Duvvada Jagannadham Movie Review
Allu Arjun’s latest entertainer DJ is out in theaters now. It is a routine commercial flick loaded with commercial elements targeted at the masses. Harish Shankar totally banks upon Allu Arjun’s star power and uses entertainment to make it a passable fare.
Story :
Duvvada Jagannadham (Allu Arjun) is a Brahmin youth who does catering for livelihood. He falls in love with Pooja (Pooja Hegde), a rich girl, who rejects him. There is another side to Duvvada Jagannadham. He cannot sit and watch if someone does injustice in front of him. He teams up with a police officer (Murali Sharma) and eliminates all the criminals that come to his notice. Police identifies him with the name DJ. There is a cold blooded criminal Royyala Naidu (Rao Ramesh), a real estate business tycoon that does injustice to thousands of people. DJ loses one of his close one because of Royyala Naidu’s scam. Now, DJ has to find and eliminate Royyala Naidu who is hiding behind without letting the world know about his true colors.
Performances:
Allu Arjun: Stylish star Allu Arjun does a Brahmin character for the first time in his career and his efforts to get into the skin of the character can be seen. He mastered the dialect and perfected the body language. On the other side, he is extremely stylish and handsome as DJ. He excelled in dances and enthralls the masses with his punch lines.
Pooja Hegde and Others: Pooja has a little role to play in the main plot, but she provided the glam quotient and lit up the screen whenever she comes on it. She could be the next big thing in Telugu cinema industry with right opportunities. Rao Ramesh yet again excels with his Godavari dialect and a getup reminiscent of one of his father’s iconic characters ‘Royyala Naidu’. Murali Sharma is good in the supporting role. Vennela Kishore entertains. Tanikella Bharani, Pavitra Lokesh and Chandra Mohan are apt in their respective roles.
Technicalities:
Direction: Harish Shankar doesn’t try too hard for an exceptional script. He simply likes to play to the galleries and bank upon his hero’s strengths. DJ also is a regular commercial script laced with good humor and action. However, a bad second half doesn’t allow it to rise above the average mark.
Music and Others: Devi Sri Prasad once again comes up with foot tapping musical numbers that give ample scope for Allu Arjun to exhibit his dancing skills. His background score also is pretty good. BGM in the interval episode stands out. Ayananka Bose’s cinematography is another asset on the technical front. Editing is fine. Dialogues written by Harish Shankar are not only witty in comedy scenes but also meaningful in emotional scenes. Production values are very impressive.
Thumbs Up:
- Allu Arjun
- Songs
- Pooja’s glamour
Thumbs Down:
- Routine script
- Below average second half
Analysis:
DJ is a typical commercial potboiler that doesn’t rely on a strong script. In fact the story and screenplay are quite ordinary and don’t offer anything fresh from usual stuff. It scores on the entertainment front with Allu Arjun in the driver’s seat.
Harish Shankar never lets the proceedings turn too serious. Duvvada Jagannadham is a character that fights for the society, but it remains grounded and entertains all the while. Even the villain character too is written in such a way that it entertains. Rao Ramesh is an evil minded strategist but also gets into the shoes of a real estate model to offer laughs.
First half of the film is solid with good humor, enjoyable songs, Pooja’s glamour and Allu Arjun in top form. Second half is a complete letdown though. One would expect a splendid confrontation between hero and villain at the intermission point. But the proceedings turn utter predictable as even the comedy takes the back seat until the end.
Director cleverly introduces Subba Raju in the middle of the story and sets it up for a hilarious ending. An unexpected funny twist towards the climax provides scope for comedy so that the viewers can leave the theaters with a smile on their faces. DJ may not offer freshness that a section of audiences look for, but an entertaining first half and Allu Arjun’s performance holds to make it a passable fare on the whole.
Verdict: Sabhya Samajaniki Routine Message.
