Puri Jagannath has to bounce back or...

Seasoned director Puri Jagannath is pinning hopes on his next film ‘Double iSmart’ to bounce back into the reckoning after a disaster like ‘Liger’. He has to prove that he could deliver action films with ease since most of his contemporaries like Krishna Vamsi and Gunasekhar have failed to impress. “Most of them are erstwhile chelas of Ram Gopal Varma and also delivered big hits. But they are unable to strike a chord with new generation viewers and are churning out flops these days,” says a producer and adds, “Telugu audience tastes are changing due to exposure to OTT so usual formulaic films are falling flat and only new age themes are working well,” he adds.

Actually, Puri bounced back into reckoning with ‘iSmart Shankar’, after delivering super flops like ‘Loafer’, ‘Ism’ and 'Paisa Vasool’ and others. “With ‘iSmart’…he proved that he is capable of delivering mass-centric films since he is a master craftsman. So, he would be hoping to return with a bang with its sequel with Ram Pothineni and Sanjay Dutt,” he adds. The director, who is also a producer, had to face some issues with distributors of “Liger’ but it seems that he has resolved it.

“He is very jovial and friendly and doesn’t take tension to his mind. While he is working, he thinks about nothing else, except for his work. Besides showcasing heroism, he is also adept in blending love stories and extracting charbusters from composers and delivering musical hits,” he adds.

No doubt he was one of the top-ranking directors after blockbusters like ‘Desamuduru’, “Pokiri’, ‘Businessman’ and ‘Temper’ and he is still craving to work with megastar Chiranjeevi which has been his long time dream. “If he succeeds with ‘Double…’, he could get a chance to work with a megastar,”he concludes.