Movie: Prati Roju Pandaage
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: GA2 Pictures, UV Creations
Cast: Sai Dharam Tej, Raashi Khanna, Sathya Raj, Rao Ramesh, Prabha, Hari Teja, Ajay and others
Music: SS Thaman
Cinematography: Jaikumar
Editing: Kotagiri
Producer: Bunny Vas
Written and directed by: Maruthi
Release date: December 20, 2019
Director Maruthi, known for his entertaining movies, has teamed up with Sai Dharam Tej for the first time and joined hands with GA2 Pictures that produced ‘Bhale Bhale Magadivoy’ to make this family entertainer “Prati Roju Pandage.”
The trailer is also pleasantly entertaining and has generated good expectations about the film. Let’s find out whether it succeeds in meeting them.
Story:
Raghuramaiah (Sathya Raj) who lives alone in his Rajahmundry is diagnosed with lung cancer in its advanced stage. Doctor tells him that he might not live for more than another five or six weeks.
He informs his children who are well-settled in the USA, Australia, and Hyderabad. Grandson Sai (Sai Tej) immediately flies down to Rajahmundry to spend time with his grandfather in his last days.
As per his grandfather’s wish, Sai agrees to get married to Angel Arna (Raashi Khanna), the local TikTok celebrity.
Raghuramaiah’s sons and daughters with their families also land in Rajahmundry, but much to everyone’s shock they want their father to pass away in four weeks.
Artistes’ Performances:
The film revolves around Sathya Raj and Sai Dharam Tej. Sathya Raj as a grandfather is endearing. Sai Tej has mostly played a subdued role with sincerity. He has flexed his muscles in a final scene but he mostly is seen as a boy next door.
Rao Ramesh as Sathya Raj’s son and Sai Tej’s father gets a meaty character and he is hilarious in most scenes.
Raashi Khanna as TikTok celeb leaves an impression in the first half. Hari Teja is good. Murali Sharma and Vijay Kumar are okay.
Technical Excellence:
‘Prati Roju Pandage’ is filmed with rich production values and colourful frames. Jaikumar’s cinematography has captured the Rajahmundry locales beautifully giving a pleasant look. Besides cinematography, music is also another technical asset.
Thaman has given good music, especially the title song is beautiful. Ravinder’s production design is first-rate. Editing is neat.
Highlights:
Entertaining first half
Family emotions
Rao Ramesh
Drawback:
Regular treatment
Predictability in final portions
Lack of strong emotional moments
Inconsistent narration
Analysis
Director Maruthi has narrated a regular story about family bonding, the importance of children spending time with their parents in their last years. There is not much difference between this film and ‘Shatamanam Bhavati’ produced by Dil Raju in terms of story, but the conflict point differs.
Here Sathya Raj’s cancer brings all the children to their village unlike in ‘Shatamanam Bhavati’ Prakash Raj tells a lie that he’s seeking a divorce from his wife in an attempt to bring his kids to home for Sankranthi festival.
You don’t find much of the story in “Prati Roju Pandaage” beyond what we have already seen in the trailer. It is more of an amalgamation of old family-sentiment movies.
However, Maruthi has packaged the movie with a lot of entertainment, comedy is generated at regular intervals. Especially the first half flies like a jiffy with its breezy comedy.
The romantic thread between Sai Tej and Raashi Khanna is also good in the first half, with TikTok video culture bringing a contemporary feel to an otherwise old story.
As long as the movie focuses on sequences non-related to the core point, it entertains but when Maruthi has to narrate the actual story, there he loses the grip and fumbles in taking the movie forward.
Moreover, scenes of Rao Ramesh and his siblings turning too mechanical towards their father defy the logic. When they leave their father reluctantly, how come they turn so aloof? It creates the impression that it is forcibly made for the convenience of the story.
Many scenes in the second half seem farcical and the climax lacks impact. The film’s last 40 minutes become a routine affair.
It is almost like repetition of ‘Shatamanam Bhavati’ and the movie turns into a clichéd drama here. The inconsistency is a huge problem in the second half.
The film scores in its entertainment. Rao Ramesh provides a lot of fun in the second half, while the first half is largely entertaining as a whole.
Despite predictability and regular sentiment sequences, ‘Prati Roju Pandage’ turns into an okay watch due to this reason and its feel-good factor.
Bottom-line: Forced emotions