Swagatham is routine

Dasarath takes the safe, oft-trodden path in the Telugu Swagatham. It's a film on romance with loads of sentiment, some humour and entertainment. A tearjerker in the second half, it will go down well with those liking mushy stuff. The film is sans violence, in a way a relief, with so many action movies released in recent times.

The film has nothing new in terms of story. Sailaja or Sailu (Anushka), living in New York, is shown struggling to run her house, shop and manage a kid, Chinku. She does a part-time job in an event management company. She runs into KK or Krishna (Jagapathi Babu), when he opens a shop in front of hers. Krishna has a daughter, Janaki, of the same age as Chinku. The initial scenes between Krishna and Sailu are interesting.

The first half is laced with entertainment, the humour provided by the regular comedians. Predictably, Sailu falls in love with Krishna, after which come the twists and turns.

A flashback reveals that Krishna has a wife (Bhumika, as Vidya). Krishna was a disciplined workaholic who lived life systematically till Vidya entered his life. After a few surprises and some misunderstandings, the film meanders towards its climax.  

One gets the feeling that Dasarath is still hungover from Santosham. The movie seems to loom large in his mind, especially in the characterisation of the hero with a child.

The musical score is not too loud and some of the songs are choreographed well. A large part of the film is shot in the US, notably New York, and this makes for a good backdrop while the camera captures the skyline and verve of the Big Apple. The production quality of the film is good.

Jagapathi Babu is impressive as Krishna, and Bhumika is an endearing Vidya. Anushka proves her acting skills as she has the meatier role. But the surprise element is Tamil star Arjun, who plays Krishna's friend Srikkanth.

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