Title – PREMI, Producer – Siddalingaiah B, Banner – Sri Guru Karibasaveshwara Production, Direction – Pradeep Varma S, Music – Pradeep Varma S, Cinematography – Gautham Matti, Cast – Advik, Sathwika, Shobitha, Pradeep Varma, and others.
In life, it is true that old memories haunt us—whether good or bad. Living in memories is part of the human experience. Childhood memories, in particular, can be very special in some cases. One such story—of a child marriage (now banned), separation of a boy and girl, and their eventual reunion—is no doubt an old theme. Director Pradeep Varma presents this narrative in 121 minutes and 52 seconds, supported by a few lovely tunes and admirable performances.
A good concept is narrated in a stretched manner, with limited technical finesse. Premi becomes tolerable in the second half due to a few twists and turns. Making his directorial debut, well-known music composer Pradeep Varma fails to create an engaging and captivating first half, which makes the film feel quite ordinary. Although there is a twist in the second half, it arrives a bit too late to leave a strong impact.
Premkumar (Adwik) rejects a love proposal from Tina (Shobitha) because he is haunted by memories of his childhood marriage. Additionally, a “Dosha” in his horoscope troubles him. As a young man, Premkumar—also known as Prem—travels to Deverabelekere in search of the priest who wrote his horoscope.
There, he meets a mysterious man, Vara (Pradeep Varma), and Priya (Sathwika). Prem unexpectedly ends up staying at Priya’s house, feeling a strange connection due to a child’s insistence. Meanwhile, Vara is also waiting for Priya with the intention of making her his life partner.
Driven by curiosity, Prem uncovers a ledger that reveals he was married to someone named Madhuvathi. As expected, Madhuvathi turns out to be Priya. However, she refuses to believe him and demands concrete proof of his claim. What follows—how Vara strategizes in this situation and how the story concludes, especially with Tina’s reappearance in the temple climax—is something to be experienced on the big screen.
Adwik, in his debut, looks handsome and delivers a commendable performance. He seems to understand the demands of his role well. Sathwika (formerly Shravya) gives a neat and convincing performance. Shobitha supports the narrative effectively with her one-sided love track. Pradeep Varma, as the antagonist Vara, brings a fresh perspective to his role, especially in the pre-climax.
As a music composer, Pradeep Varma does a satisfactory job. Songs like “Manasu Eno Kadide Nenapu Hinde Odide” and “Nannalli Hosa Kanasu” stand out for their melody. However, the background score could have been stronger, especially in today’s competitive landscape. Cinematography by Gautham lacks memorable visuals. The film would have benefited from tighter editing and a faster pace, particularly in the first half of Premi.
