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Premaloka

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Premaloka
DVD cover in Kannada
Directed byV. Ravichandran
Written by
Based onGrease 2
by Ken Finkleman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyR. Madhusudan
Edited byK. Balu
Music byHamsalekha
Distributed bySri Eswari Productions
Release date
  • 1987 (1987)
Running time
  • 147 minutes (Premaloka)
  • 141 minutes (Paruva Ragam)
CountryIndia
Languages
  • Kannada
  • Tamil
Budget₹1.25 crores[1]

Premaloka (transl. World of Love) is a 1987 Indian romantic musical film directed by Ravichandran, in his directorial debut, and produced by N. Veeraswamy under Sri Eshwari Productions. The film, based on the 1982 film Grease 2, was made simultaneously in Kannada and Tamil with the Tamil version titled Paruva Ragam (transl. The Melody of Age).[2][3] It stars Ravichandran in the lead role, alongside Juhi Chawla, Leelavathi and Lokesh in supportive roles in the Kannada version, while Jaishankar and Manorama reprise their respective roles in the Tamil version. Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Tiger Prabhakar, Srinath and Urvashi made guest appearances in the film. Thengai Srinivasan, Cho Ramaswamy and Delhi Ganesh portray the respective roles of Ambareesh, Prabhakar and Srinath in the Tamil version.[4][5][6][7]

Plot

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Ravi is a happy-go-lucky college student who lives with his parents Govardhan Rao and Girija, but considers his maid Sharadamma as his family as he never felt loved by his parents due to their business schedule. One day, Ravi accidentally meets Shashikala at the market, where he meets her again at his college and learns that she is the newly joined student. On the occasion of the college's diamond jubilee, the college director wishes to hold a ceremony in order to celebrate and get donations. The principal's suggestion of a small pooja is rebuked and the college Prof. Manohar is chosen to plan a grand spectacle with the other students.

A motorcycle gang tries to derail the planning, but they are held off and the stage is set up without a hitch. However, Shashikala is accosted by the gang and has to hide, where she runs into Ravi. The preparations continue, where the gang again harass the students and all hope seems lost after they beat up the students who stand in their way. However, a mysterious biker rescues them and beats the gang. Shashikala falls in love with him and receives the biker's jacket. Shashikala continues to reject Ravi's advances while fantasizing over the mysterious biker.

During the night of the show's musical performance, the gang comes back to disrupt the afterparty and Shashikala ends up fainting from the chaos. The biker again saves the students, where Shashikala regains consciousness to see him. The biker reveals himself as Ravi. Though hesitant at first, Shashikala accepts his feelings and her love for him, but Ravi's parents have arranged his marriage to the CM's daughter Rajini as a way of gaining prestige. Rajini tries to find Ravi with the help of the principal and Inspector Srinath, who happens to be Shashikala's father. Shashikala learns from the principal about Ravi's arranged marriage, where she runs away from him heartbroken after assuming that Ravi has cheated her.

Meanwhile, Ravi finally realizes what has happened and goes home, where he is scolded for what he has done. Although his parents ask Sharadamma to convince him to accept the marriage, Ravi instead becomes enraged and trashes his room in a fit of rage. Shashikala is yelled and slapped by her parents for loving Ravi. Finally, Ravi goes to Shashikala's house and yells his grievances while jumping around and breaking more things. Realizing her love for him, Ravi and Shashikala emotionally reunite and run away the next morning.

In response, Shashikala's father claims that Ravi kidnapped Shashikala and sends the police to catch them. Swapping positions with a couple in a wedding procession, they are about to get married until the principal, Prof. Manohar and their parents confront them. Ravi and Shashikala manages to convince their parents, principal and Prof. Manohar, where they finally agree. Ravi and Shashikala get married and they leave to a countryside for their honeymoon.

Cast

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Actor (Kannada) Actor (Tamil) Role
V. Ravichandran Ravi
Juhi Chawla Shashikala (Shashi)
Leelavathi Manorama Sharadamma / Thayamma
Lokesh Jaishankar Ravi's father
Srinath Delhi Ganesh Shashi's father
Thyagu Ravi's friend
Jayachitra Kaveri
Mukhyamantri Chandru Poornam Viswanathan Chief Minister
K. Vijaya Vadivukkarasi Ravi's mother
Tiger Prabhakar Cho Ramaswamy College principal
Guest appearances:[a]
Vishnuvardhan Professor Manohar
Ambareesh Thengai Srinivasan Hotel supplier
Urvashi Rohini

