Telugu star Nani's latest movie Tuck Jagadish released on a leading OTT platform on September 9, receiving mixed reviews from critics. The 'Natural Star' earned praise for his sincere performance but the underwhelming plot failed to impress. The consensus, either way, is that the film wasn't able to live up to expectations. Here are four changes that would have made Tuck Jagadish a better watch
More emotional connect
Nani is widely regarded as a performer rather than a mass hero or 'star' as he thrives in intense yet realistic roles. His work in Jersey, an emotional sports drama about the bond between a 36-year-old cricketer and his son, is a case in point as he internalised the character quite well and made it easier for viewers to relate to his journey. Tuck Jagadish never really allowed him to go in that direction as the emotional scenes often played second fiddle to the commercial elements. Moreover, the action sequences catered to die-hard Nani fans but they were not really in his comfort zone. The makers should have played to his strength.
More focus on female characters
Ritu Varma is quite a gifted yet underrated performer, something that became clear when she made her presence felt in the anthology Putham Pudhu Kaalai. The star did not get much scope to showcase her abilities in Tuck Jagadish, which featured her in the role of an officer working in a rural area. The makers touched upon some of the issues faced by her in her professional journey but refrained from exploring them in depth. Moreover, the character became a bit of an afterthought as the story progressed with Nani's reel heroics taking the centrestage. Similarly, Aishwarya Rajesh too was burdened with a poorly-sketched character. Things would have been different had the script focussed on her sweet yet stained relationship with Jagadish.
Playing up the father sentiment
The father sentiment is one of the pillars of commercial family dramas. Prakash Raj's character, for instance, proved to be the emotional fulcrum of Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu as his scenes with his reel sons were quite heartwarming. Nassar's character had the potential to be the surprise package of Tuck Jagadish as his scenes with his reel 'son' Nani added tenderness to the narrative. He, however, needed a meatier role to elevate the narrative The supporting characters too could have been fleshed out a lot better.
'Jaggu' deserved better
Jagapathi babu garnered a fair deal of attention with his work in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, one of his biggest releases in recent years. It highlighted how his character betrayed the hero because of a misunderstanding only to repent later. His character has a similar graph in Tuck Jagadish but his transition from mean to a caring person wasn't too convincing. This would not have happened had the back story been explored through powerful flashback sequences.