Movie Review 'Loafer': This plate of Puri has no masala

Cast: Varun Tej, Disha Patani, Revathi, Posani Krishna Murali, Mukesh Rishi, Charan and Sapthagiri
Director: Puri Jagannadh
Rating: 2.5 stars

Chiranjeevi’s nephew Varun Tej became a star after an impressive debut with Mukunda, which he followed up with the impressive Kanche. The actor has now teamed up with Puri Jagannadh for Loafer, with an aim to make an out-and-out masala film. Disha Patani is making her debut as the female lead, while senior actress Revathi plays Varun’s mother. Murali (Posani Krishna Murali) marries Lakshmi (Revathi) because of her wealth. But she refuses to give Murali her ancestral property, so he takes away their one-year-old son from his mother and settles in Jodhpur as a pickpocket. He tells his son Raja that his mother had died of jaundice.

Raja grows up to become Varun Tej, a thief like his father. One day, Raja steals the suitcase of Mouni or Parijatham (Disha Patani), when she lands in Jodhpur. She has run away from her father and brothers who have fixed her marriage with a mining baron (Ali). The theft of the suitcase leads to Raja and Mouni falling in love. On the other hand, Mouni’s father comes to know of her whereabouts through Murali and sends goons to pick her up. At the same time, Mouni asks Lakshmi for help, who happens to be her aunt. Everyone meets at Jodhpur and Raja recognises Lakshmi as his mother. Does Lakshmi allow her son, who’s a thief, into her house? How does he deal with the villains to get his lady-love?

Puri Jagannadh has left his mark in Telugu cinema with his style of filmmaking. His trademark is a strong and stylish protagonist and he has show Varun Tej in a similar vein in Loafer. But unlike his earlier film Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammayi, which also showed the mother-son sentiment, Loafer is loud and noisy. The director establishes the plot in the beginning of the film. Once the boy grows up, the film picks up pace, but without any interesting scenes. It’s mostly about getting the lead pair together in Jodhpur, where most of the plot is set.

Once Varun Tej recognises his mother, the original story begins. But everything is predictable and one knows what will happen in the next 15 minutes. Except a few heart-touching scenes between Revathi and Varun Tej, most of the film drags. The other confusion is where was it all happening, in Jodhpur, Goa, Hyderabad or Vizag? While his acting talents have already been established, in Loafer, Varun Tej proves that he can dance and fight too. He looks good and his acting is natural. The other highlight is Revathi’s stunning performance. Comedian Ali generates a few laughs and Brahmanandam appears in only one scene. The movie has some high technical values with beautiful locales captured by P.G. Vinda. The music is average. Puri himself wrote the dialogues and his stamp is there in some of them. But the climax is lengthy and clichéd. The director is clearly struggling as Loafer is not a patch on his earlier films.

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