DJ Tillu

Vimal Krishna's 2022 Telugu film follows a DJ who plays at weddings in Hyderabad. Tillu believes himself far more capable than he is; his relationship with a woman he meets drops him into the middle of a killing and he tries to find a way out. All the film's energy is in how the character talks. Tillu narrates to himself constantly, justifies his own decisions and worsens the situation every time. Siddhu Jonnalagadda both stars and wrote the script. It was made on a low budget and became an unexpected box office success; the character turned into a figure in his own right in Telugu popular culture and a sequel followed. The crime plot is thin, but the film does not disguise that; the aim is character comedy. Who it's for: those who like character-driven Telugu comedy. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a coherent crime thriller; the plot stays entirely secondary.