Elumale Movie Review: A cross-border romance that runs like a real-life thriller

In one of Elumale’s most tender moments, Revathi wonders aloud if choosing Harisha means abandoning her family forever. Harisha, without hesitation, assures her that as long as he breathes, she will never feel that void. In that exchange, debutant Punit Rangaswamy sets the tone; this is no candy-coated romance, but a haunting, restless love story that throbs with tension.

The story unfolds over a single night, where the ticking clock is as much a character as Harisha (Raanna) and Revathi (Priyanka Achar). Harisha is a Mysuru cab driver, an orphan with no one to call his own, while Revathi belongs to a wealthy Tamil Nadu household, her fate sealed by an arranged marriage set for the next morning. But by midnight, she has already made her decision: she will leave it all — family, fortune, future — to be with Harisha, who fondly calls her Chinni. Set in the early 2000s, the choice feels believable.

Director: Punit Rangaswamy

Cast: Raanna, Priyanka Achar, Jagapathi Babu, Kishore Kumar, TS Nagabharana, Sardar Sathya, Jagappa, and Rakesh Maiya

Harisha carries one keepsake from her: a photocopy of her college ID card. Revathi holds a keychain etched with “H.” Their bond survives through constant phone calls — her voice a mixture of innocence, courage, and fear. Their meeting point is the sacred hills of Male Mahadeshwara. At first glance, it appears like familiar young love marked with missed calls, missed buses, stolen moments. But Punit’s narrative quickly sharpens: a call unanswered, a wrong turn, a bloodstain, and Harisha becomes a man caught in forces stronger than himself, beginning with Mantelinga (Jagappa) at the check post.

On one side is Harisha, desperate to secure a future with Revathi. On the other side is Revathi, fighting parental control and a destiny she no longer accepts. Layered over this romance is another tale: forest brigand Veerappan’s shadow, weapons smuggled across the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border, and CID officers tracing AK-47 trails linked to the LTTE. Commandos led by Vinay Kumar (Jagapathi Babu) intensify the chase.

Revathi waits near the Guddada Maramma temple, trusting that love will save her. Venkatesh Nayak (Kishore) arrives as a ruthless police officer, circling his prey, tightening the net around Harisha. Madevappa (Nagabharana) adds depth as a figure who understands the blurred lines between guilt and innocence.

The romance in Elumale constantly brushes against violence. A lock-up death, a custodial cover-up, and a weapons deal during Dasara festivities near MM Hills widen the canvas. The film thrives on unease. Every few minutes, something shifts: a missed bus that changes fate, a stray pig that sparks chaos, a border alert halting movement, a girl sensing danger, a boy wrongly blamed. MM Hills and its surroundings turn into a stage where love, law, and lawlessness collide. As Harisha struggles to survive, Revathi moves closer to him, even as the police net tightens.

The result is a restless watch, mirroring the turmoil of its lovers. You’re never far from romance, yet never far from danger.

Punit Rangaswamy, with Tharun Kishore Sudhir as creative head and producer, weaves real events into fiction, stitching incidents from different timelines into a coherent, compelling thriller. His debut shows confidence as the suspense is relentless, the content sharp, and the grip unyielding.

Raanna delivers a breakthrough performance. Compared to his debut, this is a transformation in a role that is lived rather than acted. His body language reflects the helplessness of an ordinary man cornered; his dialogue lands with weight, and his anguish lingers long after the scene fades. Priyanka, as Revathi, is the film’s heartbeat. She balances the innocence of a girl in love with quiet defiance, ready to burn bridges. It’s a commanding debut, and she is here to stay.

Kishore is perfect on screen, unpredictable and menacing. Nagabharana’s Madevappa is wisdom incarnate, a moral weight against youthful recklessness. Jagapathi Babu and others — from Sardar Satya to Jagappa — fit seamlessly into the narrative, adding gravitas without overshadowing the central love story.

Cinematographer Advaitha Gurumurthy makes forests, border check posts, and festival lights characters themselves. Every frame of night hints at hidden truths. D Imman’s score pulses with the film, tender in romance and thunderous in chaos. Songs and background music bind the moods, while KM Prakash’s editing keeps the film taut and relentless. Elumale’s multilingual tone — Tamil, Kannada, and English — anchors the story in its cultural and geographical roots, adding realism to the cross-border romance.

Elumale is about the purity of love. But it refuses clichés. Instead, it wraps love in silence, danger, and choices that wound as much as they heal. It delves into love’s pain, joy, madness, and the restless defiance when the world stands against you. A haunting romance ignited by the urgency of a thriller; innocence colliding with power, love with law, destiny with chance. It burns slow, erupts fierce, and lingers long after, with its intensity sharpened by roots in real events. The climax may feel predictable, yet Punit Rangaswamy delivers a final twist that surprises and unsettles, staying true to the film’s restless spirit.

The film captures the raw, haunting romance of Harisha and Revathi, while delivering a pulse-pounding thriller that tests courage and destiny in every moment. It demands attention, provokes emotion, and leaves you marvelling at the power of love caught in extraordinary circumstances. Elumale is a story where love refuses to bow. Fittingly, the title bears the significance of seven, as if love itself must pass through seven trials before it finds its place.