Ishtam (2001 Telugu film)

Ishtam (Translation: Liking) is a 2001 Indian Telugu romantic drama film directed by Vikram Kumar and Raj Kumar. It starred Charan Dodla, Shriya with Poonam Dhillon and Chandra Mohan in supporting roles.

This is the debut movie of actress Shriya. Charan paired up with Saran for the first time. This was Charan's only film as an actor as he didn't act in any other film after this. He died in 2012 due to a cardiac arrest. The film was released a day after Jabili and had similar ending scenes to that film.

Plot
Karthik (Charan), hailing from a rich family, is quite inept in his academics. Neha (Shriya Saran) is Subbu's (Chandra Mohan) daughter and she's motherless. Karthik is the senior of Neha in the college and rags her quite a bit. When Karthik's mother Lakshmi (Poonam Dhillon) meets with an accident, Neha rescues and admits her in a hospital. Over time, Lakshmi and Neha become friends and Neha falls in love with Karthik. But when Subbu proposes to get Karthik and Neha married, Lakshmi refuses. The film is about why Lakshmi doesn't accept the marriage, who initially wanted Neha to marry Karthik.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by DJ Gopinath and released by Mayuri Audio.

Reception
Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote that "The film has got good music, photography, direction etc. But what this film terribly lacks is the entertainment value. In addition to this, there is a overdose of sentiment for this film". A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Though the dramatic tempo has many ups and downs, the film turns out to be an enjoyable exercise, with refreshing music score by Gopinath". A critic from Full Hyderabad wrote that "In the end, worth watching if all you have to do is to sit up with a sick ant. Moreover, there aren't any good Telugu movies around as I write this".