Prati Roju Pandage movie review highlights: Maruthi's family drama is a fun ride

Director Maruthi, known for quirky films like 'Bhale Bhale Magadivoy' and 'Mahanibhavudu' has taken the family drama route with his Sai Dharam Tej, Raashi Khanna and Satyaraj starrer 'Prati Roju Pandaage'.
He already toed the line with Naga Chaitanya, Anu Emmanuel and Ramya Krishnan starrer 'Shailaja Reddy Alludu' but has gone full-fledged for this one with a cast featuring names like Rao Ramesh, Murli Sharma, Naresh, Hari Teja and more.The film tells the tale of a dying and lonely man called Raghu Ramayya (Satyaraj) from Rajahmundry whose only company is his house help Mahesh (Mahesh Achanta). Diagnosed with lung cancer he only has 5 weeks to live and while his sons and daughter try to schedule their busy lives around his death, his grandson Sai (Sai Dharam Tej) decides to help him complete everything on his bucket list.
The first half of the film is fun, never taking itself too seriously and poking fun not just at the moroseness of death but also at the way families usually react to such situations. Rao Ramesh in particular is gold as the eldest son feeling inconvenienced to be taken away from the middle of a business deal and stuck between a rock and a hard place. So is Raashi Khanna as TikTok Queen Angel Aarna, who's cornered into getting engaged to Sai. Satyaraj too is good as the dying grandfather, wanting to spend time with this whole family one last time.
While the story is pretty much predictable, the way Maruthi moves the story forward is engaging so far. Thaman S' BGM too adds to the vibe of it all, so does the number 'Oo Bavaa' and the way it's shot. It remains to be seen how the second half will fare.