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DJ Tillu is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language romantic crime comedy film directed by debutant Vimal Krishna who co-wrote the film with Siddhu Jonnalagadda. Produced by Sithara Entertainments, the film stars Jonnalagadda as the title character alongside Neha Shetty, Prince Cecil, and Brahmaji.

DJ Tillu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vimal Krishna
Written by	Vimal Krishna Siddhu Jonnalagadda
Produced by	Suryadevara Naga Vamsi
Starring	Siddhu Jonnalagadda Neha Shetty
Cinematography	Sai Prakash Ummadisingu
Edited by	Naveen Nooli
Music by	Score: S. Thaman Songs: Sricharan Pakala Ram Miriyala
Production companies	Sithara Entertainments Fortune Four Cinemas
Release date	12 February 2022 (2022-02-12)
Running time	124 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹10 crore[2]
Box office	est. ₹50 crore[3][4]

The film was announced in October 2020 under the title Narudi Brathuku Natana. Principal photography began in February 2021 with filming taking place in Hyderabad. The film's music is scored by S. Thaman while the soundtrack is composed by Sricharan Pakala and Ram Miriyala. Initially scheduled to be released on 14 January 2022, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

DJ Tillu was released theatrically on 12 February 2022. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the film was successful at the box office. A sequel, titled TilluSquare, is scheduled to begin its production in August 2022.

Plot

Bala Gangadhar Tilak, also known as DJ Tillu, is a young man who wants be a DJ. One day, he meets Radhika in a club and falls for her; he asks her for a drink to which she nods. After the drinks, Tillu drops Radhika at her apartment. While walking towards her apartment, she calls her boyfriend, Rohit, but she hears the sound of another girl with him and confirms that he is cheating on her. She decides to pay back her boyfriend and begins a relationship with Tillu hiding the fact from him that she's already in a relationship with Rohit.

A few weeks pass by and on Tillu's birthday, Rohit shows images of Radhika and Tillu together and he decides to expose them. Radhika on the other hand, leaks about the affair that Rohit was having and she decides to leave the apartment. She then goes into her room to pack her luggage and Rohit, full of anger and jealousy, tries to assault her. In self-defense, Radhika pushes Rohit, which causes him to hit his head on the wall and die from the injury. Radhika then calls Tillu and tells him to come her apartment and he does so leaving his party. Tillu shows up angry but after cooling down, he asks Radhika where the bathroom is. As he is going to the bathroom near him, Radhika says that the flush was not working and asks him to go to another bathroom. As Tillu exits the bathroom, he sees all the photos in the room with Rohit and he also sees Rohit's dead body. Tillu being scared tells Radhika that he wants to call the police and that they will tell the police what happened. Radhika however does not want to call the police as she is afraid that she will be sentenced to prison for killing Rohit. She explains everything to Tillu and they both decide to bury the body somewhere were nobody would find them. However, when they were burying the body, a drunk man saw them bury the body and filmed the entire process. The man then stops Tillu and Radhika and shows them the video and he states that he wants ₹25 lakh in two days in order for the video not to be leaked. Radhika then suggests the idea that she knows a club and that the owner, Shannon, does illegal business and they can obtain the money from him. She then manages to seduce Shannon and obtains the ₹25 lakh. Tillu frustrated on how Radhika obtained the money and seeing the way she seduced Shannon, he gets into an argument Radhika about it. Seeing the fight ensure, a cop pulls over Tillu and Radhika and to get out of the situation, Radhika says that she does not know Tillu and that she needs to be dropped off at home.

