X=Prem
X=Prem is a 2022 Indian Bengali-language black-and-white science fiction romance drama film directed by Srijit Mukherji.[1][2] It is produced by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni under the banner of Shree Venkatesh Films. It was a flop at the box office, despite receiving good reviews.[3] It is a monochromatic film.[4] The soundtrack Bhalobashar Morshum sung by Shreya Ghoshal & Arijit Singh was one of the best songs of 2022. Bhalobashar Morshum lyrics were written by Barish and the composition was given by Sanai.
| X=Prem | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Srijit Mukherji |
| Written by | Srijit Mukherji |
| Produced by | Shree Venkatesh Films |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Subhankar Bhar |
| Edited by | Sanglap Bhowmik |
| Music by | Sanai |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shree Venkatesh Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
Plot
Khilat was a brilliant student of Computer Science and working successfully at a big company before facing an accident while on a road trip with his fiancée Joyee. Things become complicated when Khilat found out that he is suffering from Retrograde Amnesia and unable to recall any memories from the past 10 years of his life and being 28 he is stuck at 18 years. He meets Dr. Kaufman, who tells him about an experimental procedure where the latter can implant memories of other's brain into Khilat's. Khilat desperate to get back his job asks for the professional memories to be restored but also comes up with an unusual request - to implant love memories of him and Joyee. Kaufman, although, was successful implanting the professional memories, unable to implant the love ones as he need a brain who loves Joyee like Khilat did. He asks both Khilat and Joyee to find someone who matches the profile they require.
Joyee, on the other hand, tried unsuccessfully to restore Khilat's memories by telling him their past stories of how they met, their first love making and other facts. Unable to crack the problem, she finally decides to follow Dr. Kaufman's plan and starts searching the one with same love experience as Khilat. On their search, they found out that there was a boy during their college times, who used to stalk Joyee but she never felt his presence. Both Khilat and Joyee goes to college and gets very less details about the boy. Meeting dead links, Joyee finally asks help from a friend whose boyfriend works in a popular social media app company to get tracking details. Finally they get hold of Arnab, who visits Joyee's profile everyday but not in her friends' list.
Arnab, who was a senior in Joyee's college, secretly harbored love for her. He used to stalk her without her knowledge and even blank called her. Now in present, Arnab, married to Aditi, is unable to enjoy his marital life due to his unending love for Joyee. Aditi who knows all about Joyee leads a life of compromise as she loves Arnab very much and does not want to lose him. Khilat and Joyee goes to Arnab's place and ask for help to restore his memories. Skeptical about the whole memory implant process and the unknown risks involved, Aditi declines their request of Arnab going through the procedure. However, Arnab, for the sake of Aditi and the love she have for him, want all the memories of Joyee and his love for her to be removed if possible, decides to go ahead with the procedure without Aditi's knowledge.
Dr. Kaufman extracts every memories of Joyee from Arnab's brain successfully which resulted in Joyee no more present in his memories and fails to recognize her after the procedure. Arnab goes back to Aditi and enjoys an emotional lovemaking with her on their anniversary, something Aditi experienced for the first time in their marriage and realizes that her husband finally loves her. Khilat, on the other hand, goes through the implantation and seemed to be successful.
One year after the procedure, Khilat on a date with Joyee, confesses that his brain rejected the love memories of Arnab, as he realized later that love cannot be implanted. But over the course of 1 year, he finally developed feeling for her and renewed his relationship with Joyee. Joyee first disappointed with Khilat not telling her the truth, finally gets over with it and kisses Khilat.
Cast
- Anindya Sengupta as Khilat[5]
- Arjun Chakrabarty as Arnab
- Shruti Das as Joyee
- Madhurima Basak as Aditi
- Richard Bhakti Klein as Dr. Kaufman
Release
The film released theatrically on 3 June 2022.
Soundtrack
| X=Prem | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Sanai | |
| Released | 2022[6] |
| Recorded | 2021 |
| Genre | Film soundtrack |
| Length | 26:17 |
| Language | Bengali |
| Label | SVF |
| Official audio | |
| Full Album on YouTube | |
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bhalobashar Morshum (Female)" | Shreya Ghoshal | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Cinderella Mon" | Sanai | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Baaynabilashi" | Sahana Bajpaie, Samantak Sinha | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Roder Nishana" | Sanai | 5:06 |
| 5. | "Raikishori" | Anushka Das | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Bhalobashar Morshum (Male)" | Arijit Singh | 4:19 |
| Total length: | 26:17 | ||
Reception
The film opened to mixed reviews.[7][8][9] The Times of India review mentions the slow pace of the movie and predictable ending.[5] Cinestaan reviewed the film as "an intriguing study of the human mind and the realm of emotions ".[10] In its review, Anandabazar Patrika mentions the college life nostalgias portrayed in the film, praises the dialogue, and criticizes variable importance given to the four main actors.[1] The review in Ei Samay mentions that the film uses too many English sentences in its script, and notes mixing of romance and sci-fi genres.[11] Reviewer Ushasie Chakraborty in her Zee 24 Ghanta review notes the chemistry between the two main characters, and praises the music of the film.[8]
References
- রায়, অময় দেব (4 June 2022). "X=prem: কে 'এক্স', কে-ই বা প্রেম, ছবি জুড়ে স্মৃতির সাপলুডো খেললেন সৃজিত". Anandabazar (in Bengali). Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- "Srijit Mukherjee on X=Prem". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব. "X=Prem: শ্যুট শুরু 'এক্স ইক্যুয়ালস টু প্রেম'-এর, 'নিউ নর্ম্যাল' মহরতের নিজস্বী তুললেন সৃজিত". www.anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- "Srijit Mukherji's futuristic love story X= Prem being made in black-and-white". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- Biswas, Jaya (3 June 2022). "X=Prem Movie Review: A romantic drama with a new approach". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- "X=Prem – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jiosaavn. 2022.
- Majumder, Suparna (4 June 2022). "কলেজ প্রেমের ভিন্ন কাহিনি 'X= প্রেম', কেমন হল সৃজিতের এই ছবি? পড়ুন রিভিউ". sangbadpratidin. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- "X= Prem Review : এক্স=প্রেম দেখে আবারও প্রেমে পড়তে ইচ্ছে করছে ঊষসীর". Zee24Ghanta.com (in Bengali). 4 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- Chakrabarti, Mahiyan (6 June 2022). "'X = Prem' – a well made love story with sci-fi touch". Times of Bengal. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- Kahlon, Sukhpreet (5 June 2022). "X=Prem review: A fascinating love story with a sci-fi twist". Cinestaan. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- Das, Sampita (4 June 2022). "x prem movie review". Ei Samay (in Bengali). Retrieved 6 July 2022.
