1.75/5

2 hr 30 min   |   Comedy   |   18-08-2023

Cast - Santosh Soban, Rashi Singh, Krishna Chaitanya, Ruchitha Sadineni, Krishna Teja, Sudarshan, Ashok Kumar, Sri Vidya

Director - Abhishek Maharshi

Producer - Shiva Prasad Panneeru

Banner - Sharanga Entertainments

Music - S. Anant Srikar

Santosh Sobhan is unperturbed and unfazed by a series of failures. He tries to test his luck unabatedly. He is now back with Prem Kumar helmed by Abhishek Maharshi. Will Santosh Sobhan end his jinx? Will he end his flops streak? Read on to know our take on the film.

What is it about?

Prem Kumar (Santosh Sobhan) is struggling to get married and is hunting for a suitable bride. He runs a Wedding Detective Agency that makes money through spoiling weddings. He has feelings for Netra ( Rashi Singh ) with whom his wedding had called-off earlier. Whereas Netra loves actor Roshan (Krishna Chaitanya) and breaks her wedding with Prem. Meanwhile, Roshan cheats on her and decides to marry rich girl Angana (Ruchitha). How this quadruple love story is entangled with some confusion is the Prem Kumar all about.

Performances

Santosh Sobhan as Prem Kumar plays a boy-next-door. He gets a stereotyped role of a youth who is not getting married. The role and the writing is done to death. Santosh is good though. Rashi Singh and Ruchitha Sadineni have nothing much to offer. Rashi’s entry is very delayed and this part isn’t handled well. Krishna Teja as a sidekick is very monotonous. Krishna Chaitanya as Roshan Babu is miscast. Santosh’s mom Sunanda is pretty decent. Director Abhishek plays a cameo. Overall, the actors have their limitations in below par writing and direction.

Technicalities

The story on paper looks interesting. However, it gets beaten by the inconsistency in writing and mediocre direction. Dialogues are good and funny at times. But they alone can’t drive the story forward. The film lacks interesting scenes. Editing is fine. Cinematography is alright. Music doesn’t add to the buzz.

Highlights

Few Laughs

Drawbacks

Bad & Confused Narration
Writing and Direction
Delayed Conflict
Predictable Elements

Analysis

Prem Kumar starts on a very interesting note. But this interest isn’t long lasting. Things go haywire in the early first half. The stress and focus is more on the protagonist and his friend’s characters. Whereas the entry of the heroine is pretty much delayed intentionally. But this has failed to work. The hero looks aimless and at the same time he is looking for something. The primary goal of the protagonist is lacking in the writing. The original conflict of the film is opened up only in the second half. All these make viewers lose interest in the story and proceedings.

On surface, Prem Kumar has a lot of scope to work if it is done well right from the start. But the main plot takes backseat and the unwanted, unnecessary humour takes the front seat. The comedy also didn’t work as the writers tried so hard to generate fun. And occasionally they have succeeded. The second half has some moments that work. But even they were bogged down by the confusion. In fact, the confused narration has backfired. The scenes lack the gravity. Barring some laughs, the film has nothing much to offer.

Prem Kumar is totally a let down on several fronts. It is difficult to hook to screens as the script is partially baked. It joins the legion of forgettable films of Santosh Sobhan. And the success continues to be elusive for Santosh. Hope he will mend the ways and come up with some interesting scripts to overcome this phase soon.

Verdict: Papam Kumar!

Rating: 1.75/5

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