Puri Jagannadh's Double iSmart arrives on OTT just 21 days after release with no fanfare

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Puri Jagannadh’s most recent film, Double iSmart, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The film, which was released in theatres on August 15, is now released on OTT without much fanfare. Starring Ram Pothineni, Sanjay Dutt, and Kavya Thapar in the lead roles, it received a lukewarm response when it was in theatres.

Double iSmart OTT release

No one, from Prime Video to the producers, Puri Connects, announced Double iSmart’s release on the OTT platform on September 5. The film is streaming on the platform in its original language, Telugu, in addition to Tamil, Malayalam, and Kananda. It remains to be seen if the Hindi version will be released at a later date.

Double iSmart sees iSmart Shankar (Ram) in trouble again as a dying gangster called Big Bull (Sanjay) wants to gain immortality by transferring his memories. For the unversed, the film is a sequel to the 2019 film iSmart Shankar, which saw the titular character in a similar predicament when he was first experimented upon by the government.

Despite criticism for its sexist themes, the original was a massive hit at the box office, but the sequel failed to live up to the hype. Bani J, Ali and Sayaji Shinde play key roles in the film. Ali’s comedic track, in particular, was criticised for hitting below the belt. The rest of the film too did not leave much of a mark, nor did Mani Sharma’s music.

Puri Jagannadh, Ram Pothineni’s recent work

Both Puri and Ram Pothineni have been struggling to make a mark at the box office for a while now. After iSmart Shankar, Puri helmed the 2022 Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Panday-starrer Liger, which was panned by critics and the audience. The film, released in Telugu and Hindi, was also a dud at the box office. Hopes were pinned onto Double iSmart due to the success of iSmart Shankar.

Ram also tasted failure after iSmart Shankar with 2021’s Red, 2022’s The Warriorr and 2023’s Skanda. Incidentally, Red and Skanda both saw him in dual roles. All the films failed to make a mark at the box office. His next film will be with Rukmini Vasanth.