The Warrior movie review: This war is a lost cause

Languages: Tamil/Telugu Telugu actor Ram Pothineni started his career with Tamil cinema but made his name in Tollywood. However, it is only now with Tamil director Lingusamy ’s The Warrior, he makes his debut in Tamil cinema. This film is set in Kurnool and Ram Pothineni plays Dr Satya who has come to work in that city as a doctor. Cut to Guru ( Aadhi Pinisetty ), who is the local rowdy and a businessman of sorts, whose company has manufactured a deadly saline that ends up killing three children. Everyone in Kurnool is scared of Guru and his men so no one, including the cops, take any action against him for all the atrocities he commits. When Dr Satya raises a complaint with the police about the pharma mafia, he is beaten to a pulp in the centre of the city at Konda Reddy Fort by Guru. Satya’s dean Robert saves him telling him never to return to the city and sends him on his way. But like any hero would, he doesn’t listen to his dean and Satya returns to Kurnool – as a cop! Does DSP Satya now take down Guru and his men? Is he able to ‘save’ the people of Kurnool from this goonda raj? At the outset. Director Lingusamy has been going through a low phase and has been looking out for a strong comeback on screen. However, ‘The Warrior’, which he has written and directed, is definitely not that film. This movie seems to be a potpourri of some of his earlier films where the hero plays a cop who is out to get the bad man and remove evil from society. The story is highly predictable with cliched dialogues and poorly written. The novelty that he has tried to add by making a doctor become a policeman just doesn’t sit right and one wonders how this botched up character Satya was envisioned by someone who has written far superior stories. When it comes to performances Ram has performed what is required of him as both doctor and cop but it is Aadhi Pinisetty who shines in the flick as the villain with his excellent performance. Actress Krithi Shetty , who plays RJ Whistling Mahalakshmi, is the arm candy factor for the songs and the romance angle. The only highlight of the film is the ‘Bullet Song’ that a lot of youngsters have been humming and listening to now. Devi Sri Prasad, who usually does a great BGM and songs, has done an average job as far as this film is concerned. ‘The Warrior’ loses the battle even before setting foot on the battleground. Rating: 1.5 (out of 5) The Warrior is playing in cinemas

Latha Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Chennai. Her passion is entertainment, travel, and dogs. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.