123Telugu.com Rating : 3/5
Director : Prabhu Solomon
Producer : B Subrahmanyam, Y Rupesh
Music Director : D. Imman
Starring: Vidhaarth, Amala Paul, Thambi Ramiah
Prabhu Solomon’s Prema Khaidi is a compelling tale of love comprising four characters who end up facing disastrous consequences. Dubbed from a critically acclaimed Tamil film, Mynaa, Prema Khaidi has been mostly shot in the hilly region in Tamil Nadu, Kerala border near Theni and Munnar. Vidharth, Amala Paul, Thambi Ramaiah and Sethu play lead roles in the film.
What’s the story? Soori (Vidharth) and Mynaa (Amala Paul) grow up believing that they would eventually marry each other. However, Mynaa’s mother objects to this alliance since Soori is uneducated and wants her daughter to marry an educated guy who lives in Dubai. Soori attacks Mynaa’s mother over this issue and he gets arrested. All hell breaks loose when the sub-jailor, Bhaskar (Sethu) and a constable Ramaiah (Thambi Ramaiah) find out that Soori has escaped from prison. The rest of the story is about Soori-Mynaa’s unflinching love for each other which results in an extra-ordinary journey.
Prema Khaidi has interesting characterizations where each character is going through a conflict. The film opens in Bhaskar’s (Sethu) house whose wife is preparing to go meet her family for the first time after her wedding on the eve of Deepavali. She’s all the more angry that her husband puts his duty, as a sub-jailor, ahead of his family commitments. Bhaskar (Sethu) and Ramaiah (Thambi Ramaiah) are afraid that they might lose their jobs if Suri, the convict, is not caught within two days. Suri is scared that he might lose Mynaa, the love of his life, forever, if he doesn’t escape from prison and Mynaa desperately wants to be with Suri and she doesn’t approve of her mother’s plans about her marriage. Most part of the drama unfolds over a period of two days and there’s a sense of urgency and desperation in everything these four characters do or say. It’s important to understand this backdrop to appreciate that Prema Khaidi is a well-written drama and a love story, where every action has pleasant and at times unpleasant consequences.
Having said that, the film does bear some uncanny similarities with Ameer Sultan’s stunning film, Paruthiveeran starring Karthi and Priyamani. Right from the rural milieu, where family honour is fiercely protected, to the raw characterization of Suri and Mynaa, who would fight till their last breath to be in each other’s arms, have a sense of déjà vu from films like Paruthiveeran and Subramanyapuram (Ananthapuram 1980). However, Prema Khaidi has enough strength to stand on its own feet. The performances by its lead cast are fantastic and everyone get into the skin of their character. Vidharth personifies the rawness of the terrain where the film is set in and he finds his perfect companion in Amala Paul whose innocence is as pure as the uninhabited hills around Theni and Munnar. Ahh…who can forget her eyes? Calling them beautiful would be an understatement. Thambi Ramaiah delivers a solid performance which is both quirky and in the end becomes the voice of reason every time Bhaskar’s anger goes out of control. Other supporting characters are good in their well-defined roles.
Technical Departments : The film has been shot in rough terrain and Sukumar’s gorgeous cinematography adds charm to this intense love story. D Iman’s music and background score is beautiful and so is the film’s story and screenplay. Prabhu Solomon does a great job in extracting awesome performances from its lead cast and creating memorable characters.
Bottomline : A lot of us might crib about the so called overdose of Tamil nativity in films like these. However, it’s inevitable in stories which are deeply rooted in a local culture unlike urban dramas or love stories. When the gore and blood in Hollywood films is ‘well-received’, how different are films with this so called ‘Tamil nativity’? The gut wrenching climax in Prema Khaidi will definitely come under scanner. But it would be unfair to shun the film because of this reason alone. The climax is totally logical since it’s a result of an unfortunate moment where people’s anger and misunderstanding results in dire consequences. Thumbs up for Prema Khaidi. It has its heart at the right place.
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