Prem Keetanu Review: Veer Pahariya, Aparshakti Khurana And Rakesh Bedi Jointly Fail To Lift The Frame Of Prem!

Director - Apoorv Singh Karki

Cast: Veer Pahariya, Aparshakti Khurana, Rakesh Bedi, Nikhil Vijay, Aafiya Sayed

Where: In theatres

Rating: 2 stars

The silver screen has witnessed many films based on college romance and life after that. This week’s release Prem Keetanu walks a similar path. Whether this film proves to be a breezy success at the box office or gets wiped out remains to be seen.

The film starts with the introduction of Banaras-based Vishal Thakur (Veer Pahariya), who falls madly in love with Suhani (Aafiya Sayed) ever since the first time he sees her. Upon the constant insistence and provoking of his best friend, Vishal expresses his love for Suhani… only to get rejected. On the other hand, Suhani’s boss Ranjeet Singh (Aparshakti Khurana) also gets rejected when he proposes.

What is the reason for Suhani rejecting both proposals, whom she eventually settles with, and what happens to Vishal and Ranjeet—the two men bitten by the ‘kitaanu’ called ‘prem’—unfolds as the film progresses.

Actors' Performance

Among the unimpressive set of performances, Aafiya (a few scenes notwithstanding) truly shines and makes her screen time count. She surely has an endearing screen presence. Despite having a childlike sincerity on his face, Veer Pahariya sadly continues to struggle with his emotional scenes.

On the other hand, one really wonders what on earth Aparshakti Khurana is doing in a role like this. We feel that, moving forward, he must look for substance, not just screen time, in the projects he signs! The sheer genius of the veteran actor Rakesh Bedi, who became a sensation with Dhurandhar, has been completely sidelined in this film. There is hardly anything worth mentioning about the rest of the actors.

Direction And Aesthetics

It’s shocking that this film was directed by Apoorv Singh Karki, the name behind stellar projects like the Manoj Bajpayee starrer Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and the extremely loveable OTT series Aspirants. The uneven screenplay and narrative take the steam off the director and his craft. That does not discount the fact that his craft shines in places. He really should have upped his directorial craft in the second half, which goes astray in many places. This could have saved the film’s narrative in a big way!

The film’s cinematography (Arjun Kukreti) is decent. It’s the editing (Ritesh Soni) that really needed a masterclass in the craft, mostly in the second half.

Music

As for the film’s music, despite having hummable tracks like ‘Kaho Toh’ and a few others, their placement lets it down. The background music (Ketan Sodha) is in sync with the narrative.

FPJ Verdict

Even if you are bitten by ‘prem’, this ‘keetanu’, you can for sure skip this film without even an iota of regret.

Published on: Friday, October 02, 2026, 12:09 PM IST