Prema Kavali Review

Dialogue King Sai Kumar's son Aadi was yet another starkid who was launched with much pomp and grandeur.The who's who of Telugu cinemadom were present at Annapurna studios when 'Prema Kavali' was launched.With huge publicity, hype and attendance of stalwarts for logo launch, audio launch and other launches, launch of Aadi became a matter of curiosity for many.We watched Prema Kavali at the Premiere show to bisect this film for you.

Story

The story begins with Prema(Isha) dropping one lakh rupees in a post box in Public Gardens yielding to the blackmail of a stalker Babji(Shafi), who keeps sending her a few pictures that shatter her.Prema is the daughter of Vijayarama Rao( an IPS officer) .Scared that her father would get to know of these pictures, she conceeds to blackmailer's demands and pay them money regularly for her pictures.Prema's sister in law (Sindhu Thulani) gets to know about these pictures in which she finds her kissing a guy.On questioning her, Prema goes on a flashback mode and tells her about that young guy Srinivas(Aadi) who was her college mate and loved her immensely.He proposed to her and even saved her from goons once.Unable to withstand his temptation, he once kissed her and someone had clicked a picture then which is being used to blackmail her now. Prema thinks Srinivas is blackmailing her.

Prema's sister in law visits Khammam, Srinivas's home to inform him of the problem Prema has been facing.The rest of the story is on how Srinivas gets to know of the relation between the blackmailers and the ISI terrorist in Chanchalguda jail and their reasons for targetting Prema.

Performances

The first thing you can't stop appreciating is the dancing skills of Aadi.His moves are perfect and are sure to give Allu Arjun a complex.He is convincing as an actor and has a good screen presence.Since this was a film purely to showcase his strengths to the industry,he has done almost everything  that an actor needs to do in Telugu films.He fought, danced, cried and romanced.He certainly has a charm and an X factor that is imperative to be a star. Isha Chawla was just another damsel in distress and leaves no impact on our minds. She has to loose oodles of weight and work on her acting skills if she needs to be taken seriously.Though she was an eye candy on screen, her expressions tell us she is going to be a one movie wonder.Shafi set the screen on fire with his action.With his instantly likeable villany with quirky expressions and cunning face, he makes you easily believe that he is a born stalker.Apart from the hero, the only other actor who got to display his acting calibre in this otherwise boring film was Shafi. Sindhu Thulani, Naaser, Jayasudha, Nagababu, Dev Gill et al are seen in blink and miss roles. Bramhanandam and Ali's comedy comes as a breather.However, their jokes have absolutely no relevance to the story.

Clap worthy moments

Aadi's dance to the songs 'Vasthava' and 'Tholakari Chinuke' are impressive. The locations in Venice, Dubai and Europe where the songs are shot are feast to eyes. Ali's 'Chain Raju' charecter is overtly funny and tickles your funny bones. The songs 'Priyathama Pranayama' and 'Tholakari Chinuke' are very well choreographed. Chota K Naidu is the second hero of this film.He has proved that he is uncontested in Tollywood when it comes to cinematography.His experience in capturing the mood of the scene is an asset to this flick.

Cringe worthy moments

The story of this film is as old as Telugu cinema is.It is utterly predictable, boring and makes for a painful experience.Anyone who watched ten Telugu movies can write a script that is far less predcitable than this. The comedy scenes in this film are forcibly introduced for the heck of it.They have no logic at all and are yawn inducing. The dialogue writer for this film certainly needs to take a walk and go for a mid career training in language skills. Take this for instance, 'Nippu Arpadaniki neelu vadali...Kaneelu Aarpadaniki Nippe Vadali'.People who can decipher the meaning of this dialogue are worth a reward. Yet another dialogue that is as old as hills is -' Prema Kosam Oka Desam Tho Yudham Aina Chestha'. The gravity defying fights are sure to put you off.The scene where Aadi chases a plane with his sword is a trademark Telugu movie scene with absolutely no logic, sense and brains. Isha looks much older than Aadi.Someone shorter and better looking girl could have done the movie better. We are still wondering if Jayasudha, Nagababu, Sindhu Thulani and other obscure charecters have anything to do with this film. Half of the movie's run time is gone in introducing each charecter and their importance to the story.This process tests your patience and makes you want to drink a cup of coffee.

Verdict

This movie is made for 'Aadi' and not for entertainment.It is cliched and boring. You can wait for it to be telecast on TV.

Released on: 25th Feb, 2011

Listen to Prema Kavali Songs on Raaga.com