Puri Jagannadh’s last film Liger with Vijay Deverakonda was intended as a pan-India film with Karan Johar’s backing and having Ananya Panday as the heroine. The film backfired badly and became a disaster.
But Puri didn’t lose hope and is now back with Double iSmart, a sequel to his blockbuster film iSmart Shankar, which is releasing on August 15.
This is also being projected as a pan-India film with names like Sanjay Dutt in the cast. The first part, iSmart Shankar, is also decently popular with the Hindi crowd so that gives Double iSmart a fair chance to be a success as a pan-India film.
However, the film will face stiff competition on its release day, as three other big-budget movies are also coming out. August 15 which is a Thursday, will be a busy day at the box office, benefiting from the extended holiday period, including Raksha Bandhan on August 19.
The films releasing on that date include Stree 2, Vedaa, Khel Khel Mein, and Double iSmart.
Stree 2 trailer received a positive response and there are hopes that this film will turn out the biggest hit in Hindi this year till now. Khel Khel Mein has an interesting premise starring Akshay Kumar. This will be the second choice of the audience. John Abraham’s Vedaa is carrying no hype as of now but if the trailer turns out to be good then things may change.
Given this stiff competition, Double iSmart faces a challenging path to success in the Hindi market. The team behind Double iSmart needs to ramp up their Hindi promotional efforts in a big way to build awareness and excitement among audiences.
Let’s hope Puri Jagannadh’s pan-India aspirations find success with Double iSmart.
