asked him to run and save his life. Deepak knew that if he didn’t stay back and stop Neeraj’s men, then they would all be killed and Neeraj would not be exposed. Deepak was shot multiple times, but even then the man made sure that he didn’t let Neeraj’s men get hold of Deva, Sameera, and Kushboo. Deepak took his last breaths, but before doing that, he told Deva to think of him as his elder brother. Deepak, in those last moments, was proud of the fact that he had done the right thing.
Was Deva able to expose Neeraj?
Khusboo died after giving birth to her baby, and Deva and Sameera didn’t know how to manage now that they had to handle a baby on top of everything else. That’s when Deva played a masterstroke: he dumped the entirety of the cash that was lying in Narayan’s place in front of Neeraj’s house. Obviously it became national news, and soon Neeraj realized that he was up against a man who literally had nothing to lose. Neeraj gave a call to Deva and asked him what he wanted from him. Deva wanted to make Neeraj feel how unfair the society was. He showed him a copy of the video evidence that Deepak had made and asked him to beg on the streets for just one day. Neeraj was annoyed beyond measure, but he also knew that he didn’t have an option other than agreeing to what Deva asked him to do in order to save his neck.
In Kuberaa’s ending, Deva and Neeraj came face-to-face, and the former was able to slit his throat and make him meet his fateful end. Deva had never killed anybody, but he realized that men like Neeraj didn’t deserve to live. All his life, Deva had been tortured, and probably because of that, he’d learned the importance of kindness as a virtue. He remembered how his elder brother Uppuli had helped him to escape from the clutches of a human trafficker. He remembered how his mother told him to live each moment just moments before she took her last breath. Deva was able to get the money from his Swiss bank account, and he decided to put it all in the name of Khusboo’s child. He and Sameera named him Kuberaa. Deva didn’t want anything for himself; he didn’t have materialistic desires, as he had realized life was much more than that. He just wanted to live peacefully and do whatever he could for the upliftment of the downtrodden. I don’t think he exposed the petroleum minister, as the latter found another corrupt businessman to pay him crores of rupees in exchange for access to the oil reserves.
