Duvvada Jagannadham: A tale of Brahmin boy who loves to kill

He is the Brahmin boy who loves to kill. When in a lenient mood, he smashes up the bad guys and leaves them begging for mercy. Given the mismatch with the background of the hero ( introduced as a Brahmin cook) and the mission he seeks to accomplish, director Harish Shankar seems to have taken a tiny knot out of the ‘90s blockbuster ‘Gentleman’ and reworking it to suit his hero Allu Arjun’s image.

So we have the protagonist adhering to the traditions as a practicing pundit and exchanging it with a mercenary-type attacker as and when he is called for ‘purifying’ duty by a conscientious cop, played well by Murali Sharma. This is the crux of the 160-minute long ‘DJ’ aka Duvvada Jagannadham.

Keeping the multi-faceted level of the hero’s image firmly in mind, the director walks a tight rope giving commensurate space to both the roles Arjun seeks to play- the talkative cook running a catering service on the one hand and on the other, the toughie who lets his fists do the talking. The super heroism is also accommodated well in both the portions, with his grasp of the profession a highlight as a caterer while the stunt scenes he executes are violent to the extreme.

Packing in the rogues’ gallery with known names like Rao Ramesh, Posani and a blink-and-miss appearance of a few other artistes like Harish Uthaman and ‘Baahubali’ Prabhakar, the tug of war between the good and the evil is entertainingly done. There are endearing references to Ramesh’s legendary father Rao Gopal Rao, other than the golden oldies like NTR and ANR, apart from Chiranjeevi, a given in this kind of a venture.

Ramesh does well to bring in the native touch to the villainy he portrays, while a controlled Posani keeps the audience engaged. Allu Arjun is of course in his comfort zone with dances and fights, with heroine Pooja Hegde, succumbing to his earthy demeanour. A fashion course student with an atrocious dress sense, Pooja plays to the gallery with her skin show which gets in the oomph factor pretty effectively, right from her entry scenes.

Of course, she fulfils the expectation of the average heroine from the industry point of view, with her lithe frame and comely looks. The added advantage is her dance moves which complement the super ones of her hero in the film. A fun film for action lovers and the time pass types for sure.

Film Name : DJ

Cast : Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde, Rao Ramesh, Posani
Direction : Harris Shankar
Genre : Action/Drama
Likes : Racy pace by and large
Dislikes : Slows down here and there

By K Naresh Kumar