Ek Love Ya movie review: Prem delivers a dud again

Ek Love Ya

Kannada (Theatres)

Director: Prem

Cast: Raanna, Rachita Ram, Reeshma Nanaiah, Charan Raj

Rating: 2/5

Director Prem, after much backlash for his underwhelming previous outing 'The Villain', is back with a love story. He is out to explore true love, which, according to him, is about loving just one person forever. Hence the title 'Ek Love Ya'.

Now it's not the concept that's as old as the hills. The generalisation of men and women, dollops of melodrama, glass shattering action scenes, and a song at the drop of the hat -- everything that Prem does in 'Ek Love Ya' is astonishingly outdated. Aimed as a launch vehicle for Prem's brother-in-law Raana, the film is a confused and exhaustive affair that runs over two hours and 30 minutes. Prem is undecided between making an intense love story or a well-balanced family entertainer.

Amar (Raanna), an aspiring lawyer, is an alcoholic addict. No prizes for guessing the reason for his addiction. So how did he suffer from love failure? You get a customary flashback. It's about how Amar falls in love with Anitha (Reeshma Nanaiah) in school before the latter 'breaks' his heart in college.

It's appalling how directors don't believe in registering strong chemistry between the leads in love stories. Isn't it a basic writing decision? Instead, Prem makes the hero and his three friends (who are extremely caricaturish) run behind the girl.

With such a wafer-thin story, the director tries to hold the film together with visually-rich songs. The combined effort of music director Arjun Janya and cinematographer Mahendra Simha is the film's only consolation. A serious incident turns the film into a thriller but it doesn't change the film's quality. It remains ordinary throughout.

The leads don't make a great impression while Rachita Ram stars in an insignificant role. It doesn't help that she oversells all her scenes. Suchendra Prasad's loud acting wraps up the poor show from the cast. 'Ek Love Ya' is a disappointment for serious commercial cinema lovers. Even if it's targetted at people who see entertainment as 'time pass', don't they deserve fresh content marked with sensitivity?