Tuck Jagadish

Tuck Jagadish is a 2021 Telugu action family drama written and directed by Shiva Nirvana and produced by Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi under Shine Screens. Nani plays a young revenue officer trying to set right his village’s land disputes and reunite his own divided family, with Ritu Varma, Aishwarya Rajesh and Jagapathi Babu as his elder brother. After repeated delays during the COVID-19 pandemic it skipped cinemas and premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 10 September 2021, for Vinayaka Chavithi, to mixed reviews.

What the story is about

Adisesha Naidu is the head of Bhudevipuram, a village notorious for property feuds that he usually settles himself. His sons Bosu and Jagadish are known as the children of his first wife, Tulasamma, who died giving birth to Jagadish; his second wife, Arjunamma, has three children of her own and raises all five together. Jagadish adores his stepmother and sisters; Bosu quietly resents them and believes that as the eldest son everything should be his. When their father dies, Bosu makes sure the inheritance goes his way, shuts the rest of the family out, and strikes a deal with Veerendra, a man who has hated the family since his own father was killed in a feud. Jagadish, away studying in the city, comes home to find the family broken. He returns as the village’s MRO, determined to undo what his brother has done. How he goes about it is the rest of the film.

Cast

• Nani as MRO Jagadish Naidu, “Tuck” Jagadish
• Ritu Varma as VRO Gummadi Varalakshmi
• Jagapathi Babu as Bosu Babu
• Aishwarya Rajesh as Chandra
• Nassar as Adisesha Naidu
• Daniel Balaji as Veerendra Naidu
• Parvathi T. as Arjunamma
• Rohini as Kumari
• Devadarshini as Ganga Bhavani
• Rao Ramesh as Devudu Babu

Songs: Thaman S. Background score and one song: Gopi Sundar. Cinematography: Prasad Murella. Editing: Prawin Pudi. Runtime: 146 minutes.

Making of the film

This was Nani’s second film with Shiva Nirvana after Ninnu Kori (2017), and the title was revealed on 3 December 2019. A day earlier Ritu Varma had been reported as the female lead, reuniting with Nani after Yevade Subramanyam (2015), according to The Times of India; she later told India Today it was her “big commercial film”. Shooting began on 11 February 2020 in Pollachi and moved to Rajamahendravaram before the pandemic halted it; work resumed in Hyderabad in October 2020 and the final schedule began on 5 December 2020.

Thaman composed five songs but left the project after differences with the director, and Gopi Sundar scored the background music and added one song, “Tuck Song”, written and sung by Shiva Nirvana himself. The singles “Inkosaari Inkosaari”, “Kolo Kolanna Kolo” and “Neeti Neeti Sukka” were released in February and March 2021.

Release

A theatrical release planned for April 2021 was postponed by the pandemic’s second wave. The producers then chose streaming, against the background of new ticket-price rules in Andhra Pradesh that exhibitors and many in the industry opposed (The New Indian Express), and sold the digital rights to Amazon Prime Video. The 10 September date drew an objection from the Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce because it clashed with the theatrical release of Love Story.

Reviews

Critics found it familiar. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu called it a predictable family drama that works partly because of “the earnestness with which Nani, Aishwarya Rajesh and Jagapati Babu shoulder it”. Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express dismissed it as “old wine in a new bottle”, and Haricharan Pudipeddi of the Hindustan Times said it was “stuck in the 1980s, story-wise”, though the action and performances helped. Murali Krishna CH of Cinema Express was kinder, defending its pace, and Janani K of India Today found Nani “terrific” in a clichéd village drama. Balakrishna Ganeshan of The News Minute criticised its romantic, upper-caste view of village life.

Where to watch Tuck Jagadish

Tuck Jagadish was made available directly on Amazon Prime Video, where it premiered on 10 September 2021. That comes from the film’s Wikipedia article rather than a platform listing, so check Prime Video before you press play. There was no theatrical release or box-office run.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Tuck Jagadish and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.