Santhosham is a successful family drama film which had Nagarjuna, Shreya and Gracy Singh in the lead roles. Good family values, entertaining sequences, songs and comedy established the film to be a huge hit. It also fetched Nagarjuna a good name yet again that he suits very well for family oriented roles.
Story Details:
Karthik (Nagarjuna) is a successful architect and works for an MNC. He attends for a conference in Ooty where he falls in love with Paddu (Gracy Singh) a software student. After few taunts and fun moments, Paddu’s cousin Bhanu (Shreya) arrives in Ooty and she helps them get together. When things look bright, Paddu gets worried about whether her family accepts her love as they are a strict joint family. Her dad Ramachandraiah (K.Vishwanath) plans out Paddu’s wedding without her consent and at the crucial juncture, Paddu decides to elope with Karthik and the couple shift to New Zealand after marriage. Though Paddu has a great life with Karthik, she always misses her family and parents. Paddu gives birth to a baby boy Lucky but sadly she dies in an accident. After few years Ramachandraiah invites Karthik and his son to a wedding in their family and it is then Karthik realizes the family bonding of his wife. Bhanu becomes a doctor and she shares a special bonding with Karthik and Lucky. Pavan (Prabhu Deva) on the other hand is a family friend of Bhanu’s family and loves Bhanu right from his young days. Things become complicated when Bhanu falls for Karthik’s goodwill and sensitive nature and rest of the story is about what Karthik would do.
Performances:
Nagarjuna is highly balanced as the single father and also the passionate lover. His acting in emotional scenes works wonders and he pulls off another great performance. Gracy Singh is excellent as the love interest of the hero and she makes her presence felt- despite having a small role. Shreya was brilliant as Bhanu- who looks cute and does well in acting as well. It fetched her great name after the success of the film. Prabhu Deva gets a memorable role yet again as the lover of Bhanu. K.Vishwanath gives a dignified performance as the head of the family. Tanikella Bharani, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Sunil, Brahmanandam offer the much needed comedy relief.
Technical Aspects:
Gopimohan’s screenplay is crystal clear without any dull or boring moments. S.Gopal Reddy is excellent in cinematography by capturing Ooty, New Zealand and the local AP perfectly. Music by R.P.Patnaik elevates the film very much with great songs. Ne Tholisaariga, Nuvvante Naakishtamani became all time Tollywood hits. Direction by Dasaradh is decent which features all those aspects needed for a neat family drama.