Swagatam

Swagatam is a 2008 Telugu-language romance film and directed by Dasarath. It stars Jagapati Babu, Anushka Shetty and Bhumika Chawla with Arjun Sarja in a special role. The music was composed by R. P. Patnaik.

Shot in New York City, Rajahmundry and Hampi, it features a romantic triangle. Directed by Dasarath, the film casts Jagapati Babu as the male romantic lead playing opposite Anushka Shetty and Bhumika Chawla. Several weeks after its release, The Times of India declared the movie a box office "let down". The film has got quite some similarities with the Hindi film, Kal Ho Na Ho: a hard working, depressed girl settled in New York, supporting her mother and a child independently and a business that's not doing well. The film was dubbed in Tamil as America to Aminjaikarai in 2013.

Plot
The film begins at the US, where Shailaja / Shailu, a fretful woman, strives hard for survival. She dotes on her sibling Deepthi's son Chiku and kicks his father, Srikanth, since she opines him as a homicide of Deepthi in an accident and remarried shortly after. Anyhow, Chiku craves Srikanth's love. Sailu runs a textile business in their colony, where people with diverse mindsets stay. Plus, her enterprise is on its way to shutting down. So, she also works as a moonlight for its sustainability.

At that time, KK / Krishna, a hyperactive widower, enters their colony with his daughter Janaki / Jaanu. He opens a shop against Shailu when hostility arises between them. After a series of donnybrook, KK fills her angry head with smiles and flourishes her bankruptcy business. Afterward, Sailu is aware that KK is Srikanth's best friend, silently aiding them—accordingly, she salvos when KK divulges the actuality. On the day of the mishap, Deepthi indeed made it, but Srikanth accused himself of saving her; tragically, she expired. Ergo, he married the afflicted woman by mishap. Currently, Shailu seeks pardon from Srikanth, which makes Chiku nearer to him, and he loves KK.

Stunningly, KK states that his wife Vidya is still alive when Shailu conveys her love. Next, Srikanth reveals KK's past to Shailu. Once, KK is a workaholic, rigid, and spartan person. Thus, he fails many matches to meet the standards, which fed up his grandmother. Following this, she consulted a marriage bureau held by Vidya, which contacts KK. In her acquaintance, KK transforms, understands the real happiness in life, and knits her. The twosome spends jollity of time and is blessed with a daughter. Then, a catastrophic attack when Vidya is diagnosed with chronic leukemia. Hence, Vidya decides to walk far as their kid should not be in between.

From there, she continued her treatment at Srikanth, who is extending her life. One day, Vidya notifies Srikanth's pain and desires to recoup his content as gratitude for which Krishna set foot in Shailu's life. Now, Shailu & Vidya are introduced and become friends. Later, Vidya leaves her last breath in Krishna's lap. At last, Srikanth hands over a letter to Shailu written by Vidya in which she requests Shailu to replace her position in Krishna's life. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note, with Shailu moving to express her love according to Vidya's final wish and waiting for Krishna's reply.

Cast

 * Jagapati Babu as K.K. / Krishna
 * Bhumika Chawla as Vidya Krishna
 * Anushka Shetty as Shailu
 * Arjun as Srikanth
 * Dharmavarapu Subramanyam as Srinu Ganepudi
 * Ali as Jilal Khan
 * Sunil as Sunil Honda
 * Venu Madhav as Peon
 * Mallikarjuna Rao as RV Sukara
 * M. S. Narayana as Detroit Nageswara Rao
 * L. B. Sriram
 * Ravi Babu as Padmakar "Padhu" Mudumba
 * Banerjee as Ram Pasumarthy
 * Jaya Prakash Reddy
 * Sarath Babu
 * Melkote as Dr. Chitti
 * Raja Ravindra as Dr. Ravi
 * Prabhakar as RV Sukara
 * Satyam Rajesh as Servant
 * Lakshmipathi as Sesha Reddy
 * Kadambari Kiran
 * Gundu Sudarshan
 * Gautam Raju
 * Chitti Babu
 * Sudha as Lakshmi Durga
 * Rama Prabha as Saru
 * Radha Kumari
 * Jhansi as Supraja
 * Asha Saini as Deepthi
 * Medha Bahri
 * Likitha Kamini
 * Madhurisen
 * Baby Annie as K.K.'s daughter

Soundtrack
Music composed by R. P. Patnaik. Music released on ADITYA Music Company.

Reception
Critically, the film met lukewarm reception. In its generally positive review, IndiaGlitz described the film as a "sincere effort" that "may or may not appeal to everyone as it becomes a bit trite as it progresses". While noting that "we cannot say it is something that we haven’t watched before", the reviewers also commented that the film "starts off in a novel way as far as a Telugu film is concerned". Addressing the high expectations of the big budget film, they conclude, "To be fair to Dasarath, he does not disappoint. In the sense that it is what one would typically go to watch in a Jagapati Babu movie". AndhraCafe praised the performances specifically of Bumika, "at her very best", and found the chemistry between Babu and Bumika "a treat to watch". While they also felt the director exhibited moments of brilliance in the second half of the film, they panned the climax and particularly the opening, stating that "[t]he first half of a film couldn’t be more boring than this". They concluded that "[o]n a whole the film is below average fare with the weak first half, dragged climax and poor music". In its review, Rediff notes that Swagatam takes the "safe, oft-trodden path" but praises the acting, describing specifically the first half of the film as "laced with entertainment". They predict that the film "will go down well with those liking mushy stuff".