Duvvada Jagannatham is the work of a smart team. The smartness doesn’t stem from the story and screenplay. It comes from being able to leverage the strengths of the lead actor, Allu Arjun. Director Harish Shankar gives a new hue to an old tale of a vigilante taking on wrong doers through Allu Arjun, whose swag holds attention for the most part. He plays Duvvada Jagannatham aka DJ who locks horns with Royyala Naidu (Rao Ramesh), a real estate tycoon who has amassed obnoxious amount of wealth.
It’s a story that will find takers despite its predictability. While narrating it, the team plays to the gallery and hopes the audience won’t take it too seriously. A couple of instances poke fun at the entertainment industry. Royyala Naidu is shooting in different get-ups for real estate ads. His ‘acting’ skills are an assault to the senses but he tells the direction department that no one watches these ads for directorial skills, it’s his name that sells building projects. That comment holds good for some films as well.
- Cast : Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde and Rao Ramesh
- Direction : Harish Shankar
- Storyline : An undercover vigilante takes on a real estate kingpin in a fight to the finish.
Jagannatham, as a boy, sees his father (Tanikella Bharani) being slapped when he asks for the money he’s to be paid. The brahmin family runs a catering service. When Jagannatham takes on eve teasers, he’s told by his father to lie low. The boy finds his purpose in life when he saves the life of a cop (Murali Sharma); the two forge a bond and close many cases taking the vigilante route.
The mantra-chanting, agraharam -dwelling hero who takes law into his hands brings back memories of Shankar’s Gentleman .
DJ is visually good (cinematography by Ayananka Bose) and Devi Sri Prasad comes with a couple of catchy tunes. In this unabashed hero-oriented film, Pooja Hegde is nothing more than a glamorous addition.
The clash between DJ and Royyala Naidu leads to some sparkling moments, especially with Rao Ramesh and his guises. The actor goes over the top but fits the bill of a loud antagonist. The final face-off, though, is a let-down if you expect some good mind games.
Allu Arjun is in form and lending him good support are Murali Sharma, Tanikella Bharani, Vennela Kishore and Subba Raju.
The film could have been much more gripping but for being punctuated with a handful of songs, quite a few high-decibel ones at that. At 156 minutes, DJ is bloated and loses its tempo now and then.
While some of the dialogues are fun, others make you cringe. In a conversation between Allu Arjun, posing as a groom, and Pooja Hegde posing as a bride, she tells him that she wouldn’t want to have kids for two years. To this he answers that he doesn’t wear socks even on his feet, forget about anywhere else!
