Duvvada Jagannadham Movie Review

Duvvada Jagannadham movie review: Allu Arjun's film is unimaginably violent

Duvvada Jagannadham is about an undercover police officer, Duvvada Jagannadham, masquerading as an innocent Brahmin pandit who runs a catering service with the tagline 'Pure Vegetarian'- Lol. DJ is in charge of a mission to track down a powerful business tycoon Royyala Naidu (Rao Ramesh), for his, you know, sins.

Before you read any further, it's important to understand the world of Duvvada Jagannadham. Here, karma and dharma are prerequisites for a person. A minor boy, in a slo-mo shot, grabs a Russian-made pistol, saves a police officer's life and guns down a bigshot gangster without any inhibition. It's the kind of film where a Rudraksh stands between the right and the wrong. It's also that kind of a film where you get a kiss from the heroine if you make a cup of coffee. Also, in DJ's world, it's perfectly fine to zoom into the heroine's private parts. Because, heroines exist only to provide the oomph quotient, right? If you're ready to overlook these factors, Duvvada Jagannadham should pass off as yet another popcorn entertainer.

In one of the early scenes in the movie, a young DJ overhears a priest answering a question on why Vishnu, the lord, had so many avatars when God is a single spiritual entity. He says, "What deeds he (Vishnu) did are more important than how he did them." In the next scene, DJ's sister is harassed by college rogues. As you know, Duvvada Jagannadham applies ink on his face and beats them to a pulp. In short, DJ takes on an avatar while director Harish Shankar reiterates that this is an Allu Arjun film. It gets better in the scene with a police officer who says, "In Mahabharat, Krishna teamed up with Arjun to save Dharma. Now, Krishna has sent this Arjun once again." It's a well-written mass dialogue that gets whistles from fans. When you're in a masala film, why not enjoy these bits?

Playing the titular role, Allu Arjun has two character variations - a rough DJ in Hyderabad and an innocent Brahmin Duvvada Jagannadham in Vijayawada. In order to make the latter effective, Allu Arjun plays an effeminate person. If Brahmins are to take offence to Duvvada, it should be for this. Duvvada Jagannadham comes up with interesting lines like, "Love-ah, love-saiya, love-obiah" and "Karma-ha, karma-saiya, karma-obiah." While the line is laughable at first, it's exasperating after a point, as he continues on loop.

We really wish Pooja Hegde was not part of this film. Every time she is in the frame, Duvvada Jagannadham uses her in a dream song by Devi Sri Prasad. In one of Pooja's scenes, she's in a bikini and the cinematographer goes way past the line to linger on her bottom. Though the scene was blurred by the CBFC, we found it problematic.

We get the fact that the masala is very important for this genre. But the scenes that are supposed to leave you misty-eyed end up as comic relief. Jokes fall flat and the mass action blocks are not enough. At the same time, it's impossible to write off Allu Arjun. He's effective in bits; especially when the director wants him to dance and send goons into the air. Someone said that Allu Arjun's body is made of rubber and there can't be a better description. The problem with Duvvada Jagannadham is its half-baked story, which is everything we've seen in Allu Arjun's films earlier. Plus, having Rao Ramesh as the prime antagonist hardly justifies the star of DJ, Allu Arjun.

Story :-

Dhuvvada Jaganadham(Allu Arjun) is a small time brahmin boy who goes against all odds and helps others. Seeing this quality of his, a high-profile cop(Murali Sharma) asks him to become DJ, a man who fights crime in disguise.

This is the same time when Dhuvaada falls in love with Pooja(Pooja Hegde) the daughter of a high profile minister(Posani) involved with yet another crime lord Royyala Naidu(Rao Ramesh) who also operates in disguise.

On the other hand, DJ decides to take on Royyala Naidu in his mission but does not know who he is in actual life. Rest of the story is as to how Duvvada Jagannadham alias DJ manages to finish Royyala Naidu.

Plus Points :-

One of the biggest assets of this film is undoubtedly Allu Arjun and his performance. Bunny is top notch in both his characters as Duvvada and Dj. But he is the best when he becomes Duvvada as his diction, comedy touch and mannerisms are hilarious. The star hero carries the entire film on his shoulders and makes the film watchable which has an otherwise routine storyline.

Pooja Hegde is yet another star attraction for the film. She looks drop dead gorgeous and will be an eye candy for the youth and masses alike. She matches equal steps with Bunny and her chemistry with the star hero is just awesome. The first forty minutes of the film has very good entertainment with good doses of comedy.

The climax of the film is quite comical and has been handled well even though it looks a bit over the top. Subba Raju is impressive in his role and evokes good comedy. Rao Ramesh emulates his dad, Rao Gopala Rao from Aa Okkati Adakku and does his best.

Minus Points :-

Like in many other movies of late, the second half of the film is quite weak. There is hardly any story to tell here and director Harish Shankar makes the villain’s track a bit weak during this time.

Bunny’s fans would a be a bit disappointed as their star hero has not danced to his full capacity in DJ. The length of the film is also a bit high and has a lag in many areas and gets predictable and routine most of the time. The hero-villain tug of war is not that gripping.

Technical Aspects :-

Production values by Dil Raju are excellent as he has spent a lot of money and it shows on screen. DSP’s music is decent as all the songs have been inserted cleverly into the proceedings. Background score is very impressive and elevates the film well. Dialogues by Harish Shankar have a lot of tongue and cheek humor. Editing is quite weak as at least 10 minutes of the film can be trimmed easily.

Coming to the director Harish Shankar, he has done a decent job with his execution. He has written Bunny’s character quite well and his intention behind the protagonist’s fight for the society is also good. But he too disappoints during the second half as he dips the proceedings with some below average execution. But credit should go to him for showcasing Bunny in a powerful manner and also ends the film on a happy note.

Verdict :-

On the whole, DJ is an out and out Allu Arjun film to the core. The star hero is a major attraction and carries the film with his energetic performance. Pooja Hegde’s glamor, good comedy, and some mass elements will go supremely well with the masses. Collections wise, this film will do quite well as there is no big film coming up in the near future. Finally, if you ignore the routine story line, lag in the second half and keep your expectations in check, DJ ends up as a good watch this weekend.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Finally the movie releases this week on 23 rd june,2017