3 years of Popcorn Monkey Tiger: Netizens hail Dhananjaya’s gangster flick as one of his career best

In 2018, when Dhananjaya was signed up for a prominent role in director Duniya Suri’s Tagaru, which had Shivarajkumar in the lead, the actor was still doing a mix of lead and supporting roles and had not had the career trajectory he was hoping for. Tagaru changed that, with his character, Daali, one of the most notable among the ensemble cast, so much so that he adopted the name and is now called Daali Dhananjaya.

Dhananjaya left quite an impression on director Suri, who cast the actor almost immediately in his next, Popcorn Monkey Tiger. This time around, Dhananjaya was the leading man, in a raw gangster tale. The film had three leading ladies, Niveditha, Sapthami Gowda and Amrutha Iyengar. While the film’s reverse narrative was widely appreciated, the music by MR Charanraj was also a highlight, especially the song Maadeva, which was written by popular lyricist Jayant Kaikini’s son, Rithwik and sung by Sanjith Hegde and HanuManKind.

Three years ago on this day, the film had opened to positive reviews, although many pointed out that it was strictly for those who enjoyed violence and gore in cinema. On the film’s third anniversary, netizens reminisced about the Suri directorial, saying that it was by far one of the best films in Dhananjaya’s career to date. Sapthami Gowda, who is today a household name owing to the success of Kantara, had also made an impression in her debut, as did Amrutha. Of course, Popcorn Monkey Tiger is also considered one of Suri’s best works.

After PMT, Dhananjaya did a wide variety of roles, including experimental ones, like Monsoon Raaga and Once Upon a Time in Jamaligudda, among others, but with success evading him, the actor has now vowed to only do hardcore commercial films, one of which, Hoysala, is set to release in theatres on March 30.