Prema Pusthakam (transl. Book of Love) is a 1993 Indian Telugu-language romance film which was partly directed by Gollapudi Srinivas before his death on the set of the film; it was later finished by his father, Gollapudi Maruthi Rao.[1] It stars newcomers Ajith Kumar and Kanchan, with Devendran was the music composer. This film is Ajith Kumar's first and only Telugu film to date (in the beginning of his career) and was temporarily put on hold after the director had passed away.[2] The film won three Nandi Awards.
Prema Pusthakam | |
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Directed by |
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Written by | Gollapudi Srinivas |
Produced by | Atluri Purnachandra Rao |
Starring | |
Music by | Devendran |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Telugu |
Budget | ₹1 crore |
Box office | ₹1.5 crore |
The film was written by Gollapudi Srinivas, son of noted director Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, in early 1992 and Ajith Kumar was signed on to feature in the lead role in August 1992 when the producer was looking for a manly youth and was impressed with his photo randomly shown by late Mr.S.P.Balasubramaniyam. However, during the ninth day of the shoot, the debutant director died after succumbing to injuries suffered during a water accident on sets in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh.[3][4] The death led to creation of the Gollapudi Srinivas Award, with the director's father Gollapudi Maruthi Rao giving the award to promising debutant directors to continue his son's legacy.[5] The film was duly delayed and later completed by Srinivas's father and only released in 1993.[3]
The songs were composed by Devendran.[6]
The film has been described by commentators as an "eminently forgettable" debut for Ajith Kumar, due to the problems faced during production.[7][8]
It was later dubbed and released in Tamil as Kadhal Puthagam in 1997.[9] A reviewer of the dubbed version wrote "The screenplay could have been better as the story flow seems to be discontinuous at times. In spite of this, the director has shown some flashes of talent in some scenes, especially scenes involving Ajit and Kanchan".[10]
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