Dev launched his film career with
Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku (1983), directed by
Fazil. When his superhit play
Kattukuthira was made into a film, the role went to
Thilakan. Dev expressed his disappointment on this in a magazine interview, which caught the attention of director Thampy Kannanthanam. He invited Dev to play the villain role of Carlos in his film
Indrajaalam (1990), starring
Mohanlal. Just like his character Kochuvava, Carlos also became immensely popular so much so that for some years since then Dev was often referred to as Carlos, much like
Keerikkadan Jose another popular villain character of that time. The role of Carlos proved to be career-defining for Dev, as he was showered with villain roles in a number of films. Several of Dev's villain roles had a touch of comedy, but he could not get out of the typical villain character mould. He got a break from this with
Aniyan Bava Chetan Bava (1995), directed by Rajasenan, in which he played
Aniyan Bava, the younger brother to
Chettan Bava, played by
Narendra Prasad. The film established his versatility. He went on to act in full-fledged comedy roles after it, most notably in the films
Sphadikam (1995),
Thommanum Makkalum (2005) and
Chota Mumbai (2007). He still continued to act his signature villain roles. He expanded his career to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films starting with
Gentleman (1993), directed by
S. Shankar. He acted in over 50 films in those languages, most of which were villain roles. Out of about 800 films he acted in, many of the roles he played were of corrupt police officer, minister, etc., another testimonial to the several typecast roles he had to act in. Dev has directed three films:
Achammakuttiyude Achayan (1998),
Maniyarakkallan and
Achante Kochumolku (2003). He was planned to direct two more films titled
Kayal Rajavu and
Simham, starring
Mammootty and
Prithviraj, respectively. ==Illness and death==