Maruti’s Pratiroju Pandage is a feel-good title and promises fun and celebration of life but it also has a nice message. An elderly man is living the last days of his life and his grandson goes all out to bring happiness and hope — be it of reviving a soured friendship, bonding with the grandson and sons and daughter and many more.
Every frame in the film reminds you of a film you have seen in the past, with a few differences here and there. Despite its predictability there is still some charm and experience that veterans and senior actors like Satya Raj, Rao Ramesh, Vijay Kumar, Murali Sharma bring to the table. The story is straight and director never gives you a chance to question or interpret the characters. Everything is spoon fed. Casting, stellar performances and dialogues work in this film’s favour. Rao Ramesh plays Satyaraj’s son, who loves his son (Tej) but doesn’t understand that his father could be pining for him similarly. Other than that, there isn’t much layering of characters. It is the regular story of children living abroad and rushing home when they realise the patriarch of the family might not live long. Sai Dharam Tej lures his family to stay on by disclosing that Satyaraj has property worth crores just as they decide to return home and re-join duties.
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The film does have realistic scenes but also many illogical characters and situations, heightened to evoke sympathy of the audience.
Despite doing films with a bigger cast and banners, Maruti has not let go of his fetish for double entendre that he was once famous for. In a scene involving Satya Raj and Prabha, a dialogue makes you squirm. The film has nice visuals and the content is strong as it focuses on sensitivity towards family values, especially in the climax. The romantic track that features Rashi Khanna and Tej doesn’t make much difference other than showing the youth’s fascination for TikTok videos. Maruti deserves a pat for his simple and straight dialogues and Sai Dharam Tej does well in disciplining the elders. Though there is a lot of repetition post-interval, the film works well and should end the flop streak of Tej.