Basheerinte Premalekhanam review: Dramatic and jaded Has some good moments here and there, but is barely engaging

Director Aneesh Anwar’s Basheerinte Premalekhanam begins with some visuals that gives us a taste of those old times when Doordarshan opened a brand new world of excitement. 

The drama begins in a sleepy village where Suhara (Sana Althaf), the daughter of the corrupt Panchayat President (Joy Mathew), shares her laughs and dreams with her grandmother, played by Sheela.

The entire village assemble at their house to listen to radio drama, aired by Akashvani. The villagers are the comedians here mainly, trying all the time to tickle the funny bones with some dull one liners.

Things progress just like that for a while and then a TV arrives, as a gift for Suhara. The villagers are thrilled and in fact, there is a whole song to show it, with some of them wearing masks of the once famous devil in the Onida TV ads.

The hero, Basheer (Farhan Fazil), is a diploma holder who is called to install the TV. And quite expectedly, he is smitten by the heroine, in the first look itself. Maybe since it’s a romantic tale, the hero is shown always with a toothy grin. 

The romance moves ahead with drama, more drama and some more drama from then on.

In fact, there is a fairly good idea that can be moulded into a feature film somewhere along, but with ineffective writing and presentation, it all looks artificial. The romance looks drowsy and the excessive melodrama ends up testing your patience. The comedy is loud and trite.

Farhan Fazil looks totally out of place, while Sana Althaf is pretty fine. Sheela, with tons of make-up, has to keep on saying about her good old days with her husband who is no more. It’s fine only for a while and then it sounds a bit too much. 

Basheerinte Premalekhanam has some good moments here and there, but is barely engaging. Give it a try if you are looking for a mushy romantic flick.

Basheerinte Premalekhanam review: Verdict- Dramatic and jaded