Tillu is then found by Shannon at a tea stall and he manages to get Tillu out of the situation and asks where his money was. Tillu says that it was in his car and he gets Shannon to drive to the spot earlier but the car and the money are not there. He then finds the car and Radhika at the spot where they buried Rohit and Shannon finds his money. While driving back, they are chased by the cop and Radhika explains that he came into her apartment and found blood and threatened that he would get her arrested and he attempts to assault her. The chase keeps going on and Shannon is thrown out of the car and Tillu and Radhika both go to a hotel with the money. Radhika then explains to Tillu that she tried to give the money to the drunk man, but the man also tried to assault her and she left the premises. Tillu then goes to the bathroom and in this timespan, Radhika leaves the hotel with the money. Shannon and the cop find Tillu in the hotel room and beat him to the point where he goes into a coma and loses his memory due to it. Tillu is then admitted to the hospital where Shannon and the cop interrogate Tillu for the money and the cop's phone. With Tillu not remembering what happened the cop tries file a case in court with Radhika and attempts to get them both arrested for the murder. At court, it is shown that Tillu bribed both the drunk man and the cop's colleague with a video and manages to get both Radhika and the cop arrested and sent to prison. Tillu then visits Radhika in prison a month later and explains that he never lost his memory and made a plan to find Radhika and to obtain the ₹2 crore by bribing a music director that behaved rudely with Radhika. He then gets Radhika a bail order and explains that he has moved on in his life but he only let her go because he felt bad for her. Shannon then calls Tillu and asks for his money and Tillu then tells Shannon that the money is in Paris and that the story would continue from there.

Cast

• Siddhu Jonnalagadda as Bala Gangadhar Tilak a.k.a. "DJ Tillu"
• Neha Shetty as M. Radhika
• Prince Cecil as Shannon Gonzales, club owner
• Brahmaji as Inspector Rao
• Fish Venkat as Head Constable Fish
• Pragathi as Judge I. Sharada Devi
• Narra Srinivas as Chandrakant
• Raja Ravindra as Music Director
• Kireeti Damaraju as Photographer Rohit, Radhika's boyfriend
• Praneeth Reddy Kallem as Marcus, Tillu's friend

Production

Development and casting

Vimal Krishna narrated the storyline of the film to actor Jonnalagadda in 2019, but got delayed in further production due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.[5] The film was announced in October 2020 under the title Narudi Brathuku Natana.[6] Director Trivikram Srinivas also guided Krishna and the team in designing the story and screenplay of the film. In an interview with The New Indian Express, Vimal Krishna revealed about the Tillu's character that, "During my initial days in Hyderabad, I happened to meet and interact with a few DJs and was really bowled over by their conversations, attitude and body language. They carry a different persona and each one is his own boss. I have infused these characteristics and developed Tillu's character".[7] In January 2021, the film was then officially launched under the same title.[8]

The film's title was then changed to DJ Tillu in an uncited reason. About his character 'Tillu' in the film, Jonnalagadda told The Hindu that "I grew up in areas near Padmarao Nagar (in Hyderabad). Youngsters in Warasiguda and Chilkalguda talk like Tillu (the Hyderabadi Telangana dialect). We wanted Tillu to reflect on how these youngsters speak and how they handle things. Each one is his own boss and for no reason, there is the rivalry between gangs from each street. These boys are also more chilled out than those in, say, Banjara Hills."[9]

Filming

Principal photography for the film began in February 2021 but was then later stopped due to the second lockdown in India. Filming was then resumed in June 2021.[10]

Soundtrack

DJ Tillu
Soundtrack album by Sricharan Pakala and Ram Miriyala
Released	9 February 2022 (2022-02-09)
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	10:22
Language	Telugu
Label	Aditya Music
Producer	Sricharan Pakala Ram Miriyala
External audio Audio Jukebox on YouTube
Sricharan Pakala chronology
Thimmarusu (2021) DJ Tillu (2022) Major (2022)
Ram Miriyala chronology
Pushpaka Vimanam (2021) DJ Tillu (2022)
Singles from DJ Tillu
"Tillu Anna DJ Pedithe" Released: 6 January 2022 "Pataas Pilla" Released: 24 January 2022 "Nuvvala" Released: 7 February 2022

Sricharan Pakala and Ram Miriyala composed the film's soundtrack. The audio rights were acquired by Aditya Music. In early-January 2022, S. Thaman joined the production to compose the film score.[11] Soon after, the first song "Tillu Anna DJ Pedithe" was released on 6 January 2022.[12] Sung and composed by Ram Miriyala, the song became an instant chartbuster.[13] The second song "Pataas Pilla" sung by Anirudh Ravichander, was released on 24 January 2022.[14] The third song "Nuvvala" sung by Jonnalagadda, was released on 7 February 2022.[15] While the female version of the song later released through the album on 9 February 2022.

