Oh, Priyathama is produced by a practising doctor and directed by young Shivaprabhu who uses it to make his debut. This is good and bad news. It means that while many professionals are venturing into producing quality films in Kannada, that they aren't getting adequate support from people who should have the necessary talent to direct.

Shivaprabhu, who has worked as an associate to many top directors, seems to have done little to make a film that can engage the audience. What we see is a stretched-out effort marked by characters that simply fail to convince. It tests your patience, dragging on as it does interminably. Even the so-called comedy sequences are narrated in a painful manner. And though it's supposed to be a love story, not a single character can be termed natural. The film looks irrelevant from Scene One. There is no continuity at all. You feel pity for a talented young actor like Ajay, whose efforts have been thoroughly wasted.

Oh, Priyathama focuses on a not-so-serious young student Chinnu (Ajay) who is in search of a girlfriend. He is backed by jovial parents who try their best to get their son a good match. Chinnu comes across Rashmi (Sanchana) who has a Hitler-like father. Chinnu and Rashmi fall for each other, with the latter disclosing her feelings to her aunt and mother. Her marriage has already been fixed though, to a close friend of Chinnu's. The latter is faced with a dilemma. Should he reveal the truth to his friend or allow him to marry his lady love?

It could have been a clean entertainer, but the film falls flat because the director chooses to narrate it in a cold, uninspiring fashion. Valisha-Sandeep's musical score could have made a difference too, but somehow the duo is below par in this film. Only one of the tracks, Avale Nannavalu, seems hummable. As for Mahendra Chittibabu's camerawork, it is just satisfactory.

Ajay is a good performer, but is handicapped by a weak script. Debutante Sanchana needs to improve a lot, but looks bubbly in the song sequences.  There is good on-screen chemistry between Sharath Kumar and Geetha, and Sudharani is impresses in a brief role. Overall, sadly, this one's a drag. Give it a miss.