Double iSmart

Double iSmart is a 2024 Telugu science-fiction action film directed by Puri Jagannadh, who produced it with Charmy Kaur under Puri Connects. A spiritual sequel to iSmart Shankar, it stars Ram Pothineni with Sanjay Dutt in his Telugu debut, alongside Ali, Kavya Thapar, Sayaji Shinde and Bani J. Mani Sharma composed the music. Released on 15 August 2024, Independence Day, it was panned by critics and, according to Deccan Chronicle, became Puri Jagannadh’s second box-office failure in a row after Liger.

What the story is about

Big Bull, a notorious assassin, wants to cheat death, and his plan is to have his memories transferred into “iSmart” Shankar, who already carries another man’s memories from the first film. That sets up a head-on confrontation between Shankar and Big Bull.

Cast

• Ram Pothineni as Ustaad “iSmart” Shankar
• Sanjay Dutt as Big Bull
• Kavya Thapar as Jannat Mehrunnisa
• Ali as Boka
• Sayaji Shinde as CBI officer Parmeshwaram and Bani J as Bentley
• Makarand Deshpande as Dr Thomas
• Jhansi and Pragathi as Shankar’s mother, and Uttej as CI K. Ravi Prakash
• Puri Jagannadh as himself in the song “SteppaMaar”

Making the film

Ram Pothineni and Puri Jagannadh announced the film on 14 May 2023, and Sanjay Dutt joined as the main villain. Filming began on 12 July 2023 after a launch in Hyderabad, with an action sequence shot in Mumbai and a second schedule in Thailand. Production was delayed in 2024 by financial constraints that were later resolved. According to The Times of India, the climax was shot in Mumbai on a set worth ₹8 crore, and filming wrapped on 5 July 2024. Gianni Giannelli and Shyam K. Naidu shot the film and Karthika Srinivas edited it.

Music

Mani Sharma’s soundtrack, on Aditya Music, was released as five singles between 1 July and 17 August 2024: “SteppaMaar”, “Maar Muntha Chod Chinta”, “Kya Lafda”, “Big Bull” and “Mother Song”.

Release and box office

First set for 8 March 2024, the film was moved to 15 August and certified A for violence and strong language. Primeshow Entertainment and Mythri Movie Makers distributed it. Deccan Chronicle reported a “meagre” ₹17 crore after ten days, and T2BLive puts its final worldwide gross at ₹19.40 crore.

What critics said

Reviews were poor. BVS Prakash of Deccan Chronicle gave it 2 out of 5, finding the sci-fi plot “not exciting enough”. Sashidhar Adivi of Times Now (2 out of 5) called it “a tedious affair”, Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute (1 out of 5) wrote that “Puri fries our brain with double the torture”, and Neeshita Nyayapati of Hindustan Times said the director “forgets to focus on a coherent story”.

Where to watch Double iSmart

Double iSmart premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 5 September 2024, three weeks after its cinema release; Times Now reported that Prime Video had bought the streaming rights for ₹33 crore, and Zee Telugu and Zee Cinemalu hold the television rights. Availability varies by country, so check Prime Video before subscribing. The OTT box on this page has the details we hold.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Double iSmart and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast, crew and OTT records.