Cast: Ram Pothineni, Rakul Preet, Sonal Chauhan, Rao Ramesh, Sampath and Pavitra Lokesh
Director: Malineni Gopichand
Rating: 3 stars
Ram is back after a long gap with Pandaga Chesko, directed by Gopichand Malineni and with Rakul Preet Singh and Sonal Chauhan as the female leads. Karthik (Ram) is a rich businessman who runs his own company in Portugal. Anushka (Sonal), a businesswoman, is looking for a man to marry, following which she will get crores. Weekend Venkat Rao (Brahmanandam), Anushka’s assistant, homes in on Karthik and fixes his engagement with Anushka.
Meanwhile, Karthik lands in India to meet Divya (Rakul Preet), a social activist, who is fighting to close one of Karthik’s factories because of pollution. He, of course, falls in love with Divya. In the meantime, some people try to kidnap her and Karthik saves her. He comes to know that they are from Divya’s village and are her parents’ enemies.
Divya’s parents are impressed with Karthik and take him to their village to get the two married. There is also a family connection between Karthik and Divya’s parents. What is the connection, why Karthik came to India and whom does he finally marry is what Pandaga Chesko is about.
Director Malineni Gopichand hasn’t experimented much with the film and it seems to be along the lines of Ready and Dhee, a Srinu Vaitla kind of entertainment. The story is also not new as there are many films about a rich NRI coming to India to marry his uncle’s daughter, only to reveal his identity in the end. The film, however, has interesting dialogues and there are a few hilarious scenes.
When it comes to performance, Ram really looks good as an NRI and pulls off his character very well; he is best in the dance and action scenes. Rakul Preet Singh, as usual, looks gorgeous. This is a routine role for her and she plays it perfectly. For a change, Sonal Chauhan has got a good role and she too has done it with ease. She looks pretty and has added to the glamour quotient of the film. Once again top comedian Brahmanandam is the highlight of the film as Weekend Venkat Rao. The parody of Setthamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu is hilariously played by Pridhvi Raj and Shakalaka Shankar. Vennela Kishore has also provided a few laughs while Tejaswi does a nice cameo.
Sameer Reddy’s cinematography is good and he has captured some beautiful locations. The music, however, is just average. The climax is almost the same as Atharintiki Daredi where Pawan Kalyan gives a big speech on father-daughter bond and love marriage; here too Ram gives a similar speech. Abhimanyu Singh’s character drags a bit. On the whole, Pandaga Chesko is a passable entertainer as the story and narration is predictable, but it offers few laughs.
