Premalu (transl. Love) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language love comedy film directed by Girish A. D. and produced by Bhavana Studios, in the company of Fahadh Faasil and Friends and Working Class Hero. The film stars Naslen K. Gafoor and Mamitha Baiju, plus Sangeeth Prathap, Shyam Mohan, Meenakshi Raveendran, Akhila Bhargavan, Mathew Thomas and Althaf Salim. In the film, Sachin Santhosh, a graduate from Kerala, plans on going to the United Kingdom, but instead goes to Hyderabad and take a GATE course, where he meets and falls in love with Reenu Roy, an employee of an IT company.
The film was officially announced in July 2023 under the tentative title Production No. 5, as it is the fifth production for Bhavana Studios, and the final title was announced in December 2023. Principal photography began the same month in Thiruvananthapuram. It was shot in Kochi, Hyderabad, Polachira and finished by mid-September 2023. The film has music written by Vishnu Vijay, cinematography handled by Ajmal Sabu and editing by Akash Joseph Varghese.
Premalu was released theatrically on February 9, 2024, to critical acclaim with praise for its performances, script, music, direction and humor.It ranks as the sixth highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time and the fourth highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2024. A sequel, titled Premalu 2, is in progress.
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| Directed by | Girish A. D. |
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| Cinematography | Ajmal Sabu |
| Edited by | Akash Joseph Varghese |
| Music by | Vishnu Vijay |
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Running time
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156 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | ₹3 crore |
| Box office | ₹136 crore |
Plot
On the final day of college in Salem, Sachin Santosh reveals his feelings for his classmate Anjali, but she bluntly rejects his proposal. Moving back to his hometown of Aluva, Sachin deals with his parents’ soured relationship and hopes to pursue higher education in the UK. However, his visa application is rejected due to shortage of funds, leaving him with another chance to apply after six months. He starts helping with his father’s bakery business in the meantime. One day, Sachin runs into his childhood friend, Amal Davis, who asks him to join him for a GATE course in Hyderabad. Desperate for a change, Sachin agrees and goes to Hyderabad with Amal.
Meanwhile, Reenu Roy, a lively young woman, joins the development team of an IT company, Ospyn, in Hyderabad. She moves in with her friend and worker, Karthika and the latter’s friend Niharika. Aadhi, a senior developer and Reenu’s imperious colleague, quietly holds a crush on her but masquerades himself as her “bestie”. Sachin and Amal attend the wedding of their professor Shobi, whose bride, Shravani is a colleague of Reenu. Sachin is drawn to Reenu from the moment he sees her. Despite participating in a tiff with Aadhi at their very first meeting, they strike a friendship with Reenu and Karthika. After the wedding, Reenu and Karthika plan to go back to Hyderabad with Sachin and Amal in their Mini Cooper though Aadhi initially disagrees. Sachin, who had planned to leave his course and take up a job in Chennai, decides to stay back for Reenu and persuades Amal to get him a job at his aunt’s fast-food restaurant.
Sachin and Amal move into Reenu and Karthika’s neighbourhood and ask them over for a party at a club. At the party, Amal tells Karthika about Sachin’s love for Reenu. However, Karthika dissuades them, saying that Reenu is looking for an accomplished and matured person and that she will definitely reject someone like Sachin, who does not have any concrete plans or job. Sachin chooses not to disclose his feelings to Reenu yet. They continue to become closer after a few events, including a train trip and an excursion in Hyderabad. Sachin eventually confesses his feelings to Reenu but she rejects him and inadvertently hurts him by saying that this can’t be his first rejection. A heartbroken Sachin goes to Chennai and takes up odd jobs to make ends meet while ignoring Reenu’s texts and calls. Karthika moves to Bangalore to be with her fiancé. Reenu, now alone, starts to realize her true feelings for Sachin and misses him.
