#Sangeeth Prathap

[emmyouunki]

Piraanth Video Song|Bromance|Pratika & MC Couper

Presenting the official lyrical video of “Piraanth” song from Bromance directed By Arun D Jose.  A Govind Vasantha Musical. Produced By Ashiq Usman Under Ashiq Usman Productions.Starring : Arjun Ashokan, Mathew Thomas, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Mahima Nambiar, Sangeeth Prathap, Shyam Mohan, Bharath Boppanna, Binu Pappu & OthersSong : PiranthSingers : Pratika & MC CouperLyrics : Pratika & MC…

[offbeatcappuccino]

just kidding~ my review of premalu and rom-coms under the male gaze

It's crazy that my last post on this blog was back in April. For someone who talks incessantly about this blog, it's unfortunate how little I post sometimes. Nevertheless, I have a good amount of free time this week and I decided to hit it off by watching Premalu over the weekend. I know Premalu is not a k-drama, but I've always hoped for this platform for to be a space for me to freely discuss all art that I consume. For those who are unfamiliar with Indian cinema, Premalu is a 2024 Malayalam film directed by Giresh AD and starring Naslen K.Gafoor, Mamitha Baiju, Shyam Mohan, and Sangeeth Prathap. Upon it's release, Premalu became the fourth highest grossing Malayalam movie and grossed nearly 16 million USD against a 356,602 USD budget.

I haven't watched much of Giresh AD's works, but based on a quick glimpse of his filmography, he directs movies for Gen Z with many of his narratives focusing on young love, college, and coming of age. The main character of Premalu, Sachin Santhosh, is a 20 something year old college graduate with loser tendencies. He's failed miserably at his love life with none of his crushes coming to fruition and his ambition to study abroad in the UK comes to a screeching halt when his visa gets rejected to lack of available funds. Aimless and sick of carrying out odd errands for his family's bakery, Sachin takes an offer from his friend, Amal Davis, to move to Hyderabad and prepare for the GATE exam (India's GRE).

Being a complete foil to Sachin is Reenu Roy, the female lead. Just a year older than Sachin, Reenu is a young and vibrant IT professional, who moves to Hyderabad, to start her first job at the banking company, Ospyn. While Amal and Sachin struggle to get by in their cramped single bedroom with a single cot and waste their nights away drinking cheap liquor, Reenu is living through the corporate high of company-sponsored parties at nightclubs and retail therapy with her two roommates. Reenu and Sachin's lives intersect at a friend's wedding, where Sachin not only falls in love with Reenu at first sight, but also manages to earn the chagrin of Aadhi, Reenu's high-strung obnoxious team lead, who harbors a one-sided crush on Reenu.

Movies like Premalu make me wonder if love, at first sight, is a real phenomenon or an excuse that storytellers utilize to avoid providing context. In Premalu, it's never clear what propels Sachin to go head over heels crazy for Reenu and it's difficult to digest that it's Reenu's beauty alone that motivates Sachin to go to the lengths that he does to gain Reenu's friendship and trust before he confesses her love for her. Throughout the movie, we see glimpses of the character's personality. Sachin is a professional loser- socially awkward but sincere and unintentionally funny. Reenu is bold, witty, and beautiful. However, what draws Reenu to Sachin and Sachin to Reenu is never quite established. Part of the problem is how the plot reduces Reenu to an object of desire and elevates the tug of war between Aadhi and Sachin as the main driving force of the plot. Funnily enough, it is Reenu, herself, that manages to defeat Aadhi by spraying him with pepper spray, which was a welcome departure from the guy saving girl stereotype.

Premalu works because of its comedy and depiction of male friendships. But, like many of its predecessors, it falls into the trap of showing love as a commodity meant to be earned rather than received. Also, as a side note, maybe I am reading into a story that isn't meant to be more than what it delivers, but I wonder if Sachin loves Reenu not for who she is, but what she represents - the success, stability, and emotional warmth that he desperately yearns for.

[emmyouunki]

Local Gen-Z Anthem Video Song|Bromance|Sarath Mannarkkadu, Shikha Prabhakaran, Govind Vasantha

Presenting the official song “Local Gen-Z Anthem” of ‘Bromance’. Starring Mathew Thomas, Arjun Ashokan, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Binu Pappu, Shyam Mohan, Mahima Nambiar, Sangeeth Prathap, Bharath Boppanna & others. Directed By Arun D Jose. A Govind Vasantha Musical. Produced By Ashiq Usman under Ashiq Usman Productions.Starring : Arjun Ashokan, Mathew Thomas, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Mahima Nambiar,…