Premalu review: Naslen and Mamitha are charming in a harmless romcom

Sachin (Naslen) and Reenu (Mamitha Baiju) in director Girish AD's Malayalam feature Premalu, which released in theatres on February 9, 2024. (Image via X / @BhavanaStudios)

Girish AD has had three releases so far – Thanneer Mathan Dinangal (2019), Super Sharanya (2022), and now Premalu (2024). All three films are centred on young people and their preoccupations. You can say there’s nothing “deep” about these films, but neither are they shallow. They simply capture the bashful exuberance of youth, and are more about the moments in the aimless trajectories the protagonists follow than a focused conflict.

Premalu (produced by Fahadh Faasil, Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran) begins in a Tamil Nadu engineering college – one of the many random institutions that have mushroomed across the state. So, when a student emotionally yells, “Pazhaniyappa Engineering College, thank you for making me who I am!” it’s hard not to giggle. In contrast to Vineeth Sreenivasan’s blockbuster film Hridayam (2022) where a Tamil Nadu engineering college does play a role in the making of its Malayali hero, here, the college is just one of the many stops in Sachin’s (Naslen) rather pointless existence.

Sachin has just graduated from college with a fresh heartbreak to nurse. He plans to go to the UK, but that dream falls flat. He has no idea what to do next, and so he accompanies his friend to Hyderabad for GATE coaching. Amal Davis (Sangeeth Prathap), the friend, is going for GATE coaching because it’s the way to reach his girlfriend who is in IIT Roorkee. In other words, these aren’t young men with ambitions or purpose, and perhaps that’s why they’re so easy to like.

In a comical scene at the GATE coaching centre, the annoyed teacher (Althaf Salim) asks Sachin if he thinks he’s Dhanush from the Tamil film Kadhal Konden (2003) when he catches the former napping. The reference is apt because in Tamil cinema, it was Dhanush who embodied the frustration, disappointment and angst of a certain kind of young man – the lower middle-class underdog who simply can’t catch a break. In that phase of his career, Dhanush’s heroes wore their toxicity as a cape, often blaming the young women who caught their eye for not reciprocating their love. Their masculinity was kept alive through several stings, until a point when it became an all-consuming, avenging rage.

(Image via X / @BhavanaStudios)

Girish’s heroes, however, offer less escapist hope. More importantly, the female characters have voice and agency. Premalu (co-written with Kiran Josey) is even conscious of the fact that the woman could do better. Sachin falls for Reenu (Mamitha Baiju), who’s just joined her first job in Hyderabad. Through intercut sequences, we see how different the two are – she’s a class apart from him and far more sorted about her life goals. But the film doesn’t make a big deal of this. Sachin comes from a dysfunctional home, but that too is offered as a by-the-way and is neither presented as a cause nor a justification for Sachin’s lack of direction.

The young cast is charming and pulls off their respective roles with an endearing goofiness. Mamitha is especially impressive, standing out in a girl-next-door role that’s difficult to render unique. Mathew Thomas plays a small role as Amal’s introverted cousin, but the young actor seems too conscious of what he’s doing. Vishnu Vijay’s peppy songs and the bright colours in the frames create a zesty atmosphere that you’re drawn into even if you feel tempted to advise these happy youngsters to open a PPF account instead of blowing it all up on vodka.

The young cast of Premalu is charming and pulls off their respective roles with an endearing goofiness. (Images via X / @BhavanaStudios)

Shyam Mohan as Aadhi fits the bill as Reenu’s annoying colleague, but the clash between him and Sachin could have been made tighter. We already know where this is going – and it isn’t the predictability that’s the problem. It’s the repetitive nature of the scenes that makes the humour look forced in parts. This is the kind of film that depends a lot on dialogue delivery, and many of the lines land well. For example, when “stalking” is mentioned, Sachin blurts out that he has dabbled in “stock marketing” himself. Naslen utters such lines with a naivete that immediately provokes laughter. But not all the sequences are as funny – especially with the cartoonish Aadhi’s antics – and some sharp editing would have helped.

For a relationship drama, there is very little drama in the relationship itself. Much of it happens around the relationship, with Aadhi’s looming presence. This is a writing choice that somewhat dissipates our interest because the play for laughs is too obvious, and we don’t become emotionally invested.

Still, for a film where nothing much happens for the most part, Premalu is almost always entertaining. A harmless, light-hearted film on life and love that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Are Sachin and Reenu forever? If a separation is on the cards, neither the characters nor the audience is likely to weep buckets. We will expect them to move on to the next pointless escapade without rancour, and god knows, we need such love stories in our cinema too.