By Our Special Correspondent
Ram and Lingusamy's collaboration for the mass action drama has raised curiosity. While this is Ram's Tamil debut, Lingusamy's Telugu debut as well. This became a test for Ram and Linguswamy respectively. Will Ram & Lingusamy prove their worth? Let's find out if they are successful in their mission.
What is it about?
Satya MBBS (Ram Pothineni) goes to Kurnool with his mother (Nadia) for his house surgeon where he meets RJ Vigil Mahalakshmi (Kriti Shetty). But honest Dr. Satya is disturbed by challenges from the local rowdy guru (Adi Pinishetti). He returns to Kurnool as Satya IPS and how he hunts Guru is the crux of the story.
Performances
Ram is at ease as Dr. Satya as he comes across as soft, handsome and charming. DSP was not in full form when he became Sathya. Kriti Shetty as Vigil Mahalakshmi is okay. For her in songs, romance.
But her role doesn't end well and she gets lost in the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist. Aadi Pinishetti shines in the role of the powerful Guru. He is dominating with his performance. Nadia is well-rounded as a determined and self-confident mother. But she was typecast for the role. Brahmaji plays a dishonest cop SI Devaraj. Ajay's role as a villainous side-kick is merely filler and adds no value to the story. None of the other characters have been identified.
Technicalities Lingusamy chose a half-baked and completely predictable story. Although the roles of the main characters are well-etched, the director is clueless about weaving such a powerful story around them. He completely lost his grip on the film after revealing a crucial twist during the film's interval.
Devisree Prasad has given good songs but failed to provide excellent background music. But song placements spoil the feel. The visuals are captivating, thanks to the cool cinematography. The pace of the film is difficult.
Analysis
Lingusamy is a talented director who has given films like Anandiya, Aawara, Pandem Kodi and Run. But he also offered Pandem Kodi 2, Suriya's Sikander (Anjaan), which failed to impress. His latest offering The Warrior starring Ram Pothineni belongs to the latter.
Another disappointment for the veteran filmmaker. Warrior takes off on a regular note where the hero is introduced with a song and then the hero moves from Hyderabad to Kurnool where he meets his love interest (Kriti Shetty).
There are some beautiful moments in the early romance. But they are not enough to move the story forward. The actual story begins when Satya and Guru meet. The first half of the film is mostly handled by its treatment and the twist is saved for the interval.
Once the twist is revealed, the movie becomes predictable. DSP Satya's mission is to take revenge on Guru and bring down his empire. After the interval, the movie creates sensation.
The director fails to maintain interest in the conflict between the hero and the villain. It's just a game of one-upmanship that won't interest the viewer. Scenes like the heroine and hero-villain track kidnapping were supposed to work out, but they don't.
The songs in the second half interrupt the flow of the narrative. However, the songs work for the masses, where Ram and Kriti dance well against the fine sets. But here the patience of critics is tested. This film is full of scenes which are already seen in many old mass films.
The investigation into Dean Robert's murder remains hopeless even after DSP Satya has the video proof. And guess where the hero leaves such a bad guy in the climax and why? Because he is a doctor at heart.
The film pays tribute to many real-life doctor-policemen. It is clear that the veteran director is suffering from second half syndrome and the film flopped at the script development stage itself. Despite good performances and good songs, they couldn't save the movie because of the generic story and flat narration. Overall, The Warrior is an 'operation fails and the patient dies
Comentarios