Release

The film was initially scheduled to release on 14 January 2022 coinciding with the festival of Sankranthi due to the postponement of films such as RRR and Radhe Shyam.[16][17] However due to the restrictions on cinema due to COVID-19 pandemic in India the film was postponed. It was later decided that the film was going to release on 11 February 2022 along with Khiladi.[18][19] In order to avoid the clash with Khiladi, DJ Tillu was then postponed to 12 February 2022.[20] The film's theatrical distribution rights were sold for ₹8 crore.[21]

Home media

The post-theatrical digital streaming rights were acquired by Aha.[22] It was premiered on 4 March 2022.[23] Later the film's satellite rights were acquired by Star Maa.

Reception

Critical reception

DJ TIllu opened to mixed reviews with some critics praising the "madcap fun moments" and while others criticised the narration.[24] Thadhagath Pathi of The Times of India gave the film 3/5 and wrote "DJ Tillu relies heavily on dialogue and less on the actual story at hand. Such films usually end up being the perfect weekend watch, so this one's for you if you enjoy humour".[25] Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "DJ Tillu has more 'mass' in it than the introductory songs for top stars in mass masala movies. And Thaman's background music hits the ball out of the park, designed to make the scenes look like they have been choreographed to enable the BGM composer have a blast in the studio. The editing is solid, making the shots look consummately etched".[26]123Telugu gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and wrote "DJ is a timepass comedy which has standout performance by Siddhu Jonnalagadda. You will love his character and the comedy that he generates. The film has no strong storyline and rushed situations but when the hero's character is so strong and the situations give you ample entertainment, you should give this film a shot and have a good weekend".[27]

Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 3 outof 5 and wrote "DJ Tillu is a breezy entertainer that has elements of fun and quirkiness. The writing was cool, but goes overboard towards the end. Watch out for Siddu's characterisation and performance".[28] The Hans India gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and wrote "Vimal tried to keep the audience to sit with his narration. Thaman's background score is an asset. He keeps the tempo with his techno sounding. The songs are neat. The cinematography is adequate. Dialogue writing is a huge plus for this romantic crime thriller".[29]News18 stated "Director Vimal Krishna did well, though he could’ve stretched his limits more, experts say. The movie is a one-time watch for a few laughs in the first half".[30] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu stated "Director Vimal Krishna helms a laughter riot populated with quirky, morally ambiguous characters".[31]

Box office

DJ Tillu grossed ₹8.1 crore (US$1.0 million) worldwide on its opening day, with ₹5.93 crore (US$740,000) coming from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[32] It collected a worldwide share of ₹16.92 crore (US$2.1 million) and grossed ₹29.7 crore (US$3.7 million) until 5 March 2022.[3] According to Pinkvilla, the film emerged as the first commercially successful Telugu production of 2022.[33]

Sequel

In February 2022 before the film's release, Jonnalagadda stated that they were planning a sequel for the film. "There are no limits to Tillu's character and I think, this can be explored and stretched to any length," he added.[34] DJ Tillu's sequel was officially announced in June 2022 by producer Naga Vamsi. Mallik Ram, of Naruda Donoruda and Adbhutham fame, was announced as the director, replacing Vimal Krishna. Principal photography of the sequel is scheduled to begin in August 2022.[35] On Diwali 2022, the title of the sequel was revealed as Tillu Square and it is scheduled to release in March 2023.

References

External links

• DJ Tillu at IMDb

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