Prema Vimanam review: A sweet lullaby that puts you to sleep with its bland screenplay

Prema Vimana, a Zee5 Original, is streaming on the OTT platform from Thursday, 12 October.

Written and directed by Santosh Kata, the web film features Devansh Nama, Anirudh Nama, Sangeeth Shoban, and Saanvee Megghana in lead roles.

Anasuya Bharadwaj, Vennela Kishore, Ravi Varma, Goparaju Ramana, Kalpalatha, Surabhi Prabhavathi, and Abhay Bethiganti play key characters.

Here’s the synopsis:

Ramu (Master Devansh Nama) and Lachu (Master Anirudh Nama) have a penchant for flying. But their financial stature makes it a far-fetched dream.

Parallel to this, Manu (Sangeeth Shoban) falls in love with Abhitha (Saanvee Megghana), the daughter of a landlord from the same village.

How do their lives cross paths while they aspire to achieve their dreams? — is the story.

Also Read: Professional film reviews and motivated reviews are different: Kerala High Court

Predictable and unexiting

Director Santhosh Kata tries to weave a rags-to-riches story on the screen.

The two young boys, who struggle for a proper meal a day, are drawn to aircraft and flying. They don’t even know the reality of what it takes to board an aircraft.

By the time they know it, their goal keeps shifting gears — becoming a pilot.

But it would take a lot to convince how a village boy without proper education can nail an exam to operate a commercial aircraft. Sadly, it is not shown. That’s where the story goes for a toss.

Scenes like the farmer’s suicide, the love track between Mani and Abhitha, and the characterisations in the first half are routine and make you sleepy.

Even before it keeps you desperately waiting for the interval to come, some scenes get replayed on the screen as if to check whether the batsman is on the crease before the bails are taken off.

Though the film is predictable, the second half has its moments.

It’s like scoring 70-odd runs from 25 overs against puny Afghanistan. Rather than feeling thrilled, you feel sorry for poor Afghan bowlers getting smashed all over the park.

The comedy track isn’t so funny. The twists don’t hold the excitement enough.

Andddd we are flying highhhh with love ❤️

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Prema Vimanam – A Zee5 Original web film from the super-hit makers of #Raavanasura #Goodachari #DEVIL#SangeethShobhan @saanvemegghana pic.twitter.com/BtmW41fN28

— ZEE5 Telugu (@ZEE5Telugu) October 11, 2023

Also Read: Sandalwood picks up the dubbing trend but with little success!

Performances 

Sangeeth Shoban must have cursed himself for the dull content after he made headlines with his recent campus drama MAD (2023), a hit.

But he does a good job as Mani, the character of a small village merchant. His innocence and daredevilry act of eloping with a landlord’s daughter is brilliant.

Saanvee Megghana as Abhitha is good. The sequences with her boyfriend Mani are good but they could have been better.

Master Devansh Nama and Master Anirudh Nama are decent.

Apart from their performance, no serious attempt has been made to capture the innocence of the young faces. The naive minds, their act of stealing money, and how they face the outside world  — all these aspects don’t look artistic on the screen.

Anasuya Bharadwaj is impressive with her portions as Shantha.

The talents of Vennela Kishore and Abhay Bethiganti haven’t truly been utilised.

The story of Prema Vimanam is driven by songs. However, it is not as convincing as the background score rendered by Anup Rubens.

Related: Pitting one aeroplane against the other — ‘Vimanam’ and ‘Prema Vimanam’

Verdict

Prema Vimanam starts off with a novel story but is watered down by too many cliches towards the end.

(Views expressed here are personal.)