BOTTOM LINE
Full Of Navvulu
RATING
2.75/5
CENSOR
U, 2h 36m
What Is the Film About?
Sachin (Nelson K Gafoor) is a freshly graduated student who gets rejected in love. He plans to move to the UK, but rejection follows him as his Visa gets denied. A chance meeting with a friend, Amal Devis, aka Amul Baby (Sangeeth Prathap), makes Sachin move to Hyderabad for GATE coaching before reapplying for the Visa.
How Sachin meets Reenu (Mamitha Baiju)? Do they instantly fall in love? The end of their love story is the movie’s basic plot.
Performances
Nelson K Gafoor as Sachin Santhosh perfectly embodies a witty-with-friends-but-shy-infront-of-girls kind of guy. Half of the job as an actor is complete with his presence alone. The rest he manages with his act, which requires Sachin to look innocent and timid and be sharp with his timing.
Nelson’s part is fun and frolic, mostly. But when it comes to drama, he rises to the occasion. During the second half, a few scenes require the emotional side of the actor, and he does well.
Mamitha Baiju livens up the proceedings with her presence. It’s a character that suits her personality and offers a neat combination of modernity and bubbliness. She expresses an undercurrent air of dominance (and clarity) visible on her part (helping flesh out the character) without going overboard. It helps generate the all-important chemistry towards the end and lifts the proceedings when it matters most.
Analysis
Girish AD co-writes and directs Premalu. It is a typical love story which offers nothing new storywise and depends heavily on the writing, casting and overall packaging to pull off the routine.
There is hardly any romance or comedy in the initial portions of a movie positioned as a rom-com. The opening stretch until Sachin lands in Hyderabad is a dry period for setting up the inner turmoil of the lead.
It is after the story shifts to Hyderabad that the fun begins. It doesn’t happen instantly but gradually. The office space with the heroine at the centre and the friend zone with the funny banter between Sachin and Amal start the momentum.
The real entertainment begins when the two worlds collide at a marriage function. The interaction of different characters starts the ball rolling in this regard. The instantly relatable content and the actor’s timing make things work even though nothing is new here.
The narrative moves forward smoothly with blocks mixing entertainment and undercurrent ( one-sided) romance. With the individuals delivering, the group chemistry becomes an advantage. The montage songs, capturing real Hyderabad locations and the primary character’s interaction’ draw us into their world.
The interval bang is on the expected line but is sharp. It makes one look forward to the second half, with the focus mainly on the individuals.
Post intermission, the comedy slowly gives way to the drama. The fun takes the backseat as the one-sided love story gradually reaches the predictable escalation, leading to rejection.
The stretch until pre-climax is very routine. But, the predictable journey is made passable by the actors and the fresh scenarios they are in. The narrative builds adequate emotions, even while on the ‘routine’ path. It’s here that a sense of drag and repetitiveness sets in.
Still, as a direct result of the neatly built emotional angle (despite the issues), the pre-climax and climax work well. The predictable beats get executed efficiently. The drama and emotions surrounding the one-sided love come out well and explode in the terrace sequence at the end to a hilarious effect.
The movie’s final moments stretch a bit after resolving the primary conflict. But it is okay at that point. The attempt with Premalu is to touch all the genre cliches and bring a fun and fresh perspective. The background (Hyderabad) plays a key role, but with that out in the dubbed version, Premalu misses that newness. Its freshness comes from elsewhere – the writing.
Overall, Premalu is a well-made and acted rom-com that holds appeal to its targeted audience despite its predictable premise. The little quirks and writing are suitably adapted to give the native feel and much-required freshness. Watch it if you love the genre and don’t mind the routine plot.
Performances by Others Actors
The supporting cast is terrific in Premalu. It is a crucial asset as they make the regular and predictable stuff work. Sangeeth Prathap and Shyam Mohan are the standouts. They help the conventional parts elevate from their typicalness.
Akhila Bhargavan and Meenakshi Raveendran comfortably slip into their respective parts without much effort. The others fill up the rest of the supporting cast and do the necessary adequately.
Music and Other Departments?
The music is one aspect which isn’t up to the mark. Premalu misses a chartbuster number, at the least. Vishnu Vijay’s songs are alright, but nothing is particularly memorable. But, the background score more than makes up for it. The breeziness sets in with the trendy score. The cinematography is decent, whereas the editing is sharp.
The writing is a significant asset in Telugu. 90’s fame Aditya Hasan provides dialogues in Telugu, and they are an excellent fit in matching the original and staying in tune with Telugu youth taste. That they are mostly kept subtle without any loudness is icing on the cake.
Highlights?
Casting
Writing
BGM
Fun Sprinkled Throughout
Breezy Narrative
Drawbacks?
Routine Story
Predictable Beats
Slow Beginning
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Premalu Telugu Movie Review by M9
