Puri Jagannath and Varun Tej's Telugu movie "Loafer", which marks the debut of Nainital beauty Disha Patani, has received mixed reviews and good ratings from the film critics.

Written and directed by Puri Jagannath, "Loafer" is an action family drama film, which deals with a mother's sentiment. The critics say that the movie has a routine and predictable plot. The first half is engrossing, but the second is dragging and boring due to some unnecessary scenes. The hurried-up climax is another big drawback. 

Raja (Varu Tej) is a happy-go-lucky boy, who is separated from his mother (Revathi) by his irresponsible father (Posani Krishna Murali). He grows up conning the local people and tourists with his father. He falls in love with Mouni (Disha Patani), who is kidnapped by some goons. When he heads to free Mouni, he realise that his mom is still alive. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

Critics blame Puri for not working out a proper script, which is the big drawback of "Loafer". Varun Tej has delivered a wonderful performance, which is the only saving grace in the film. Revathi and Posani Krishna Murali's performances are the other big assets of the movie, which has been rated an average of 2.3 out of 5 stars. Continue to read critics' verdicts in the Loafer movie review roundup:

India Glitz Rating: 3

A film that shows a new side to Varun Tej, it also reintroduces a dose of mother sentiment to the audience.

Gulte Ratings: 2.5

"Loafer" is hugely predictable right from the word go. Puri Jagannadh didn't take much pain in writing an interesting screenplay. There are hardly any twists and turns. First half of the movie goes aimless as if the director is just passing time to put the intermission card. Second is slightly better as the hero takes on villains in typical Puri style. Mother and son drama is the core element for this film but Puri Jagannadh messed it up with a very bad screenplay. There is not a single heart touching moment in the movie despite the mother sentiment.

123 Telugu Ratings: 3

"Loafer" is a film which will do wonders for Varun Tej's confidence and career. The lanky hero steals the show in a mass avatar and impresses big time. But a predictable storyline, hurried-up climax and below-average music spoil the mood of the film. Finally, do not expect anything out of the box and only give this film a shot for a typical Puri narration, mother sentiment and Varun's all round performance.

AP Herald Ratings: 1

At times after watching a film one must have one thought in the mind that why on earth this movie was made in the first place. What was the creative team behind thinking while working for this film and how did they come up with an idea of making a complete movie on such a thin, rotten and completely uninteresting point. "Loafer" is the latest example of such a movie which fails to impress miserable from its first scene itself and falls flat.

Telugu 360 Ratings: 2

Loafer is a movie which offers nothing to any section of audience. Though the first half is passable to some extent, second half becomes unbearable with back to back meaningless scenes ,fights and clichéd climax. Even the attempted mother sentiment failed big time because of the inability of the director to generate sympathy on any of the characters involved.