REKINDLING OF LIFE WITH LOVE

A romanticist mused that the only happiness in life is to love and to be loved. Easier said than done, for love is often elusive…exhausting too. On top, even when love is present in life, joy is slippery like an eel.   

“ಪ್ರೇಮಲೋಕ” (‘Premaloka’; Translation: ‘World of Love’) is a 1987 Kannada film, which had college love, romance and infatuation for its core plot. The romantic drama, a musical blockbuster, was heavily inspired by the English flick, Grease 2. It was released simultaneously in Tamil (Paruva Ragam) too. The bilingual raked in a windfall for its producers.

Ravi (V Ravichandran) is a teenager who has busy parents, who are socialites. The result: he is cared for and brought up by his maid, Sharadamma (Leelavathi), he develops a special bond with her. He enrolls for college and goes nuts over his classmate, Shashikala, also Shashi (Juhi Chawla), a ravishing beauty that the entire college is gung-ho about.

On the contrary, Shashikala is mad about an anonymous biker, who saves her from a wicked gang of goons. Despite being oblivious of the mysterious biker’s identity, Shashikala obsessively fantasizes about him. So she repeatedly repulses Ravi’s advances.

In due course, it is revealed that Ravi is indeed the biker. Love blossoms bounteously between the two. That is when the parents of the two lovers put a spanner in the works of their love and the inevitable showdown follows.

V Ravichandran in his directorial debut has fashioned a purebred entertainer, which titillates and tantalizes despite the triteness of plot. He uses commercial tropes of song, dance and action with metronomic cadence and consistency. The dramatization, in a script that Ravichandran has penned, is well orchestrated even with the somewhat cheesy characters therein.  

Hamsalekha’s compositions in the flick, a musical extravaganza, yielded a bonanza for the producers; the trendy tracks took audiences to stratospheric orbits of elation. Veteran R Madhusudhan’s cinematography is A1 as usual. Other technical elements are on par.

V Ravichandran in the lead role is cool as a cucumber. In her acting debut, Juhi Chawla brings a blend of freshness and glamor to the screen― her smile lights up the entire cinema hall. Lokesh, Leelavathi, Mukhyamantri Chandru and others have done alright in supportive roles. Several veterans, such as Vishnuvardhan, Srinath, Tiger Prabhakar and Ambareesh have essayed cameo roles.

The great Greek philosopher is believed to have observed: “At a touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” If this flick were a yardstick, then perhaps love can turn everyone into a musician…and, an action hero too!

The long and short is that this movie unfurls onscreen the merry and magical madness of the romantic-melodramatic kind!

I rate this romantic drama, a thriller too: 7.5 on 10!