Some time later, Sachin and Amal join Karthika’s pre-wedding party where they meet Reenu. Sachin claims to have moved on and tells her about his UK visa approval and his scheduled flight to UK the very next day. Aadhi suddenly solicits Sachin and Amal. Being tipsy and tired of Aadhi’s insinuations, they belittle him and assert that Reenu will reject him too. Overconfident, Aadhi openly proposes to Reenu but she unhesitatingly says no, resulting in further taunts from Sachin and Amal. Humiliated, Aadhi leaves the party after swearing revenge. Sachin, still detached to Reenu’s sincere efforts, passes out at the party with Amal.
The next morning, Sachin and Amal leave for the airport and Reenu joins them. On the way, Reenu tells Sachin that she misses him and does not want him to leave. They then notice Aadhi and his henchmen chasing them and are worried. Amidst the tension, Reenu finally confesses her love for Sachin. Aadhi and his men break the moment and begin hitting Sachin. However, Reenu averts the attack using a pepper spray Aadhi himself had given her for self-defense. They escape and arrive at the airport on time. Reenu and Sachin hug and bid farewell to each other and commit to a long-distance romance.
A credits scene shows Reenu, Karthika and Wanderlust on the rooftop of their apartment some months ago. Wanderlust tosses an empty can off the roof, foretelling that Reenu will marry whoever the can falls on. Hearing an old man shout, they flee. However, the can is shown to have dropped on Sachin, who was walking with Amal.
Cast
- Naslen K. Gafoor as Sachin Santhosh
- Mamitha Baiju as Reenu
- Roy Sangeeth Prathap as Amal Davis, Sachin’s friend
- Shyam Mohan as Aadhi, Reenu’s officemate Akhila Bhargavan as Karthika, Reenu’s friend Mathew Thomas as Thomas, Amal’s cousin (special appearance)
- Meenakshi Raveendran as Niharika a.k.a. “Wanderlust”, Karthika’s roommate Althaf Salim as Shobhi Sir
Shameer Khan as Subin - George Wincent as Vaisakh Murali
- Ranjith Narayan Kurup as Thomas’ boss
- K.S. Prasad as Sachin’s father
- Gopu Kesav as Reenu’s father
- Rahul P. P. as Vikas
- Sanju K Thomas as Sanju Dileep Mohan as Jain Syam Pushkaran as Pambavaasan (cameo appearance)
Production
Development
On 4 July 2023, Girish A. D. announced that he would collaborate with Naslen K. Gafoor and Mamitha Baiju for his directorial after I Am Kathalan, which also features Naslen in the lead part, making his third collaboration with the actor. Tentatively named Production No. 5, the project would mark as the fifth production for Bhavana Studios; they would fund it in association with Fahadh Faasil and Friends and Working Class Hero. The film’s official title, Premalu, was revealed on 1 December 2023.
Filming
Principal shooting began with the first schedule on 9 July 2023 with an inaugural puja ceremony at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The project was supposed to be shot with a span of 75-days across Kochi, Hyderabad, and Polachira. Filming finished by 15 September.
Music
The film’s musical score and songs are written by Vishnu Vijay. The track “Ya Ya Ya Yadava” by K. S. Chithra and P. Unnikrishnan from the 1996 film Devaraagam (1996) was reused in the film to later become a rage upon the film’s release. Veteran K. G. Markose rendered a song titled “Telangana Bommalu” after a short hiatus from films.
Release
Theatrical Premalu was publicly released on 9 February 2024. A Telugu dubbed version was launched on 8 March and a Tamil dub followed a week later.
It was released by Bhavana Release in Kerala. Overseas rights purchased by Phars Film Co and Yash Raj Films.It was released across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by Sri Venkateswara Creations, Annapurna Studios and Showing Business. In Tamil Nadu, distribution rights were bought by Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies.
Home media
The digital streaming rights were acquired by Disney+ Hotstar and the satellite rights were bought by Asianet for Malayalam and by Star Network for other languages. The film had its digital premiere on the streaming site from 12 April 2024. That same day, the Telugu dub debuted on Aha. Premalu is also available to watch in Tamil and Hindi on Disney+ Hotstar
