Girish AD is one director who has managed to create his own signature style with his first two films. And if you look at those movies on a script level, they are very much unnarratable. Like, if you try to narrate that movie to a friend who hasn’t seen that film, he or she will be like, what’s so funny in this? When it comes to Premalu, his third directorial featuring Naslen and Mamitha Baiju, I would say the initial patches of the movie, or perhaps the entire first half are pretty narratable. The movie’s fun element kicks in only in the final chapter, where again, it enters that unnarratable zone.
The movie is about this insecure introvert guy named Sachin, who has just finished his graduation from Salem and has no proper plan for the future. He has this idea of going to the UK, but there isn’t enough financial backup to support that dream. What we see in the film is Sachin’s decision to move to Hyderabad with his friend Amal and how meeting this girl named Reenu, who is an IT professional, changes many things for him.
There is a common trait in Girish AD films, and that is the introverted self-doubting central character. Sachin, played by Naslen, shares many resemblances with Jaison and Sharanya. While Thanneer Mathan was about school love and Super Sharanya was about college love, in this outing, Girish pushes the story to the next iteration, which is the post-college phase. The most evident difference, or perhaps what makes Premalu the least impressive film among the three, is the fact that it was taking a little too long to enter that hilarious phase. In the entire first half, the efforts to establish the hero as this hopeless guy go a bit too long.
The conversational humor that happens in the situations is the USP of Girish’s movies, and he has always managed to bring out the best from the actors. The movie’s second half, especially the beginning portions of the third act, is the phase where the film is really in that Girish AD space. The drunken confrontation between Sachin, Amal, and Aadhi is simply hilarious. But like I said, the film is taking too much time with too little fun to reach that point of ROFL. And the Salem cure-all and the Syam Pushkaran cameo towards the end felt a bit too much, and I would say it wasn’t the comical tone you sort of expect in Girish’s film. Vishnu Vijay’s music is funky and works really well for the movie.
The biggest takeaway, in my opinion, from this movie is the performances of Naslen and Mamitha. They both are actually transitioning pretty well in this flick. You get to see them perform in their comfort zones in the earlier portions of the movie, and as the film transitions into the complications of the relationship, the performances also evolve into a space that we have not seen them perform. It was so good to see these young folks crack those flimsy emotional sequences with great grip. Sangeeth Prathap plays the part of Amal, the close friend of Sachin, and he is hilarious. Akhila Bhargavan was fine in her role. Shyam Mohan as Aadhi is given a character who is a bit eccentric, and considering the character’s pitch it was a convincing performance. Meenakshi, Chooral fame Shameer Khan, Althaf Salim, etc. are also there in the star cast.
Premalu is never a bad film or a boring film. If you have enjoyed both Thanneer Mathan Dhinangal and Super Sharanya, sitting through this romantic comedy won’t be a tough task. It is just that while those movies are pretty much offering you something to giggle at a regular interval of time, Premalu is taking ample time to reach that zone. With solid performances from the lead pair and a fairly engaging screenplay, Premalu is a passable film that is occasionally hilarious.
With solid performances from the lead pair and a fairly engaging screenplay, Premalu is a passable film that is occasionally hilarious.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
