Pandhem Review

It is very difficult to find fault with limited meals ---you know what's on offer and in what quantity. And in most cases, you willingly opt for it as you it fills the stomach but not the heart. Pandhem, in many ways, is like a limited meal ---everything in fixed quantities. It fails to fill the heart. But that is what you can expect.

The film is about how a happy-go-lucky guy rises up the challenge of love. The story centres on Seenu (Jagapati Babu) who lives life on his terms and doesn't care much about the niceties. He and his group have fun and frolic in a village. But life for him takes a turn when he falls in love with the schoolteacher Seeta (Kalyani). The latter wants to marry a guy of some standing.

But Seenu is anything but that. So what does he do? He stands in the election for the village president's post. Lingaraju (Ramraju), the man who had been elected for the post for 25 years on the trot, doesn't like it.

The rest, as they say, is not difficult to guess. Seenu defeats his opponent and wins his love.

It is a simple story that is embellished some good music (Chakri) and passable production values.

Jagapathi Babu just enjoys the role. He delivers the goods without much fuss. Ditto for Kalyani. The understanding and the spontaneous chemistry between the lead pair is one of the strong points of the film. The double meaning and sick jokes are however not. The villain does his job with efficiency.

Director Sabhabathy, from the neighboring Tamil Nadu, seems to have been inspired by some Tamil films that have been taken on similar lines. The similarity between this film and Kabhadi, Kabhadi (almost in the same combination minus the director) is also pretty obvious.

A film that will not impress you but also not depress you.