'Prayanam' a refreshing film (Telugu Film Review)

Film: 'Prayanam'; Director: Chandrasekhar Yeleti; Cast: Manoj, Payal Ghosh, Tammim, Kalpika and Bramhanandam; Cinematographer: Sarvesh Murari; Music Director: Mahesh Shankar; Rating: ** 1/2

Director Yeleti has skated on thin ice on the plot of 'Prayanam' (journey) that seems implausible.

The film revolves around Dhruv (Manoj) who meets an edgy, comely girl Harika (Payal Ghosh) twiddling her thumbs while waiting for a Hyderabad-bound flight delayed by two hours at Kuala Lumpur airport.

Unaware that she is India-bound to accord her potential nod for an arranged marriage back home, Dhruv, who is also there to catch a flight, takes an impromptu decision to win her heart within that span of time with the help of two friends.

How he eventually manages to get the girl who starts the interaction with a brush off, followed by sneers that morph into 'I-hate-you' kind of stuff interspersed with imaginatively canned songs forms the rest of this somewhat refreshing film.

Yeleti has taken a big chance by making the film on a single location, going for a completely offbeat storyline and using modern storytelling methods.

His cast has tried to give its best to contribute to the game plan in a gamely fashion. Manoj, Payal, Tammim and Kalpika look their parts and emote passably.

Bramhanandam draws the audience's guffaws that sometimes cause more than occasional laughter while being chased by an African giving the cops at the air terminal the heebie-jeebies.

The humour is subtle and apt to the yarn's backdrop.

Despite being cramped on a single location, cinematographer Sarvesh has kept the frames decent and different. Mahesh Shankar's music is above average as well, adding value.

But for some slackening pace in the second half that ought to have been ruthlessly trimmed, the film is worth much more than a casual window-shopping glance.