Priyamaina Neeku

Priyamaina Neeku (meaning “To You, My Dear”) is a 2001 Telugu romantic comedy written and directed by Balasekaran for Super Good Films. Tarun stars with Sivaji, Sneha in her Telugu debut, and Preetha, with Ali, Venu Madhav and Tanikella Bharani in supporting roles; Shiva Shankar composed the music. Released on 11 February 2001, the film and its songs were well received and it was a box-office success, later reshot in Tamil as Kadhal Sugamanathu.

What the story is about

Ganesh is a carefree college student in Hyderabad whose life revolves around his friends, much to the annoyance of his father, Raja Shekar, who runs an auction shop. One day Ganesh comes across a red diary in the shop. It belonged to Sandhya, a shy girl who once lived opposite his sister’s house, and as he reads it he discovers that she had fallen silently in love with him, after hearing him play the guitar, without ever telling him, and that her own sister Sirisha had come between them before Sandhya’s family moved to Visakhapatnam. Moved by her feelings, Ganesh sets off for Visakhapatnam with his friend Chacha to find her, and there he befriends Raghu, a wealthy young man whose plans turn out to be closely tied to his own.

Cast

• Tarun as Ganesh
• Sneha as Sandhya
• Sivaji as Raghu
• Preetha as Sirisha
• Venu Madhav as Chacha and Ali as a comic thief
• Tanikella Bharani as Raja Shekar, Ganesh’s father
• Chandra Mohan as Shivarama Rao, Sandhya’s father
• Jhansi as Ganesh’s sister and Raja Ravindra as her husband

Making the film

Balasekaran announced the film with Tarun in June 2000; Sneha was confirmed in August, the title was fixed in October, and filming began at Annapurna Studios on 6 November 2000, with the last schedule in January 2001. The first half was shot around Hyderabad and Srikakulam. Although the second half is set in Visakhapatnam, it was shot almost entirely around Chennai because Visakhapatnam was crowded with other film shoots at the time.

Music

Shiva Shankar’s songs have lyrics by Sirivennela, Bhuvanachandra and Vasanth. “Nelanadiga” reuses the tune of “Enna Azhagu” from the Tamil film Love Today (1997).

Reception

According to The Hindu and The Hans India, the film was well received and a box-office success. Jeevi of Idlebrain.com felt it was slow and could have been shorter, but had “all the clean ingredients the youth is looking for”. Sify was cooler, calling the music pedestrian apart from one song and saying “it is Tarun all the way”, and Full Hyderabad found nothing novel beyond the diary idea. Andhra Today said some scenes were stretched but the director’s “deft handling” made up for it.

The Tamil version

Because of its success, the film was reshot in Tamil as Kadhal Sugamanathu and released in December 2002, with Pyramid Natarajan as the hero’s father and Livingston in Ali’s comic role; The Hans India reports that it too was successful.

Where to watch Priyamaina Neeku

We do not have a confirmed streaming platform for Priyamaina Neeku on file. The OTT details on this page will be updated when a platform’s own listing confirms it.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Priyamaina Neeku and the reviews and articles it cites, linked above; Wikidata; our own cast and crew records.