Dhilluku Dhuddu (film series)

Dhilluku Dhuddu
Film series logo from First film
Created byRambhala
Original workDhilluku Dhuddu (2016)
Owner
Films and television
Film(s)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)

Dhilluku Dhuddu (transl. Money for Guts; initialism as DD) is an Indian Tamil-language horror comedy film series. In the film series stars Santhanam. While the first two films were directed by Rambhala, the third film was directed by S. Prem Anand.[1] The film series consists of unrelated horror stories. All of the films in the film series are noted for being commercially successful films featuring Santhanam as a lead actor.[1]

Production

After the success of Dhilluku Dhuddu (2016), Rambhala subsequently worked on Dhilluku Dhuddu 2 (2019), a sequel to his first film, with the same technical team and Santhanam. He revealed that he was keen to explore some ideas written for the original that he was unable to feature owing to time constraints.[2][3]

In 2023, the third film titled as DD Returns previously title Dhilluku Dhuddu 3. The film take over Rambhala's assistant S. Prem Kumar of the project as film director.[4]

In 2025, the fourth film announced on 21 January 2025, coinciding with Santhanam's birthday, titled as DD Next Level, changed title to Devil's Double Next Level.[5]

Recurring cast

This table lists the actors who appear in two or more of the Dhilluku Dhuddu films. Since the first two film's director Rambhala, Santhanam and S. Prem Anand (third film director) are from the comedy show "Lollu Sabha",[2] many comedians from the show feature in the films including Maaran, Manohar and Swaminathan (third film).

List indicators
  • A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
  • TBA blue cell indicates the character name not fixed yet in the film.
Actors Films
Dhilluku Dhuddu Dhilluku Dhuddu 2 DD Returns Devil's Double Next Level
Santhanam Kumar Vijay (Viji) Sathish Krishnamoorty "Kissa"
Rajendran Sketch Mani Viji's uncle Professor "Veen Pechu" Babu
Lollu Sabha Maaran Teacher "Mike" Maaran Ravi "All Language" Arumugam
Redin Kingsley Benny Gopal
T. M. Karthik Kajal's brother-in-law Dr. Karthik
Bipin Garudaraja Bhattadhri (Maya's father) Kulanthai
Lollu Sabha Manohar Kumar's neighbor Manohar

Additional crew and production details

Occupation Film
Dhilluku Dhuddu
(2016)
Dhilluku Dhuddu 2
(2019)
DD Returns
(2023)
Devil's Double Next Level
(2025)
Director/Writer Rambhala S. Prem Anand
Producer N. Ramasamy Santhanam C. Ramesh Kumar Venkat Boyanapalli
Arya
Cinematographer Deepak Kumar Pathy
Editor Gopi Krishna Madhavan M. N. B. Srikanth Bharath Vikraman
Music S. Thaman, Karthik Raja Shabir OfRo
Production Companies Sri Thenandal Films Handmade Films RK Entertainment The Show People
Niharika Entertainment

Reception

The first film received mixed to positive reviews,[6] the second film was released to mixed reviews from critics but positive response from audience,[7] and the third film received positive reviews.[1]

Box office

All three films ran well at the box office and became hits.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c "DD Returns Movie Review: A terrific third act and side-splitting self-awareness keep this Santhanam franchise's flag flying high". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Tamizh Padam was stolen from Lollu Sabha: Rambhala, director of Dhillukku Dhuddu 2". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ^ "'Dhilluku Dhuddu 2' to be more than a horror film". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Will Rambala's associate direct 'Dhillukku Dhuddu 3'?". The Times of India. 28 February 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  5. ^ "'DD Next Level': Makers release first look of Santhanam from horror comedy". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Review: Dhilluku Dhuddu is a waste of time". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Dhilluku Dhuddu 2 review: A distasteful 'horror' film; barely funny or scary". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  8. ^ "CHENNAI BOX OFFICE". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Dhilluku Dhuddu 2 box office collection: Santhanam's film opens well, Viswasam, Petta collections slow down". IBTimes. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.