ISmart Shankar

Last updated

iSmart Shankar
Ismart Shankar poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Puri Jagannadh
Written byPuri Jagannadh
Produced byPuri Jagannadh
Charmme Kaur
Starring
Cinematography Raj Thota
Edited byJunaid Siddiqui
Music by Mani Sharma
Production
company
Release date
  • 18 July 2019 (2019-07-18)
Running time
141 minutes [1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu
Budget
  • ₹15–20 crore [a]
Box office
  • est.₹75–85 crore [b]

iSmart Shankar is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language science fiction action film directed by Puri Jagannadh, who co-produced with Charmme Kaur. It stars Ram Pothineni, alongside Satyadev Kancharana, Nabha Natesh, Nidhhi Agerwal, Ashish Vidyarthi and Raj Deepak Shetty. The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while cinematography and editing were handled by Raj Thota and Junaid Siddiqui. In the film, an assassin helps the cops to investigate a high-profile case when a slain cop's memories are transferred into his brain. [7]

Contents

iSmart Shankar was released theatrically on 18 July 2019 and became commercially successful at the box office. [4] A spiritual sequel titled Double iSmart was released on 15 August 2024, which was a critical and commercial failure.

Plot

iSmart Shankar, a street-smart assassin, works under another assassin Kaka. One day, Shankar falls in love with Chandini, a rough-tough woman, and tries various ways to impress her. Despite being annoyed at first, Chandini reciprocates his feelings. Under Kaka's orders, Shankar kills CM Kasi Vishwanath and escapes to Goa with Chandini. However, the cops learn about their location and a shootout ensues in which Chandini is killed and Shankar gets arrested.

Meanwhile, Sara, a neuroscientist, is working on memory transfer and has achieved successful results with rats. Sara's fianceè Arun, a CBI officer, is investigating Kasi Vishwanath's murder and deduces that a higher force has planned and killed him. Shankar escapes from prison and deduces that Kaka had a major role in Chandni's death and has been ordered to kill Shankar. Kaka tries to escape, but Shankar shoots Kaka in Sara's car.

When Arun is about crack the case, he gets killed by the goons. Chandrakanth, Arun's superior, is desperate to know about the killer, where they transfer Arun's memory to Shankar with Sara's help, knowing that Arun's memory will remove his past. Shankar wakes up and experiences memories that are not his own, where he gets enraged after Sara reveals the truth to him and realizes that he will forget about Chandni in a few days.

Shankar experiences brief flashes when he becomes Arun, but reverts to being Shankar. Shankar finds Arun's house and discovers a bag that has evidences about the killer, where he calls Chandrakanth to meet him in Goa. When Arun is about to reveal the identity of the murderers, he reverts back to Shankar and escapes with Sara at knifepoint. After a few events, Shankar reverts to Arun and reveals to Chandrakanth that Kasi Vishwanath's son Devendra and brother-in-law Central Minister Ramamurthy are the masterminds behind the assassination.

With the help of Chandrakanth, Arun devises a plan to arrest Devendra and Ramamurthy with the evidence in Varanasi. Devendra gets exposed and escapes and Arun follows him, but Devendra and his men continuously beat Arun in his head, which results in Arun getting reverted to Shankar. Sara tells Shankar that Devendra is responsible for Chandni's death. After an intense fight, Shankar kills Devendra, thus avenging Chandini's death. Sara and Arun leave for Hong Kong on vacation and Arun proposes to Sara, who happily agrees, but Arun reverts to Shankar.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began in January 2019 in Hyderabad. The first schedule finished in February 2019. [8] The second schedule took place in Goa and the filming resumed in March 2019. [9] The action scenes of the film were shot in April 2019 and the third schedule took place in Varanasi. [10] The filming was completed in mid May 2019. [11]

Release

Ismart Shankar was released on 18 July 2019.

Home media

The satellite and digital streaming rights of the film were sold to Zee Telugu and Zee5. The film was dubbed in Hindi under the same title and was released on YouTube by Aditya Movies. [12]

Soundtrack

iSmart Shankar
Soundtrack album by
Mani Sharma
Released4 July 2019
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length21:09
Language Telugu
Label Zee Music South
Mani Sharma chronology
Devadas
(2018)		''iSmart Shankar''
(2019)
External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg Audio Jukebox on YouTube
Track list
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Dimaak Kharaab"Kasarla ShyamKeerthana Sharma, Saketh Komanduri4:40
2."Zindabad Zindabad" Bhaskarabhatla Ravi Kumar Sarath Santhosh, Ramya Behara 4:40
3."iSmart Theme"Bhaskarabhatla Ravi Kumar Anurag Kulkarni 4:12
4."Undipo"Bhaskarabhatla Ravi KumarAnurag Kulkarni, Ramya Behara5:09
5."Bonalu"Kasarla Shyam Rahul Sipligunj, Mohana Bhogaraju 5:51
Total length:21:09

Reception

iSmart Shankar received mixed reviews from critics with praise for the Ram's performance, music and action sequences, but criticized its script.

