In Devi, a young girl is believed by her rich father-in-law to be an incarnation of the goddess Kali. She is placed on an altar outside his home, and because of a “miracle,” the peasants and the girl come to believe in her divinity. Almost no one saw this tremendous, tragic work when it appeared in this country in 1962; like Ray's other austere and obsessive masterwork of the time, The Music Room, Devi remains relatively neglected. Pauline Kael crusaded for Devi at the time of its release, noting:
“...what we see is the girl's readiness to believe, her liquid acquiescence; not so much pride as a desire to please.... And, surrounded by so much luxury, what is there for the girl to do but try to please? The whole indolent life is centered on pleasure. Ray creates an atmosphere that intoxicates us as well; the household is so rich and the rich people so overripe.... And perhaps because of the camera work, which seems to derive from some of the best traditions of the silent screen and the Thirties, perhaps because of the Indian faces themselves, the eyes have depths - and a disturbing look of helplessness - that we are unused to. It's almost as if these people were isolated from us and each other by their eyes....
“Sharmila Tagore (Tagore's great-granddaughter), 14 when she played Apu's bride, is the 17-year-old goddess; she is exquisite, perfect (a word I don't use casually) in both these roles....”