‘Tuck Jagadish’ movie review: Familiar, but hits a few right notes

A few new twists to familiar family drama and masala tropes make this Telugu film work, along with a dependable star cast

There’s a small story behind the ‘tuck’ in the title. The reason, which explains the quirk of the protagonist Jagadish (Nani) to sport a tucked look, can bring a smile to many government officers. The pre-interval twist is also in sync with this ‘tuck’ story. Director Shiva Nirvana, in his first full-fledged rural film and his second with actor Nani, tries to introduce a few new touches to familiar masala and family drama tropes; therein lies the charm of the film. Watching the film that now streams on Amazon Prime Video, it’s hard not to notice the calibrated moves with which certain scenes have been designed, intending to draw whistles in cinema halls. In better times, this might have been what Telugu film circles define as a ‘pandaga’ (festive) family cinema. In its digital release, the film manages to hold interest for a large part, but for the overdrawn and tiring last act. Tuck Jagadish begins like countless mass masala films, ushering us into a fictitious village Bhudevipuram where bloodshed happens over sharing fruits of labour and, of course, land. There’s the wise and just village elder Aadisesh Naidu (Nasser) who wants peace and a reckless Veerendra (Daniel Balaji), whose weapons speak louder than his words. Naidu hopes that his older son Bose (Jagapathi Babu) will work for the betterment of the village. The younger son Jagadish nurtures dreams of going abroad. We know that overseas dreams will eventually take a backseat and Jagadish will be the quintessential son of the soil.