Premante, produced by Jhanvi Narang and Puskur Ram Mohan Rao, was released in theatres today. In this section, we are going to review the latest BO release.
Plot:
Madhusudhan Rao (Priyadarshi) runs a security services agency and has to work night shifts because of the demands made by his business. Ramya (Aanandhi) runs into him at a wedding and they both get to know each other in an awkward situation. They decide to get married and everything goes on smoothly for three months until Ramya discovers that her husband is a thief. What does this shocking discovery lead to? Is this a coming-of-age relationship drama? Or, is there something more?
Post-Mortem:
Nothing about Premante - be it the title, its promotional assets, or the casting - made us suspect that we were in for a crime comedy. Writer-director Navaneeth Sriram is interested as much in prolonging the crime plot as he is in allowing the newly-wed couple discover what they want from each other. In the process, the narrative neglects the ethical dilemmas involved. The narrative dumps the need for believability. The screenplay ditches the need to maintain tonal consistency.
The film's setting should have been a slum in a metro. The aspirational arc of the lead pair going wrong, both morally and otherwise, would have made for an absolutely delightful watch in such a case. The lead pair should have come with a slice-of-life, raw, early-20s energy. The circumstances in their lives, their teen years, their experiences with parents/friends should have gone into evolving their characterization. Premante is least interested in any of these. It's generic and even incredibly random.
Ramya comes from an upper-middle-class background, is extremely beautiful by any standard, and has no reason to put up with an immoral person who can't think beyond paying EMIs by hook or crook. What she does after a point, especially in the second half, in completely challenging situations, beggars belief.
Even so, the film would have made for a cool watch had the brand of humour been the Kamal Haasan one from films like Brahmachari. The conversations between Madhusudhan and Ramya lack innocence. Priyadarshi himself comes across as uninvested in the second half - not knowing what he must do in the peculiar situation his character is in. He is called a thief but his actions suggest that he is trained by notorious gangsters to pull off national headlines-grabbing stuff. The narrative turns increasingly strange with the entry of the elders of the lead pair. The characters make inexplicable decisions, one after another.
Suma Kanakala's Asha Mary is a Head Constable at the Banjara Hills police station. Her compulsive desire to solve a case leads her to handle the curious case of Madhusudhan. As someone seeking a divorce from her husband, she could have made for an emotionally satisfying third pillar. However, since the narrative is confused about the nature of comedy (Hyper Aadhi and Auto Ramprasad play constables who belong to a slapstick comedy skit) and what it wants to do with Asha Mary's juvenile anxieties, nothing really comes into its own.
Leon James' music is not bad. The performances are undone by the poor casting decision in case of the lead pair.
Closing Remarks:
Premante is a confused and inconsistent crime-comedy that fails on multiple fronts. The writing is generic, the plot is riddled with tonal inconsistencies and unbelievable character decisions, and the poor casting choice for the lead pair undercuts the performances.