Critical response

123telugu gave 3.25/5 stars and wrote "iSmart Shankar is an unapologetic full on mass masala entertainer aimed at the masses." [13] Hemanth Kumar of Firstpost gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Despite its crassness at times, iSmart Shankar strikes a chord largely due to its story, Puri Jagannadh’s conviction, and Mani Sharma’s compelling background score." [14]

Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "In this make-believe world, when rules change by-the-minute, it’s hard to give a damn." [15] Sify gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "iSmart Shankar is aimed at frontbenchers. Despite the idea of transplantation of memories being new, the rest of the story and its treatment are over-the-top and too clichéd. This is a loud mass action-thriller." [16]

Awards and nominations

Date of ceremonyAwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef.
11 January 2020 Zee Cine Awards Telugu Best Director Puri Jagannadh Won [17]
Best Producer Charmy Kaur Won
Best Music Director Mani Sharma Won
Sensational Star of the Year Ram Pothineni Won
Best Actor (Male) Ram Pothineni Nominated
18 September 2021 South Indian International Movie Awards Best Director – Telugu Puri Jagannadh Nominated
Best Cinematographer – Telugu Raj Thota Nominated
Best Actor – Telugu Ram Pothineni Nominated
Best Music Director – Telugu Mani Sharma Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu Anurag Kulkarni for "iSmart Theme"Won

Sequel

In September 2022, it has been reported that the film's spiritual sequel is currently being developed due to Puri Jagannadh's film Jana Gana Mana being shelved after the box office disappointment of Jagannadh's previous film Liger . [18] An official announcement of the spiritual sequel titled Double iSmart has been announced in May 2023. [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Deccan Chronicle estimates the film's budget to be ₹150 million. [2] The Hans India estimates the film's budget to be ₹200 million. [3]
  2. ↑ The Times of India estimates the film worldwide gross to be over ₹750 million. [4] Sakshi Telugu estimates the film worldwide gross to be ₹780 million. [5] Sakshi Post estimates the film worldwide gross to be ₹850 million. [6]

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References

  1. ↑ Hooli, Shekhar H. (18 July 2019). "iSmart Shankar movie review and rating by audience: Live updates". www.ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "Tollywood 2019". Deccan Chronicle. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Ismart Shankar pre-release business report". The Hans India. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 "iSmart Shankar completes 100 days; Ram, Puri and Charmme reminisce the success". The Times of India. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "2019లో భారీ వసూళ్లు రాబట్టిన సినిమాలివే." [Highest grossing films of 2019]. Sakshi (in Telugu). 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  6. ↑ "iSmart Shankar Closing Collections: Ram Pothineni Ustad Of Tollywood Box Office". Sakshi. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  7. ↑ ""Only inspiration, no copy": Puri Jagannadh clarifies about 'iSmart Shankar' similarities with 'iBoy'". The Times of India. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "ISMART SHANKAR' DONE WITH HYD SCHEDULE, TO GO TO GOA". India Glitz. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  9. ↑ Neeshita Nyayapati (23 March 2019). "Puri Jagannadh and Ram Pothineni's 'iSmart Shankar' wraps up Goa schedule". Times of India. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  10. ↑ "'iSmart Shankar' moves to Varanasi". Telugu Cinema. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  11. ↑ "'ISMART SHANKAR' WRAPS UP TALKIE PART, LOCKS TEASER DATE". India Glitz. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  12. ↑ iSmart Shankar Full Hindi Dubbed Movie | Ram Pothineni, Nidhi Agerwal, Nabha Natesh, 16 February 2020, retrieved 19 September 2022
  13. ↑ "Review : iSmart Shankar – Ram's Massy treat". 123Telugu. 19 July 2019.
  14. ↑ "iSmart Shankar movie review: Ram's pulsating energy meets its match in Puri Jagannadh's irreverence". Firstpost. 18 July 2019.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg
  15. ↑ "ISMART SHANKAR MOVIE REVIEW". The Times of India.
  16. ↑ "iSmart Shankar review: A loud, over-the-top mass action-thriller". Sify . Archived from the original on 18 July 2019.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg
  17. ↑ "Zee Cine awards Telugu 2020: Samantha Akkineni, Chiranjeevi and Nani win top laurels". Hindustan Times. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. ↑ "Puri Jagan To Do iSmart Shankar-2 Now?". indiaherald.com. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "Puri Jagannadh confirms the sequel to 'iSmart Shankar'; Title registered as 'Double iSmart'". The Times of India . 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
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