Production

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Premaloka marked the directorial debut of V. Ravichandran. The film was supposed to be produced by K. C. N. Chandru who later backed out due to the film's high budget and high number of songs hence Ravichandran himself produced it.[10] For the lead actress, Ravichandran rejected 52 girls before choosing Juhi Chawla.[11][12] Apart from composing music, Hamsalekha also wrote lyrics for the soundtrack album and dialogues for the film.[13] When Ravichandran was mulling over the theme of the film, Hamsalekha suggested him to do a musical script on the lines of The Sound of Music and Grease 2.[14] Jolly Bustin, who went on to become an action choreographer, worked as a body double for Ravichandran.[15][16]

Soundtrack

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Hamsalekha composed the music for the film (in his Tamil debut) and also penned the lyrics for the Kannada soundtrack while Vairamuthu and Rajasri penned the lyrics for the Tamil and Telugu soundtrack. The soundtrack album consists of eleven tracks.[17] The distribution rights were bought by Lahari Music for a hitherto record price of ₹150,000.[18]

The music were widely appreciated and created records in the audio cassette sales during the time.[19] Tulsiram Naidu aka Lahari Velu of Lahari Music wrote in 2015, "Premaloka continues to be the biggest hit among film music albums in Kannada cinema. Back then audio rights were sold for a pittance and nominally paid ₹100 or ₹1,000. With Premaloka things changed and rights began to be sold in lakhs."[20] The lyrics of the soundtrack also received acclaim from critics.[21] The soundtrack sold 38 lakhs (3.8 million) units, setting a record for South Indian soundtrack albums.[22][23]

The lyrics of two songs from Grease 2 – Back to School Again and Who's That Guy? were retained as "Geleyare Nanna Gelathiyare" and "Yaarivanu". Another song Premalokadinda Banda was an adaptation of the 1986 Taiwanese Hokkien pop song Reflections In The Cup (also known as "Cup (in the) Shadow") (Chinese: 杯中影) composed by Taiwanese musician Chen Hong (Chinese: 陳宏) and sung by Taiwanese singer Chen Hsiao-yun (Chinese: 陳小雲).[24]

All lyrics are written by Hamsalekha

Kannada track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Premalokadinda"S. Janaki, K. J. Yesudas4:34
2."Geleyare Nanna Gelathiyare"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:31
3."Ee Nimbe Hanninantha"Ramesh2:59
4."Nodamma Hudugi"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Latha Hamsalekha5:14
5."Cheluve Ondu Kelthini"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:19
6."Yaarivanu Ee Manmathanu"S. Janaki4:49
7."Boy Friend Barthaanantha"S. Janaki4:25
8."E Gangu Ee Biku Kalisikodu"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:44
9."Idu Nanna Ninna Prema Geethe"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:33
10."Mosagaarana"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:21
11."Bathroominalli"Vani Jayaram2:10
Total length:47:39

All lyrics are written by Vairamuthu

Tamil track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kadhal Illai"S. Janaki, K. J. Yesudas4:34
2."Paadum ilam"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:31
3."Oru Minnal Pola"Ramesh2:59
4."Kelamma Kelamma"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki5:14
5."Poove Unnai Nesithen"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:19
6."Yaar Evano"S. Janaki4:49
7."Adea Amma Kannu"S. Janaki4:25
8."Hey Maama Vandi Otta"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:44
9."Oru Aanum Pennum"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:33
10."Mosakaarana Naan"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:21
11."Vanavillai Parthen"Vani Jayaram2:10
Total length:47:39

All lyrics are written by Rajasri[25]

Telugu track listing[25]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Paruvam Needenani"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:57
2."Satileni Premalokam"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:35
3."Toli Aasalu Pongee"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:33
4."Boy Friend – Boy Friend"S. Janaki4:23
5."Nuvve Nenani Thalachaane"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:18
6."Chilakamma Chittemma"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela5:14
7."Oka Muddabanthi"M. Ramesh2:58
8."Evare Veedu"S. Janaki4:54
9."Eh Mama Biku Nerpava"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:45
10."Mosagaadina"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:22
11."Levandi Premikulu"P. Susheela2:09
Total length:48:14

Release and reception

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Premaloka opened to an underwhelming response for the first few days, but became successful a month after the release due to positive word-of-mouth and soundtrack being repeatedly playing on television.[10][26] By contrast, Paruva Ragam underperformed due to competition from other bigger films.[7][27] Reviewing this version, Jayamanmadhan of Kalki praised Ravichandran, who has shown a normal story in an awe-inspiring CinemaScope size and requested him to tone down songs in his next film.[28]

Legacy

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One of the songs, Nodamma Hudugi, was reused by Sundeep Malani for his Kanglish film SMS 6260.[29] Hamsalekha would go on to compose music for many more Ravichandran films. This film established Ravichandran as new entry star in Kannada film industry.

