Prayanam

Prayanam (“Journey”) is a 2009 Telugu romantic drama written and directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, set almost entirely in an airport. Manoj Manchu stars opposite Payal Ghosh (credited as Harika), with Brahmanandam, and Mahesh Shankar composed the music. Released on 29 May 2009, it was well reviewed, though Box Office India rated its business “below average”.

What the story is about

A boy and a girl meet for the first time in an airport and fall in love before their flights leave. Dhruv loves taking chances; Harika prefers to make the right choices. She is studying for a master’s at a design academy in Malaysia and is on her way to India to meet the groom her parents have picked for her. Dhruv falls for her at first sight, and he has just two hours to make her fall for him.

Cast and crew

• Manoj Manchu as Dhruv
• Payal Ghosh (credited as Harika) as Harika
• Brahmanandam as Satyanarayana Swamy
• Aamir Tameem as Raman and Kalpika Ganesh as Moksha, both in their debuts
• Janardhan as Kailash

Writer and director: Chandra Sekhar Yeleti. Music: Mahesh Shankar, with lyrics by Ananta Sriram.

Making the film

Yeleti wanted a newcomer for the lead but cast Manoj after the actor said he wanted to do the film. Most of the story takes place at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The soundtrack has three songs, two of them short; eleven-year-old Amruthavarshini was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer (Telugu) for “Meghamaa”.

Reviews

Critics enjoyed it. Jeevi of Idlebrain called it “a different film that caters to multiplex crowds”, and 123telugu said it “has good music, clean comedy and is light on the head”. Kishore of Nowrunning called it “squeaky-clean entertainment” for believers in love at first sight, “the movie of the summer”, and a second Nowrunning review by Maudgalyan felt that, despite a second half that should have been trimmed, it was “worth much more than a casual window-shopping glance”.

Where to watch Prayanam

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for the 2009 Prayanam on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Prayanam (2009 film) and the reviews it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.