‘Double iSmart’ movie review: Ram Pothineni and Sanjay Dutt shoulder a high-octane entertainer

Sanjay Dutt and Ram Pothineni in a still from ‘Double iSmart’

A line uttered by the character iSmart Shankar (played by Ram Pothineni) in Double iSmart sums up the entire narrative for the audience. “Two minds, one body,” says Ram, who plays the role with much elan and ishtyle. The film, an action-packed sci-fi entertainer, is a spiritual sequel to Puri Jagannath’s iSmart Shankar (2019), and the crew comes together for yet another high-octane entertainer.

With this film, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt makes his debut in Telugu cinema and fits into his role perfectly. Ram Pothineni and Sanjay Dutt carry this film on their shoulders, making it pleasant watch. In the lead, Ram is energetic and agile, while his action sequences and dance movements are top-notch.

Let’s get to the storyline. Big Bull (Sanjay Dutt) runs an international drug cartel based out of Argentina and plans to disrupt peace in India by instigating a civil war so that he can find a market for weapons and drugs. He thinks that India is the safest haven on Earth for all kinds of crimes and would eliminate anyone who hinders his plans, but unexpectedly, he is diagnosed with glioma (brain tumour). With a desire to see his mission accomplished, he wishes to live longer and would go to any extent to achieve this end. His assistant Bently (Bani J) finds a solution by collaborating with Dr Thomas (Makarand Deshpande), who has been experimenting with ‘memory transfers’ from one human to another. Needless to say, Bently chooses iSmart Shankar for this mission and accomplishes this.

The protagonist, Shankar, a thug in the Charminar area of Hyderabad, has been orphaned at a young age due to Big Bull who killed Shankar’s mother in a fit of rage. Shankar has vowed revenge since then and is waiting for the right opportunity.

Whether Shankar loses his memory of the past, whether Big Bull uses him to destroy the nation, or whether the hero goes up against Big Bull, is the rest of the plot. Shankar is supported by his girlfriend Jannath (Kavya Thapar) who lands in Hyderabad from Delhi on a mission. There is never a dull moment in the film written and directed by Puri Jagannath, but he could have avoided a cheap and crass comedy track featuring a veteran artist like Ali. Seasoned actor Sayaji Shinde plays the RAW chief who is out to capture Big Bull alive, but one wonders why his powerful role is bordering on comedy.

Composer Mani Sharma’s BGM is one of the strong points of this film, and the soundtrack also has two foot-tapping numbers. Double iSmart stands as a commercial package, featuring a blend of mass appeal, high-intensity action, motherly sentiment and solid entertainment. A pan-India film released in multiple languages, it strikes the right chords that connect with the masses.

Double iSmart is currently running in theatres