Premasoothram Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2018 | Romantic
Critics:
Audience:
'Pramasoothram' narrates unreciprocated love. The infatuation of a teenager struggles to grow in a matured way to convey the real pain of lost love. It creates riveting moments till some point before turning out a disappointment.
May 13, 2018 By K. R. Rejeesh


The poetic merger of love with a stream in the picturesque rustic landscape is the major attractive aspect of this film. The small river is a trope for true love immortalised by dejected lovers, who find the mermaids as their beloveds in their fancy. Written and directed by Jiju Asokan, "Premasoothram" is based on the short story, "Jalajeevitham," by Asokan Charuvil. It's an amalgamation of reality and fantasy as the film opens doors for interpreting love and lust. Since the core issue is the prolonged attempts of a teenager to win the heart of a girl, Jiju is unable to stave off the monotony the tale exudes. Albeit dragging, it creates riveting moments till some point before petering out disappointingly.



The film follows the daunting tasks taken by Prakashan (Balu Varghese) in winning the love of Ammukutty (Lijomol Jose), whom he deeply loves since childhood. Once he meets a stranger in his village, VKP, essayed by Chemban Vinod. From VKP, Prakashan learns the tricks of how to attract Ammukutty towards him. Meanwhile, VKP too is romantic and he soon develops relationship with tailor Manjurani (Anu Mol) in the village. Prakashan is trying every steps instructed by VKP but Ammu never gives a positive response. "Everything is going to be fine," VKP used to tell Prakashan. Set in an era where radio ruled the roost, VKP advises him to try different odd things to win Ammu's love.


VKP is a strange character, who attempts suicide several times when his beloveds desert him. But there are no authentic scenes in the film to claim this. It's also unclear if the eloquent VKP is really a genuine lover or a flirt. So he remains as a mysterious vagabond. Chemban deftly expresses mannerisms to keep the whereabouts of the character under wrap.


Balu Varghese exploits well the role of a teenager convincingly while Lijomol hardly has any significant areas to perform exceptionally. Vishnu Govind as Sukumaran is the antagonist with a bizarre habit of taking vicarious pleasure by killing animals in a particular way. He really brings out the callous nature of the character with arresting performance. Meanwhile, the rustic milieu is superbly captured by cinematographer Swaroop Philip especially the stream and its natural beauty.


Here the undertone statement hails deserted lovers, who wistfully cherish their love even after the girl got married. Their love is portrayed as sincere and the director gives a dollop of sanctity to it. It's about unreciprocated love with a biased justification in treatment. The infatuation of a teenager fails to grow in a matured way to convey the pain of lost love.


K. R. Rejeesh

   

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