Harish Changed her Fate!

Harish Shankar may have directed just half a dozen films but he surely is changing the fate of many actors with his films.

With 'Gabbar Singh', Harish erased the 'Iron Leg' tag of Shruti Haasan and became instrumental in her becoming a star heroine. She was part of several duds before Gabbar Singh, and after this film happened, she went on to deliver many more blockbusters, earning the tag of 'Golden Goose'. 'Gabbar Singh' was also a major break for Pawan, who had scored his last blockbuster more than a decade ago.
Now, this dashing director has changed the fate of another beautiful lady, Pooja Hegde, and produced another potential heroine for Tollywood. Keeping the routine subject of DJ aside, Pooja is winning accolades from every corner for her sensational glamour show in the film. Even the efforts of Bunny in playing a Brahmin character and his stylish dances have fallen second to Pooja's sensual sex appeal. Notwithstanding the result of DJ, Pooja is sure to sign a few more biggies in very quick time.

It may be noted that Pooja has so far been part of two unsuccessful Telugu films (Mukunda ad Oka Laila Kosam), one flop Tamil film (Moogamoodi) and an utter disastrous Bollywood film, Mohenjo Daro before she was roped in for DJ. Harish's magic has worked on her and she is on her way to become the next top heroine of Tollywood.

Pooja already has Mahesh Babu's 25th film, a Vamsi Paidipally directorial in her kitty.

Day1 Collections of DJ

Allu Arjun's latest offering Duvvada Jagannadham might not have impressed critics  but the film said to have opened to a terrific start at the Box Office. According to producer Dil Raju, Duvvada Jagannadham is the biggest-ever opening in Allu Arjun's career till date. The day 1 BO figures of DJ said to have beaten Day 1 numbers of Allu Arjun's previous blockbuster Sarrainodu.
According to trade reports quoted by Team DJ, Duvvada Jagannadham has raked in Rs 32 Crore world-wide gross (including premieres in the US). If these numbers are believed to be true, DJ has beaten Sarrainodu's day 1 record by huge margin. 

While Sarrainiodu's openings had affect of Bunny's previous film Son of Sathyamurthy that failed to meet high expectations, openings of DJ have advantage of Sarrainodu becoming blockbuster and thus pulled crowds to cinemas on the day 1. Also, rise in ticket prices (compared to Sarraiondu time) said to have worked in favour of DJ.   

Also, Sarrainodu had failed to do magic in US, overseas. Delay in the sending the prints to US then had affected Sarrainodu's openings in US and film being mass treat seems to have its affect. However, it seems DJ has got great opening in US. Thursday premieres and Friday collections said to be pegged at Rs 3 Crore gross.

However, going forward, it has to be seen how the film would fare at the ticket  windows. Huge pre-release business, mixed reviews, and climatic conditions pose a major challenge to DJ. Looks like, it is not so easy for DJ. But let's wait and watch what's in store for the film.

Break-up in Share (figures shared by Team DJ)

Nizam - 4,95,00,000

Ceded - 2,70,00,000

Nellore - 1,10,17,528

Guntur - 2,26,00,000

Krishna - 1,03,06,746

West - 2,08,00,000

East - 1,86,00,000

Uttharandhra - 1,95,00,000

Total 1st day AP & TG share 17.93cr

Trade : DJ opens humongous across Telugu states, collects a share of 17.93cr, about 24cr gross on it's day1 in AP & TG, close to 32cr gross in Worldwide.

DJ becomes the biggest opener for Allu Arjun beats his prev best Sarrainodu by huge margin & 7th highest opening of all time, 4th in 2017 behind baahubali2, Khaidi No.150, Katamarayudu !

DJ – Duvvada Jagannadham: Movie Review

Release date : June 23, 2017

Director : Harish Shankar

Producer : Dil Raju

Music Director : Devi Sri Prasad

Cast : Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde, Rao Ramesh, Posani, Murali Sharma

The wait is finally over as the much-awaited action entertainer, DJ has finally hit the screens on a massive scale. Let’s see whether it gives Allu Arjun yet another hit in his career.

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.

Conclusion :-

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. 

Unintentionally Allu Arjun Takes Dig At Ram Charan?

Allu Arjun, who has allegedly been waging a cold war with Pawan Kalyan's fans, has now reportedly angered Ram Charan's fans because of his loose tongue.

In a recent interview, when asked about which film or song of Megastar Chiranjeevi would he like to remake or remix, Bunny replied that he believes Megastar has a style that no one can replicate. 'I don't think trying to imitate him is a wise thing to do, hence I have stayed away from remixing his songs. Moreover, I like to be original,' reportedly added Bunny.

In his bid to explain why he didn't touch Megastar's work, Bunny may have unintentionally taken potshots at Ram Charan who has remixed good number of his father's songs. Charan has even confessed at times that he would love to remake 'Gang Leader'. Mega fans have also on occasions expressed their happiness on seeing Charan in iconic songs and films of Megastar.

Bunny may not have targeted Charan but his comments have not gone well with Charan's fans and discussions have already started on social media in this regard.

Pooja Hegde learns Aerial Silk For DJ

Slender beauty Pooja Hegde, whose spirits were down after scoring a disaster like "Mohenjo Daro", has got a breather when she was finalized to play the female lead in Allu Arjun's upcoming film "DJ - Duvvada Jagannadham".

Pooja Hegde plays a modern girl in DJ, which is said to be a quirky romantic entertainer. Pooja seems to have decided to learn an acrobatic dance form called 'Aerial Silk' to achieve impeccable figure and agility for her film opposite Bunny. The Miss Universe India 2010 2nd Runner-up has posted a pic on her social media page to in which she was seen indulged in the dance form.

DJ is the third Telugu film for Pooja Hegde after "Mukunda" and "Oka Laila Kosam". Two years ago, she was in good demand in tollywood but the saucy seductress rejected all the offers after she had signed a two year contract for 'Mohenjo Daro'. So, she now hopes to make up for the lost time by impressing the Telugu audiences big time with 'DJ'.

Produced by Dil Raju, DJ will be directed by Harish Shankar.