Prema Vimanam Review: The Anasuya Bharadwaj, Sangeeth Shobhan starrer is lengthy but has good emotions and endearing performances

3/5

Story

Prema Vimanam is Zee 5's latest Telugu release which is now streaming. The film has two separate tracks being showcased parallelly. Ramu (Devansh Nama) and Lachu (Anirudh Nama) are brothers who live with their poor single mom((Anasuya Bharadwaj). Their only aim is to board a flight at least once in their lifetime. On the other hand, Manu(Sangeet Shobhan) is a poor guy who is in love with Abhitha (Saanvee Megghana), a rich daughter of an upper-caste landlord. His only aim is to go against all odds and marry her. The rest of the story is about how these four characters collide and what twists and turns do their stories undergo until they reach their final destination.

Review

Just a few months back, a Telugu film titled Vimanm featuring Samuthirakani was released. This film too had the backdrop of a kid wanting to board a flight in his lifetime. The only difference here in Prema Vimanam is that this same concept has been mixed with a love story and is connected with a twist in the climax. 

But what draws your attention in Prema Vimanam are the performers of the lead cast. The two child actors Devansh and Anirudh are so good as brothers and deliver an endearing performance. Their characters are careless and do not think of anything else apart from boarding a flight. These emotions have been showcased so well by the kids.

Santosh Kata has directed this film and he has extracted solid performances from his actors. The love story featuring Sangeeth Shobhan and Saanvee Megghana is the best of the two stories. It brings back old-school romance when landline phones used to be one of the sources for lovers to communicate in the bygone era.

Also Read: All you need to know of Sangeeth Shoban, Saanvee Megghana, Anasuya’s web film  

Sangeeth Shobhan, who is high on the success of his latest film MAD gets a very good role of a lower-class lover boy and does well in his role. But it is Saanvee Negghana who walks away with the glory. Be it her village belle look, body language or emotional outbursts is showcased wonderfully by the young actress. Whenever she is on screen, things become quite interesting.

The last half an hour of the film is quite interesting and the manner in which both the stories get interlinked is executed neatly. The emotions, tension, and the manner in which these two stories are also connected to the present stage featuring Daksha Nagarkar are also done well. Anup Rubens has composed the music and his songs are decent. But his background score stands out. 

As the film is a period drama set in Telangana, the production design gets a special mention here as the props used to depict the bygone era are amazing. The camera work that showcases the period set up is also good, especially, the houses in the village, the locations in which the couple meet, look unique and give the film an edge. 

But where does the film falter? There is no denying the fact that the runtime of Prema Vimanam is quite lengthy and there are scenes that are dragged for no reason. Anasuya is shown as the mother of these two kids who want to go board a flight. They indulge in so many activities without the consent of their mom and she never knows about them until the end. This aspect lacks logic in a few places. Vennela Kishore was also decent in his role of a teacher. 

Speaking of Anasuya Bharadwaj, she gets yet another meaty role and impresses once again. She has a de-glam look and her character is filled with pain and loneliness. This aspect is brought out so well by Anasuya and the manner in which she breaks down in a scene where she is cornered by a village head, or the moment when she finds out that her money is stolen by her own kids, the outbursts that Anasuya goes through are superb. With each film, she is proving herself as a versatile actress and Prema Vimanam is one of her best performances.

The film has fun, romance, and strong emotions in key areas and the only aspect is the runtime which is dragged for no reason. But the director makes things work with the way he interlinks the story in a very engrossing manner in the end and this removes all the so-called negatives in the film for the most part.

Verdict

On the whole, Prema Vimanam is a rural period drama that runs on two parallel tracks that are interlinked in a very endearing manner. The film has an interesting storyline, good performances, and a solid last half an hour. But the runtime is a slight issue. If you ignore this aspect, Prema Vimanam makes up for a good decent watch on Zee 5 this weekend.

Also Read: Prema Vimanam on OTT: When Anasuya Bharadwaj fell in love with cinema all over again