The Malayalam film Premalu, which was released in theatres in 2024, received immense love and appreciation from audiences across the country. Starring Naslen and Mamitha Baiju in the lead roles, the romantic comedy emerged as one of the biggest Malayalam success stories of the year and later found a wider audience through its OTT release on JioHotstar.
However, months ahead of the release of its Hindi adaptation, Prem Keetanu, featuring Veer Pahariya, Aparshakti Khurana, and Aafiya Sayed, the original film appears to have been removed from the platform. The teaser of Prem Keetanu was recently unveiled and it has sparked criticism from a section of viewers.
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Many social media users have expressed disappointment not only over the remake but also over the reported removal of Premalu from OTT, with several arguing that the original film should remain easily accessible to audiences.
How they reacted
While some questioned the need for a remake of a film that is still fresh in public memory, others were particularly upset about Premalu allegedly being taken down from streaming ahead of the Hindi adaptation's release.
"What a dumb and poor decision. Even the casting for this."
What a dumb and poor decision 😕 Even casting for this 😑👎
— ¶®@∆€£¶™ (@QuantumPrad) August 16, 2026
"Very bad thing. What is the need for this? Preventing people from watching the original is not going to stop them from doing anything."
വളരെ മോശം കാര്യം.. അവന്മാർ എന്തേലും ചെയുന്നതിന് ഇത് തടഞ്ഞു വെക്കേണ്ട കാര്യം എന്താണ്?..
— 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐇𝐮🍁 (@He_lee_yum) August 16, 2026
"Looks like #PremKeetanu isn't a shot-for-shot remake of Premalu after all. It feels more generic and doesn't have the freshness that made Premalu so special, though. The sad part is that Premalu has been removed from OTT because of this remake."
Looks like #PremKeetanu isn't a shot for shot remake of Premalu after all❗
— Mohammed Ihsan (@ihsan21792) August 17, 2026
It feels more generic and doesn't have the freshness that made Premalu so special, though.
The sad part is that Premalu has been removed from OTT because of this remake. pic.twitter.com/qH8vWIADlP
"Premalu has been removed from Hotstar. @BhavanaStudios get the film back on some other OTT platform ASAP, please," wrote another user.
Premalu has been removed from Hotstar. @BhavanaStudios get the film back to some other OTT platform ASAP pls😭
— Nandan (@__nndn__) August 16, 2026
Prem Keetanu is set to release in theatres on October 2.
