Premante (2025): When Marriage Meets Crime, But Misses the Mark
Premante brings together Priyadarshi and Anandhi in a 2025 Telugu romantic comedy that mixes love, laughs, and larceny. Director Navaneeth Sriram makes his debut behind the camera, attempting something different with Suma Kanakala playing a cop. The film hit theaters on November 21, 2025, before streaming on Netflix from December 19.
Produced by Jhanvi Narang and Puskur Ram Mohan Rao, the film features music by Leon James and cinematography by Vishwanath Reddy. The setup sounds promising—a married couple navigating secrets and crime—but does it deliver?
A Marriage With Secrets
Madhusudhan, called Madhi (Priyadarshi), runs a business and worries about clearing family debts. At a wedding, he meets Ramya (Anandhi), and sparks fly instantly. Their families approve, and they marry without delay. Life seems perfect initially.
Three months in, Ramya senses something’s off about her husband. She pushes him to confess, and he admits to being a thief. Rather than walking away, she chooses to join his criminal ventures after seeing his skills. At the same time, police officer Asha Mary (Suma) gets assigned to catch them. The film explores how this couple balances love and crime while dodging the law.
Performances That Keep You Watching
Priyadarshi slides into this character effortlessly, making Madhi feel real and relatable. His timing with comedy works, and his dramatic moments land well enough. Coming off “The Court’s” success, he needed this role to bounce back from his last flop.
Anandhi delivers a solid performance despite the character’s inconsistencies. She starts gentle and reserved, then shifts gears completely. I felt she handled both sides of her character well, even if the writing didn’t support the transition properly. Her pairing with Priyadarshi creates believable chemistry that holds scenes together.
Suma Kanakala struggles with a role that feels more suited for television than cinema. Though she’s talented in hosting, her character here lacks depth and feels forced. Her comedy track with Vennela Kishore has funny moments but becomes tiresome quickly due to repetitive writing.
What Works in This Film
The core idea deserves credit for being different. Partners-in-crime couples aren’t common in Telugu cinema, so the concept had real potential. The first half keeps things light and entertaining with sweet romantic moments. I enjoyed watching Madhi and Ramya’s courtship and early marriage scenes—they felt genuine and warm.
Camera work by Vishwanath Reddy brings life to the frames with good colors and decent composition. The film looks polished for its budget. The chemistry between leads works in many scenes, making their relationship believable. When they share screen space, there’s a natural flow that helps the film.
Problems That Pull It Down
The second half completely loses steam. After building curiosity, the story stops moving forward meaningfully. Scenes feel stretched just to fill runtime rather than developing characters or plot. I kept waiting for something significant to happen, but it never really does.
The character writing is the weakest link. Ramya changes from a traditional girl to a criminal with no proper reason shown. This sudden shift feels wrong because we don’t understand why she makes this choice. The film wants us to support them, but their actions feel more deserving of punishment than sympathy.
The theft sequences look entertaining but make no sense logically. They work as comedy moments but fall apart if you think about them. The ending takes convenient shortcuts that feel unearned. What the film calls “love” through crime partnership doesn’t feel right or convincing.
Music by Leon James fails to leave any mark. Songs are forgettable, and the background score gets too loud. The editing starts rough but gets better. Still, these technical issues point back to weak writing that couldn’t support the ambitious concept.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