Premaloka was dubbed in Telugu as Premalokam. Juhi Chawla recalling her experiences stated that "My 45-day shoot for Premaloka ensured that going on the set of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was a cakewalk. The other good thing about Premaloka was that the team was young, so it was like college buddies hanging out. [..] Since the film was a musical, it was like a party on the set. The only senior person there was our cinematographer. I fondly look back at my stint in Kannada cinema during my early days as the foundation for my career in Bollywood".[11]

Sequel

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In March 2024, Ravichandran announced he would direct a sequel.[30] It was expected to begin production in late May,[31] but has yet to begin.[32]

Notes

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  1. ^ Both versions credit the following actors as making guest appearances in the film. The Kannada version additionally credits Prabhakar, Srinath, and Lokesh as making guest appearances in the film[8] while the Tamil version does not credit their respective actors as making guest appearances.[9]

References

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  1. ^ ರವಿಚಂದ್ರನ್ ಮಾತು ಒಂದು ಕ್ಷಣ ಮೈ ರೋಮಾಂಚನ ಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತೆ| Ravichandran Extraordinary Talk| Hampi Utsava| SStv (in Kannada). SStv. Event occurs at 05:34 to 06:02. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Kanasugara dishes out a nightmare". The Hindu. 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Happy birthday Ravichandran: When Juhi Chawla spoke about working with the Sandalwood star in 'Premaloka'". Deccan Herald. 30 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Ranadheera may do a Premaloka". Bangalore Mirror. 1 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ^ S, Shyamprasad (11 April 2014). "Movie review: Endendu Ninagaagi". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  6. ^ Wagh, Nikita (13 November 2019). "Juhi Chawla: Photos from her younger days you may not have seen". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b Kumar, S. (2 September 1988). "Youngster with fresh ideas". The Hindu. p. 17. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Prema Loka (motion picture) (in Kannada). Opening credits from 0:05 to 5:03.
  9. ^ Paruva Ragam (motion picture) (in Tamil). Opening credits from 0:00 to 5:03.
  10. ^ a b "'ಸಿಪಾಯಿ' ಚಿತ್ರ ರಿಲೀಸ್‌ಗೂ ಎರಡು ದಿನಗಳ ಮುನ್ನ ರವಿಚಂದ್ರನ್ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಬಹುಮುಖ್ಯ ನಿರ್ಧಾರವಿದು!". Vijay Karnataka (in Kannada). 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b Suresh, Sunayana (5 June 2014). "Premaloka was my acting school: Juhi Chawla". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  12. ^ S, Shyam Prasad (25 September 2014). "'You will be dumbstruck'". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  13. ^ S, Shyam Prasad (9 March 2014). "Hamsalekha to don director's hat". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Musical Musings". Deccan Herald. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015 – via DailyHunt.
  15. ^ Prasad, Shyam (13 October 2011). "Such a Jolly ride". Bangalore Mirror. p. 35. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  16. ^ Ramesh, Kala Krishnan (17 March 2006). "He defies the law of gravity". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Premaloka (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  18. ^ Riti, M. D. (14 April 2001). "The Nightingale to sing in Kannada!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Hamsalekha at his ribald best". The Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  20. ^ S, Shyam Prasad (3 January 2015). "Lahari and Eshwari together after 25 years". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  21. ^ "The sparkling native pen". The Hindu. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  22. ^ "Ravichandran: Big dreamer who sometimes lost his way". Deccan Herald. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Bahubali audio sold for Rs 3 cr, sets record". The Times of India. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  24. ^ "[其他] 靈霄美人杯中影 印度版 - 看板 Palmar_Drama - 批踢踢實業坊". PTT Bulletin Board System (in Traditional Chinese). 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Prema Lokam". Spotify. August 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Jatta – How To Support A Trend Setting Film". Chitraloka.com. 14 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  27. ^ NT (10 July 1987). "An ambitious filmmaker". The Indian Express. p. 12. Retrieved 3 November 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  28. ^ ஜெயமன்மதன் (1 February 1987). "பருவ ராகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 65. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  29. ^ "From text to film". The Hindu. 3 June 2006. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  30. ^ "Ravichandran set to direct Premaloka 2". The Times of India. 5 March 2024. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  31. ^ Sharadhaa, A. (23 April 2024). "Manoranjan: It is not as easy for me to fill my father's shoes". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  32. ^ "Will Give A Big Update On Premaloka 2 In A Week's Time: Crazy Star V Ravichandran". Times Now. 30 May 2024. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
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