Loafer - Movie Review

What's it about!

Raja (Varun Tej) and his father Murali (Posani) do chori, cheating and kidnap. They reside in Jodhpur. Murali tells Raja that his wife died long back but she is alive and is leading life as a teacher far from their place. One day, Raja steals the suitcase of Mouni aka Parijatam (Disha) who lands in Jodhpur fleeing away from her father. This leads to some playfulness between Mouni and Raja and they eventually fall in love. Mouni landed in Jodhpur as father and brothers are forcing her to get married to a mining businessman whose wife eloped with some guy. She only trusts her aunt Lakshmi, who also comes to Jodhpur to rescue her niece and here Raja recognizes that Lakshmi is his mother. What forms next is the rest of the movie.

Analysis

Every director has his/her own signature style. That signature style is hard to achieve and having it should be considered as a great achievement. Apart from achieving this, over the years prolific director Puri Jagannadh has also created a template of his own for storytelling which has become quite predictable. Leaving aside some minor changes to the core story that he writes, he has been telling them in this template off late. Though he hasn't made a sentiment movie since Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammayi, Loafer also treads the same formula that he has created. One difference is, this one has some good sentiment scenes between Varun Tej and Revathy.

Puri Jagannadh sets off the movie in interesting manner by establishing what the story is all about in the very beginning. The first half, though quite engaging, is more or same of Ek Niranjan. The real drama and the difference is seen only in the second half. Although few sequences in the second half are too good, the movie drags on beyond a point. Also there is hardly any surprise element left after the interval. The film goes on predictable way and the climax is even more clichéd.

The film happens one time in Jodhpur, next it happens in Jalgaon, then it moves to some other place (Goa?). We never get the origins of the lead actors - are they from Hyderabad or some part in Andhra Pradesh? Why they go to Jodhpur specifically and later proceed to Jalgaon in Maharashtra. The reason given for the murder of heroine's mother also defies the logic.

Stressing more on the mother-son sentiment, Puri sets up flimsy backdrop to the other proceedings. To be fair to the movie, the main theme of the story and sentiment scenes between Revathy and Varun have come out superbly. That is the good part of the movie. Also there are his trademark dialogues that have quite worked out well. Revathy, the great performer she is, has also elevated dull moments with her presence and performance.

After playing an idealistic person in his debut Mukunda and soldier in Kanche, Varun Tej has done a mass character. He has proved that he can be good at these kind of roles too. Disha Pathani has good looks though she has not much to do in the film. Great actress Revathy comes up with another good performance. The characterization of Posani is nice but whenever he speaks we feel as if our ears are close to a loudspeaker. Rest of the cast doesn't make much impact. Although Ali generates some laughs, Bramhanandam is relegated to one un-funny scene.

Technically the film is rich with competent music by Sunil Kashyap. Of all his songs, the sentiment song stands out. P G Vinda has captured the beautiful locales of Jodhpur quite pleasingly and his work throughout the movie is quite impressive. Action fights by Vijay have become quite repetitive. Art work is neat. So is editing.

As writer and director Puri Jagannadh has shown his mark in some scenes. Some of the dialogues are superb but on the whole he has not shown much novelty in treatment of the movie or story.

Bottom-line: Loafer is a melodramatic movie in Puri's style. A mother-son action drama with nothing much new to offer. Other than some good sentiment sequences in the second half, it runs in predictable manner.