Wild Dog Movie Review: A riveting thriller with Nagarjuna as the star performer

Cast: Nagarjuna, Saiyami Kher, Dia Mirza, Atul Kulkarni

Directed By: Ahishor Solomor

After a bomb explosion in the city of Hyderabad, controversial officer Vijay Varma, also known as Wild Dog, is brought back to investigate the case. When he identifies the mastermind, Khalid, Vijay conducts a covert operation to catch him.

Vijay Varma (Nagarjuna) is called a ‘wild dog’ by the authorities because all his missions ensure the perpetrators end up dead. Moved to a desk job after conducting one too many encounters, he’s soon called back to duty on the field after a bombing takes place in Pune. 

He and his wife Priya (Dia Mirza) are also mourning a heart-breaking personal loss, lending him further motive to pursue Kalid Batkal (Bilal Hossein), the man behind these bombings. However, what motivates Vijay to pursue Khalid across the country and even to Nepal is not personal loss, but the safety of this country.

Ahishor Solomon, who makes his debut with this film, wastes no time in getting into the thick of things. Even as a woman screams as she’s seared due to a blast or a death is discussed over lunch, the director doesn’t let the narrative dwell on the emotions that bubble underneath the surface of this story. Much like Vijay Varma’s character, who prefers to keep it professional and stick to work, with his character almost bordering on cold, the film’s proceedings keep things clinical.

Nagarjuna aces the role of Vijay Varma with élan, seeming at ease in the skin of the character. Dia Mirza gets a chance to shine despite her limited screen time. Saiyami Kher, Ali Reza, Atul Kulkarni, Prakash Sundaran, Mayank Parakh and others also pull off their roles well. The team of Wild Dog has put in effort to ensure the film remains as realistic as possible, even when it comes to their body language, and it shows on-screen.

The execution of the story by director Ashishor Solomon is good. He has handled some scenes really well and made the movie worth watching. He should get a bigger piece of the cake for his racy narration and tight screenplay. 

The cinematographer also delivered wonderful visuals which will make the audience continue watching the film. The music is good by Thaman. His background score elevated all the key scenes. The production values by S. Niranjan Reddy and K. Anvesh Reddy under the Matinee Entertainment banner are good enough.

Ahishor Solomon must be lauded for attempting to make an action film that’s devoid of any commercial elements. However, he also doesn’t move beyond telling a story that lacks an emotional hook. This movie will satisfy thriller-action fans.

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