Release Date: November 19, 2021
Star Cast: Gippy Grewal, Prince Kanwal Jit Singh, Dheeraj Kumar, Mahabir Bhullar, Ashish Duggal, Malkeet Rauni, Rana Jung Bahadur, Tarsem Paul, Sukhi Chahal, Paramveer Singh, Ravinder Mand, Irwin Meet Kaur, Honey Mattu, Aman Kotish.
Writer & Producer: Gippy Grewal
Director: Amar Hundal
DOP: Maneesh Bhatt
Dialogues: Prince Kanwal Jit Singh
Video Editor: Rohit Dhiman
Line Producer: Hardeep Dullat
Background Score: Kevin Roy
Action Director: Mukesh Kamboj
Storyline:
The film’s story revolves around the simple concept of ‘revenge’. There is a man who is unemployed and goes around looking for work. While looking for a job, the man does something that those who have seen the web series know, i.e. a murder. Now the person who is murdered, his son goes out for revenge and this is what the whole film revolves around.
Then in the end the film shifts and changes. The theme of the film ultimately is revenge but the way it has been treated is very different because for the Punjabi industry it is still a newer topic. Even though such content is being made on Punjabi OTT platforms no doubt, but still in Punjabi cinema, this topic has not been explored to the extent it can be! While we say this, Warning has explored this theme much more than any other project.
Review:
Now the film was directed in a manner that we didn’t want to get out of the theatre, we just wanted it to go on and on and on…and then the “to be continued” on the end was disappointing because I wanted to see more. At the end of the day, this is the best a film could do that the audience wants to keep watching it and for me, this film was it.
If we talk about the characters, they were written well, each character had a uniqueness to it, but some were weaker as compared to others. Of course, Prince KJ was the highlight of the film and this is my opinion that whatever appreciation he gets is less! He did excellent work in the film be it his dialogue delivery, gestures, laughter or the funny connection even if he wasn’t trying to be funny, there was laughter in the seats. I think the level of expertise we see projected by Prince KJ can only be done by an extremely experienced actor.
Irrespective of the fact that it took Prince KJ a lot of time to be in the spotlight, the man deserves a huge bow. He is doing remarkable work and I feel the need to say that, Welcome to the Punjabi industry Prince KJ. It’s been years that he’s been working but he has never been ‘the’ actor of the film. But today, he deserves to be called ‘the’ actor of ‘Warning’; he is the main reason why the film is such a huge watch for me.
As far as Dheeraj Kumar’s work goes, he can be considered the parallel lead but I saw his acting in the second episode of the web series which made me think that his work was weak. However, when I saw the same part in the film, it looked so good and I’ve realized the issue which is that the scene was shot in such a way that was so cinematic, with shots from every angle that it wasn’t made for a web series. So in the theatre, Dheeraj’s acting looked impressive and I watched it like a girl with butterflies in her tummy. Plus the dialogue delivery was good, even though it was a little repetitive at times.
Coming on to the female actors in the film, there were just two and I did not find them so good. I did not enjoy their roles, the makers tried to bring in a love angle but even in the beginning, it felt like it wasn’t required. Also, I found a flaw in the film (*Spoiler alert*), while the police is looking for these people incase of a kidnapping, everyone had a phone… so they could’ve gotten their phones tracked or tapped. Why didn’t they think of that!? Considering that the person searching for them was at a minister-level, it could’ve been easily done.
There are no songs in the film, no extra scenes and I would like to specially mention the action director, Mukesh Kamboj for the realism. Hats of to Mukesh Kamboj for the action sequences especially the last one where Prince KJ is literally screaming while being hit because that is what you do when it hurts instead of the dishoom dishoom animated sounds! So I was really happy to see that and I was laughing when he was being beaten.
Verdict:
Overall the film was a very nice watch, the recent films I’ve been watching have been good so kudos to the industry. I hope they carry forward these films which leave the audience wanting more and yes, it was a good idea to turn this web series into a cinema experience. You guys should definitely watch it, but keep the kids away, there is a lot of bloodshed and violence included. Considering that a child might carry forward the same ideas and the film may affect them, it is even rated adult on online platforms.
Since the gestures and language used in the film is not appropriate for kids and the overall message is also not really positive, I would recommend leaving your kids at home when you go and watch it. Other than that, the film is a watchable film but not family-friendly. I also think that the sequel should be taken even further into the story. Also even though the editor, Rohit Dhiman has done really crisp editing, there were moments where the film felt dragged. But then the film picks up again and keeps you glued to your seat!
Lastly, what I really liked was that before the premiere began the star cast came in and gave us a very important message saying that we are not our characters, our actual lives are very different and the message carried by the film is not great. So if the actors themselves are agreeing, I believe that we should follow it.