Release date : May 29, 2015
123telugu.com Rating : 3/5
Director : Gopichand Malineni
Producer : Paruchuri Kireeti
Music Director : S S Thaman
Starring : Ram, Rakul Preet, Sonal Chauhan
Energetic hero Ram, has been lying low from quite some time now. He is back after a long gap with a family entertainer Pandaga Chesko. Directed by Gopichand Malineni, this film has hit the screens today. Let’s see how it is.
Story:-
Karthik(Ram) is a rich business tycoon who lives in Portugal along with his family. He is a broad minded person who does not believe in sentiments and gets engaged to a rich woman (Sonal Chauhan) just for the sake of his business growth.
When everything seems to be going fine, Karthik comes to know of a tragic story involving his mom and her huge family back in India, who are no longer in talking terms with each other.
Karthik decides to reunite his family and heads straight away to India. Twist in the tale arises when falls in love with Divya(Rakul Preet). What will Karthik do now ? Whom will he end up marrying ? and How will he manage to reunite his family ? That forms the rest of the story.
Plus Points:-
Ram looks quite handsome as an NRI and pulls off his role well. His character is tailor made and Ram gives a dedicated performance. He is good with his dances and shares a sizzling chemistry with both the heroines. Undoubtedly, Pandaga Chesko is full on glamour and appeal. Both Sonal Chauhan and Rakul look gorgeous and are a treat for the masses.
Sonal Chauhan is pretty good as an arrogant business woman, and Rakul plays the sweet bubbly girl’s role to perfection. Brahmanandam’s comedy is the biggest asset and will be the major selling point of the film. He is very good as weekend Venkat Rao and brings in decent laughs.
First half of the film is good and has some decent moments. Second half has typical mistaken identity kind of comedy and some family episodes have been handled well. Songs have been shot nicely and both Vennela Kishore and Sampath are good in their respective roles. Prithvi and Shakalaka Shankar are good as Vijayawada brothers.
Minus Points:-
Looks like Tollywood film makers do not want to leave this safe and successful formula of the typical family entertainers. Pandaga Chesko instantly reminds you of many hit family entertainers from the past. The mistaken identities created by the hero, Brahmanandam’s entry, reuniting the families, you have seen all this in many movies in the past.
Pandaga Chesko also suffers from lack of emotional depth. All the emotions showcased are hurried up and pile up one after the other. Story of this film is quite stale and gets easily predictable after a point. There are too many characters which lack justification. Sonal Chauhan’s role is ended on a silly note.
Except for Brahmanandam’s comedy, there is nothing much interesting going in the second half. Abhimanyu Singh and his character looks foolish and off tracks the film a bit. Even though Brahmanandam’s comedy is good, certain scenes are quite vulgar and could have been easily edited.
Technical Aspects:-
Music by Thaman is pretty good and all the songs have been shot well. Camera work is decent and showcases Portugal and other locations beautifully. Costumes selected for Ram’s role are trendy. Screenplay of the film is below average as all the scenes are incorporated just for the sake of drama. Editing is quite good and so is the background score. Certain dialogues written for M S Narayana are outright bad and are over the top.
Coming to the director Gopichand Malineni, there is nothing novel to talk about his direction as he has executed the film in quite a simple and safe manner. Even though his direction lacks focus in certain parts, he nicely sets it up with entertaining comedy.
Verdict:-
On the whole, Pandaga Chesko will only give Ram a slight breather in his career. His energetic performance, glamour quotient and decent comedy are basic assets. This film is a clear mixture of all the hit flicks that you have seen in the past and does not excite you in terms of story or narration. Keeping the holiday season in mind, this film might attract decent crowds for its routine and safe formula. If you go in well prepared and forget the logics and predictable nature of the film, you might end up liking this routine comedy entertainer.
123telugu.com Rating : 3/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team