A bitter sweet film that craves for attention

Movie: Prem Adda

Director: Mahesh Babu 

Cast: Prem, Kriti Kharbanda, Meka Muralikrishna

Now playing

at: Cinepolis,

Kapali

A remake seen through the eyes of the director and played by the Adda Boys; this film has a bittersweet subject, which the makers have tried their best to match with the Kannada nativity. Prem Adda is a remake of Tamil film, Subramaniapuram which was released in 2008.

This cult classic adaptation is an engrossing study of imagery with the whole focus on bloodshed and revenge. Set against the backdrop of Padavarahalli village in 1980s, the film is about unemployed youths Ranga (Prem), Seena (Meka Muralikrishna), Onte (Shivanagu) growing up on the streets and turning out  to be hardcore criminals. They claim responsibility of murdering Krishanappa only to impress the 'respected' family of the village.

Meanwhile, Ranga, the 'romantic' among the gang falls in love with Girija (Kriti Kharbanha), which develops a crack among the friends. These youth are betrayed by the esteemed family of the village as they don't turn up to bail them out. Later the boys get support from another prisoner inside the jail and gets released. This leads the trio in series of murders. In the process, Onte from the gang changes his track for money and helps in killing his own friend Seena. Now Ranga is left all alone. In revenge Ranga kills one of the family members of the lover. Whether and how Girija takes revenge upon her uncle's instruction is shown with the film ending with the song, Kalli ivalu kalli ivalu nanna konde bittalu.

Prem Adda of course has moments of humour, romance and sentiments though it is hard to gauge with the number of killings in the seamy side of the small village. The fast phased dialogues, slick characterisation, brash cinematography is quite well handled by the director Mahesh Babu though the film fails to recapture the impact it had in the original release. The entire retro look in style, posters and songs is quite catching. The twists in the story sometimes keep you on the edge-of-the-seat, with the second half of the film becoming quite hectic especially when Ranga takes revenge of his friend's killer. A bloodthirsty Ranga chopping the head of the villain gives the audience a different feeling. The film manages to capture the essence of fear and death through the rustic village locations.

Prem also showcases his talent as a romantic killer along with Meka Muralikrishna supported with powerful dialogues and expressions. A changeover from glam to the girl next door, Kriti Kharbanda has carried her character very well throughout the film with a traditional look and in langa dhavani.

Dharma and Shivanagu do complete justice to their roles. Though the special number of Aindrita Ray adds some glam, the song with Scarlet Wilson was unnecessary as it failed to garner any attention. Cinematographer Arund D Prasad has captured the village scenes very well. Harikrishna has once again won many hearts with his melodious and peppy numbers.

Verdict: The film may not be that pleasant as the love flick eventually turns into a movie with a lot of bloodshed