Movie: Swathi Muthyam
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: Sithara Entertainments
Cast: Ganesh, Varsha Bollamma, Vennela Kishore, Divya Sripada, Rao Ramesh, Surekhavani, Pragati, Naresh, Subbaraju, and others
Music: Mahati Swara Sagar
Director of Photography: Suryaa
Editor: Naveen Nooli
Art: Avinash Kolla
Producer: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi
Written and directed by: Lakshman K Krishna
Release Date: October 5, 2022
Tollywood’s leading production house Sithara Entertainments is launching producer Bellamkonda Suresh’s son Ganesh with this film.
Let’s find out its merits and demerits.
Story:
Bala (Ganesh) works as a government employee in Pithapuram. He is a simple guy who doesn’t even know how to talk with women. He goes to a coffee shop to meet Bhagyalakshmi (Varsha Bollamma) for Pelli Choopulu, and instantly likes her. But she seeks a few days before telling her opinion.
Slowly, she starts liking him. On their wedding day, a woman (Divya Sripada) with a toddler appears claiming that Bala fathered the child.
Bala admits that the child is born because of his mistake. The wedding gets called off. What was his mistake? And why did he not reveal this past episode to Bhagyalakshmi?
Artistes’ Performances:
Ganesh makes a neat debut. He doesn’t do anything that a normal ‘hero’ does. He is just okay for the role.
Varsha Bollamma has already proved her mettle in earlier films.
Rao Ramesh and Goparaju Ramana provide much comic relief with their acting. They dominate in the second half of the film.
Vennela Kishore plays Ganesh’s friend, but he doesn’t do much comedy. Divya Sripada and Subbaraju do justice to their roles.
Technical Excellence:
The film’s story is situated in Pithapuram. But most of the sequences happen indoors. It has decent production and technical values. These kinds of films need catchy songs. Sagar Mahati’s music is forgettable. The editing is neat. Some dialogues are hilarious.
Highlights:
The main concept
Rao Ramesh-Goparaju Ramana’s comedy
Climax sequence
Drawback:
Dull first half
Music
Old-school romance
Analysis
“Swathi Muthyam” stars a debutant Ganesh and the film is packaged as a family entertainer. But the film’s basic conflict and main concept are strong and unusual. “Sperm donation” is the toughest point to include in a script that is targeted at family audiences. There were Bollywood films like “Vicky Donor” where the protagonist is a sperm donor and earns money from it. In “Swathi Muthyam”, the hero is not a sperm donor.
The hero is a good guy. He claims he is a “virgin”. But still, he does sperm donation for one reason which goes wrong and becomes a big problem in his life. This point is unique. It has never been discussed upon in the Telugu film industry.
The new director has come up with a strong conflict point for this kind of story. But the film begins on a dull note. The entire first half of the film gives a déjà vu feeling. The Pelli Choopulu scenes, the comedy sequences in a government office, and the romantic track filmed on Varsha and Ganesh look straight out of old films. It seems that the director banked heavily on the main concept.
As Divya Sripada appears in the story, the film begins to look interesting. Luckily, actors like Goparaju Ramana and Rao Ramesh take charge in the second half and provide some genuine laughs. The second half is packaged with entertaining sequences. The climax part is also convincing.
On the downside, the main romantic thread is filmed on the lead pair is not attractive, and the songs lack freshness.
On the whole, “Swathi Muthyam” is an okay family entertainer thanks to its fresh conflict, and a watchable second half.
Bottom line: Decent Drama