Hello Guru Prema Kosame - Movie Review

One of Tollywood’s favorite genres in the last two decades has been breezy romances with a common template, which has a chocolate boy falling for a modestly dressed college girl, surrounded by other characters who add the drama and create the plot. Director Trinadha Rao’s ‘Hello Guru Premakosame’ is yet another movie on the same lines, with barely anything new, yet, managing to keep the audiences entertained.

At the outset, it is projected as a regular love story and the makers keep the treatment authentic. Sanju (played by Ram Pothineni) is an engineer who moves to Hyderabad for work. He is put up at her mother’s childhood friend (played by Prakash Raj), a wise and helpful man. Expectedly, Sanju falls for his daughter, Anupama (played by Anupama Parmeshwaran), after having a fling with a colleague, Tripti (played by Pranitha Subhash). The movie takes a predictable turn from here and the monotony is broken occasionally by the witty one-liners and the amazing equation between Ram and Prakash Raj. Also, I do not understand why do Telugu writers fancy the clichéd structure of dialogues, involving a mere play of words? Just like the over-bearing dialogues of Arvinda Sameta, the writers here throw dialogues like, “Oka ammayyi no chepte edichevadini lover antaru. Ala edichevaditoh mandu taagi vadine friend antaru”. Though they were not overbearing, it is time we switch to real and conversant language, laced with humor.

Prakash Raj plays a charming and endearing father to Anupama and a confidante to Sanju. He gets to display his comic timing and his scenes with Ram, acting as his ‘friend’, are a delight to watch. The makers included a song, ‘Oi Friendu’, to cash-in on their camaraderie. Anupama Parameshwaran, playing his daughter, keeps a weirdly stoic demeanor and gives dreamy glances in most of her scenes, apart from looking extremely pretty. I wish her character was written better because her conflicts and change of heart do not come out well. Playing her other half in their love story, Ram gets the centerstage and carries the movie on his shoulders. He is charming, looks great and has a suave attitude. His comedy in the first half, especially the ones referring to engineering colleges and software programming, is top-notch and remains in the same form throughout. Despite his love story with Anupama not coming out convincingly, one does not complain much since his antics keep you entertained. The romantic track with Tollywood’s favorite second fiddle, Pranitha Subhash, should have had a better closure. It seemed insensitive and abrupt, something that contradicts the character of Sanju. The rest of the supporting actors were good in their parts, mostly adding to the comic relief.

Looking for great film-making craft and a tightly woven story in a mainstream romantic comedy would not be wise. But thankfully, Hello Guru Prema Kosame, remains majorly real and entertaining. The wafer-thin plot, usual love story and the predictive narrative are balanced by endearing performances, especially by Ram and Prakash Raj. Watch it for fun, without expecting much!

My Rating – 2.5/5