Santhana Prapthirasthu Review: Occasional Laughs, Missed Potential
Sarkar Rating : 2/5 Release Date : Nov 14, 2025
Cast
Vikranth, Chandini Chowdary, Vennela Kishore, Tharun Bhascker and others
Crew
Director : Sanjeev Reddy
Producers : Madhura Sreedhar Reddy, Nirvi Hariprasad Reddy
Music Director : Sunil Kashyap
Cinematographer : Mahi Reddy Pandugula
Editor : Sai Krishna Ganala
Story
Chaitanya (Vikranth), a Hyderabad-based software professional, meets Kalyani (Chandini Chowdary) when she comes to the city from Warangal for her competitive exams. He falls for her instantly, and their acquaintance soon blossoms into love. But Kalyani’s father, Eswara Rao (Muralidhar Goud), strongly opposes their relationship, forcing the couple to elope and get married.
Hoping to repair ties with her father, the couple believes that having a child might soften his heart. However, even after six months, Kalyani does not conceive. Medical tests reveal that Chaitanya has a low sperm count, shattering their hopes.
In a surprising twist, Eswara Rao arrives at their home, pretends to accept their marriage, and moves in with them. Behind closed doors, he throws a shocking challenge at Chaitanya: he will break the marriage within 100 days and take his daughter back to Warangal. Determined not to lose his wife, Chaitanya embarks on a desperate mission to improve his fertility and make Kalyani pregnant before the deadline.
Analysis
Santhana Prapthirasthu—a title that translates to “may you be blessed with offspring”—centres on a protagonist facing a male fertility issue, a theme rarely explored in Telugu cinema. On paper, the premise is fresh, sensitive, and ripe with potential for both emotional depth and situational humour. The conflict is strong: a young husband racing against time to save his marriage while dealing with societal embarrassment and a domineering father-in-law.
However, stories with such delicate themes demand either strong emotional grounding or consistently sharp comedy. Director Sanjeev Reddy and writer Sheik Dawood G lean towards a comedic narrative, but the result is uneven.
The film begins on a fun note with Tharun Bhascker as Jack Reddy, an eccentric funeral-services operator who adds quirkiness and flavour to the early portions. These initial segments promise a breezy, entertaining ride. But soon, the story slips into familiar tropes—routine romance, overdone IT-job humour, and lengthy dating sequences that slow down the momentum. The main conflict only kicks in near the interval, and the second half tries to revive the pace with Vennela Kishore and others stepping in.
There are genuinely funny moments thanks to Vennela Kishore, Abhinav Gomatam and Tharun Bhascker. Still, the humour is too sporadic for a film that leans heavily on comedy. A more energetic treatment and tighter writing could have elevated the narrative significantly. Even the emotional beats in the final act do not land with the intended intensity.
Vikranth delivers a better performance compared to his debut, slipping naturally into the role of a common-man IT employee. Chandini Chowdary is graceful and charming, though her character does not get enough scope. Muralidhar Goud is effective as the rigid father-in-law. Technically, the film is adequate without being particularly notable.
Verdict
Santhana Prapthirasthu tackles a sensitive subject—male fertility—with restraint and without resorting to vulgarity. But despite its meaningful core and occasional humour, the film needed sharper writing, stronger comedic sequences and a more vibrant narrative to truly stand out. It remains a watchable but largely predictable dramedy that never fully capitalises on its promising premise.
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