Premam

Premam (transl. Love) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language coming of age romance film written, directed and edited by Alphonse Puthren. Produced by Anwar Rasheed, it features Nivin Pauly and Sai Pallavi in the prominent roles. The movie marks Pallavi's debut as the lead, after appearing as a junior artist, and also features an ensemble supporting cast including Madonna Sebastian, Anupama Parameswaran, Shabareesh Varma, Krishna Sankar, Siju Wilson, Ananth Nag, Vinay Forrt, Soubin Shahir, Sharafudheen and others. The plot follows George (Nivin) and his friends from their teens to adulthood. While George's first love turns out to be a disappointment, Malar (Pallavi), a college lecturer, rekindles his love interest. His romantic journey takes him through several stages, helping him find his purpose. Produced on a budget of ₹4 crore, the film was a commercial success grossing ₹76 crore. The film was included in The Hindu's top 25 Malayalam movies of the decade and eventually attained a cult status. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction, screenplay, Nivin and Pallavi's performance, music, cinematography, and editing. The film had a theatrical run of 175 days in Kerala and over 300 days in Tamil Nadu. The film was also remade in Telugu in 2016 with the same name. At the 63rd Filmfare Awards South, Premam was nominated in seven categories, winning Best Female Debut (Sai Pallavi) and Best Male Playback Singer (Vijay Yesudas for "Malare"). At the 5th South Indian International Movie Awards, it received fifteen nominations and won seven, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Lyricist, and Best Male Playback Singer (Vijay Yesudas). Nivin and Sai Pallavi won the Best Actor Critics and Best Debut Actress awards. At the 1st IIFA Utsavam, it received nine nominations and won four, including Best Performance in a Comic Role, Best Music Direction, Best Lyricist and Best Male Playback Singer. Among other wins, the film received six Asianet Film Awards, six Vanitha Film Awards, three Asianet Comedy Awards, four Asiavision Awards and two CPC Cine Awards. The film was not considered by the Kerala State Film Awards, the official state film award given by the Government of Kerala. Pallavi and Nivin's performances were ranked by Film Companion amongst the 100 Greatest Performances of the Decade.