Going by his previous record (barring Aata), Siddharth's presence in a movie generally indicates it would be a family entertainer with a love story woven in. And his latest Telugu film, Koncham Ishtam, Koncham Kashtam (KIKK) is certainly one with all the necessary ingredients for a perfect entertainer.

Siddharth seems to have the uncanny ability to pick the right scripts in this genre, and invariably succeeds in pulling it off with good support from fellow artistes and technical crew.

Here, of course the credit should go to debutant director Kishore Kumar for penning a script which is entertaining yet meaningful.

Siddu (Siddharth) is a happy-go-lucky gen-X guy who loves to spend his time with friends, particularly girls. Though he has a MBA degree to his credit, he doesn't seem to care about finding a job. He is busy 'romancing' girls. He lives with his mother Rajyalakshmi (Ramya Krishna), a college Professor. Siddu's father Prakash (Prakash Raj [Images]) and mother are estranged for 18 years.

Their lives go on smoothly till Geeta Subramanyam (Tamannaah) enters. At the behest of her father Subrahmanyam (Nazar), Geeta comes to Hyderabad from her village to study. Here she meets Siddhu who is part of her cousin Swati's gang of friends.

Hate at first sight slowly leads to love. Siddu too slowly falls for her. Geeta's father is against the match. Will their love reach the final destination?

The movie is evenly paced -- the first half has all the fun in terms of friends, a bit of action, etc. The second half gets a bit more serious and sentimental, and the friends fade into the background.

But there are some interesting, refreshing moments in the film. For instance, the scene when Siddu talks to the photo of Shirdi Sai Baba and agrees to fast for Geeta's sake and then sees Geeta and her cousin dunking chicken at the restaurant while he stays hungry!

The humour is induced by Brahmanandam who as the cricket-crazy Gachibowli Diwaker breaks the serious tone at times. Venu Madhav as Siddu's friend adds a few laughs.

The characterisation is good. Both Siddu and Geeta have substantial roles and screen space. The small quarrels and the way they make-up is quite realistic.

On the face of it, KIKK is a love story. Below the surface, the film also dwells albeit briefly on the issue of parents being separated on account of the ensuing problems particularly ego. In that sense, the film offers a slice of life.

The script should take the major cake. Debutant Kishore Kumar seems to have worked hard on it and delivers a winner.
The casting is another highlight. Siddharth with his penchant for new directors and good scripts hits the bull's eye here. He adds another feather to his cap with a good performance. As Siddu, he is real, and delivers a subtle and emotional performance.

Tamannaah gives him good company and both make a good pair. She is able to deliver an understated performance too.
This is the third time Prakash Raj and Siddharth appear as father and son on screen in Telugu films. Though they don't have that much screen space, they rock. They are seen in a totally different way here. It is well known that Prakash Raj carries off any role with panache -- which is what he does here too. Ramya Krishna is a picture of elegance. Nazar is believable as the village head and portrays the dilemma a girl's father faces well.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music has been rocking the charts ever since it was released. Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam has a high entertainment quotient. It's definitely worth watching.

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