Kalikinkar Roy, patriarch of a Indian family in 1860 Bengal, is an aging widower, respected landlord, and a devotee of Kali. In a dream, he comes to the revelation that his daughter-in-law Doyamoyee is as an incarnation of the Hindu goddess. A dying child is placed at her feet and is miraculously cured. As the news spreads, the aged, sick and the poor come in hundreds, seeking cures and comfort. Her husband Umaprasad, who has received a western-based education at a Calcutta university, finds himself dispossessed of his wife who has become a “goddess.” Umaprasad unsuccessfully tries to reason with his father, but the cure seems a miracle which demonstrates the truth of the traditional beliefs. Soon, crowds of worshippers come to venerate Doyamoyee, until a child under her care dies for lack of medical treatment.

The film generated some controversy on its release in India. It was seen as an attack on Hinduism itself by a few protesters, who tried to prevent the film’s international release. Today, Devi is recognized as a thoughtful exploration of the cultural emergence of “modern woman” in the upper class of colonial India, showing with striking sensitivity the pressures this new ideal placed on individual women whose self-identities were also molded by traditional expectations.