Double iSmart is a 2024 Telugu language action drama film written and directed by Puri Jagannadh. The film is dubbed into Hindi & Tamil with the same title. The film has Ram Pothineni & Kavya Thapar playing the lead roles while Sanjay Dutt, Getup Srinu, Ali, Sayaji Shinde, Bani J, Makrand Deshpande, Temper Vamsi, Jhansi, Pragathi, Uttej, Bhadram & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Mani Sharma while the film is produced by Puri Jagannadh & Charmme Kaur under Puri Connects banner.
Story:
Big Bull (Sanjay Dutt) is a powerful international mafia don who is diagnosed with Glioma. He is afraid of being dead and is very desperate to escape death. In this process, he finds out that he can become immortal given his memory is transferred to another person. Then he transfers his memory into Shankar’s (Ram Pothineni) brain. What happens later needs to be seen in the film.
What about on-screen performances?
Ram Pothineni is the biggest asset of the film. He literally shoulders the entire film on his own shoulders and it is his terrific performance and kickass energy as iSmart Shankar that makes this film watchable. His mass attitude, unique comedy timing, and intense dialogue delivery are on point. Special mention to his dances in the film. He just kills it!!
Kavya Thapar plays the typical Puri heroine to perfection and is neat with her performance as Jannat. She also offers a glamour treat in the Maar Muntha song.
Sanjay Dutt adds good value to the film with his amazing screen presence and does well as an international don. But his face-off scenes with Ram needed better writing.
Ali is entertaining with his funny histrionics but sadly none of it bring in any laughs in the theatres. Getup Srinu, Uttej & Bhadram too are wasted in imapctless roles.
Bani J shines as the sidekick of Sanjay Dutt while Sayaji Shinde, Makrand Deshpande, Temper Vamsi, Jhansi, Pragathi & all others are good in their limited parts.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Puri Jagannadh is not up to the mark. The core idea is decent enough to make it into a sequel but the way the scenes are woven around the core plot looks very routine and predictable.
The screenplay too doesn’t engage us completely and is poorly written. There are many elements that are heavily forced into the plot. For example, the whole mother sentiment doesn’t work out as expected and the entire Booka comedy track of Ali looks cringe as it has no connection to the main story. Even the conflict and the face-off scenes between Ram and Sanjay Dutt aren’t convincingly portrayed on screen.
Director Puri Jagannadh does a superb job with his craft and he has given a huge scale to the film with his presentation. But the only issue is with his writing and it is high time he comes out of the double-meaning scenes and cringe comedy portions.
The dialogues are very well written and especially all the lines of Ram work well in the theatres.
The songs by Mani Sharma are good but the placement of a couple of songs are poor. ‘SteppaMaar’ is the best song of the album and Maar Muntha is foot-tapping while the other two songs are weak. The background score is neat and enhances the film whenever required.
The cinematography by Sam K Naidu & Gianni Giannelli is first-rate. All the scenes are shot well with good lighting and perfect framing.
The edit by Karthika Sreenivas R could have been a lot better, especially in the second half.
The production values by Puri Connects are top-class.
What’s Hot?
* Ram Pothineni’s Performance & Dances
* SteppaMaar Song & Choreography
* Superb Background Score
* Hero’s Entry Scene & Climax Fight
* Kavya Thapar’s Performance
* Brilliant Cinematography
* Top Notch Production Values
What’s Not?
* Poor Screenplay
* Boring Second Half
* Ali’s Cringe Comedy Portions
* Big Bull & Kya Lafda Songs
* Mother Sentiment Doesn’t Work
* Routine Villain Role
Verdict: Overall, Double iSmart is a watchable sequel but when compared to the first part, it doesn’t live up to the its hype. Ram’s energetic dances, Mani Sharma’s background score, and the SteppaMaar song are the biggest pluses of the film while the writing falls flat at places with routine scenes & predictability. Can give it a try only for Ram & his energy.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.5/5