Premam, Tollywood style!

Reprising an original hit film, which not only did well in its native state but also across the neighbouring states, breaking all-time records in the process is a humongous responsibility. Chandoo Mondeti, the director of ‘Premam,’ the Dasara release of Naga Chaitanya, attempts just that.

Betting on the large population of viewers who may have not actually seen the Malayalam original, Mondeti goes ahead to recreate the magic of love, spread across three phases of a young man’s life, travelling over the backwaters of AP to the metropolitan milieu where the hero finally moves into.

The original had a longer running time and performers, both new and debutantes alike, who were accepted among that audience for essaying a variety of soft, heart-tugging roles. Unlike the cut-to-cut masala fare that the local film viewers love, directors from Kerala are allowed their indulgences, which even mean slackening pace of the film from time to time.

The 2016 version, this Friday release, has a shorter duration, reducing the viewing time by nearly half an hour from the original. Then arise the commercial compulsions to balance the existing image of the hero with the role that he plays in the film, derisking the venture by having cameos of family hotshots like Nagarjuna and Venkatesh and liberally drawing from erstwhile hits in which the senior stars had acted in. It is then pertinent to find out how much this fear of failure has affected the remake.

Firstly, the initial phase of adolescence which Chay essays is over-the-top and does not make one empathise with the awkwardness which boys and girls go through of that age. The girl whom he chases (Anupama Parameswaran) is shown as a smart cookie who ends up exploiting the crush that the boy has to make her own romantic arrangements.

So far, so good. The hero covers good ground in the collegiate phase when he trips over a young lecturer (Shruti Haasan) who is quite anti-septic in her approach and maintains an arm’s length with him till the last. Naga Chaitanya has a longer role and screen time in this part which he does adequately, even as his bad luck with women continues, as his lady love goes home and never returns.

For a film of this genre, devoid of bone-crushing, overdone fight sequences which every Telugu movie should compulsorily have, sustaining the tempo on the soft, mushy theme of romance must have been challenging. Hence, after a relatively slow first half, the adult hero manages to calibrate the pace of the film till the climax pretty casually and effectively.

The final twist and turn to the ending is also notable for its little nuggets of suspense. For those in love and out of it, it can be a good, reasonable entertainer. Even better for those cinema lovers who have not seen the original!

Film Name : Premam

Cast : Naga Chaitanya, Shruti Haasan, Anupama Parameswaran and Madonna Sebastian
Direction : Chandoo Mondeti
Genre : Romance
Likes : A pleasing ambience and an apt star cast
Dislikes : Unavoidable masala temptations, here and there