Seetha Payanam Movie Review: Seetha’s journey turns tedious with a routine narrative

Arjun Sarja returns to direction with Seetha Payanam, marking the debut of his daughter Aishwarya Arjun as the female lead. Upendra’s nephew Niranjan Sudhindra also makes his debut as the lead actor. Known mostly for action-packed films, Arjun this time attempts a drama centred on emotions, with the title literally translating to 'Seetha’s journey'. He recently revealed that the story idea is nearly 13 years old, but unfortunately, the narration also feels stuck in that era.

While an old idea can still work if presented with strong emotions and engaging storytelling, Seetha Payanam suffers from outdated narration and a complete lack of freshness. The idea itself is decent, but the execution is weak and the emotional depth—crucial for such a story—is largely missing.

The film revolves around a father-daughter bond, which should have been its emotional core. However, Arjun dilutes this by adding unnecessary elements. His own cameo and that of his nephew Dhruv Sarja feel forced and exist purely to insert action sequences, adding nothing to the narrative. Senior actors like Sathyaraj and Prakash Raj are also part of the cast, but their talents are largely wasted due to underwritten roles.

 Director: Arjun Sarja

Cast: Aishwarya Arjun, Niranjan Sudhindra, Sathyaraj, Prakash Raj, Arjun Sarja, Dhruv Sarja, Kovai Sarala, Siri Hanumanth, and others

Seetha (Aishwarya Arjun) is the daughter of businessman Rajendra Prasad (Sathyaraj). Having lost her mother at a young age, Seetha shares a deep bond with her father, even calling him 'Amma'. A talented chef, she chooses not to marry as she doesn’t want to leave her father alone.

While travelling from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad to attend a workshop, Seetha offers a lift to Abhi (Niranjan Sudhindra). During the journey, they encounter several people and incidents that delay her arrival. Due to this delay, Seetha narrowly escapes a fatal gas-blast accident at the workshop venue. Realising that her life was saved because of those brief encounters, she decides to retrace her journey to thank everyone she met, including Abhi. What unfolds during this return journey, who Abhi really is, and whom Seetha eventually marries form the rest of the story.

Arjun Sarja stated during promotions that Seetha Payanam is a gift to his daughter, and perhaps that explains why the film feels made for her rather than for the audience. The central conflict—between a daughter who doesn’t want to abandon her father and a father who wants her to settle down—had strong emotional potential. However, the execution lacks sincerity and depth.

The narration is painfully slow, with several dragged scenes and a preachy tone. There’s nothing new being said about family bonds, a theme that Telugu cinema has explored many times before, and that too, in a far better way. The cameos by Arjun and Dhruv Sarja feel completely forced and disrupt the emotional flow. Prakash Raj once again delivers dialogues about family values, but they feel repetitive and familiar.

The film also lacks realism, with performances often feeling staged rather than organic. The songs are forced into the narrative and don’t add any emotional value. It feels like Arjun wanted to showcase his daughter’s dancing abilities, resulting in unnecessary songs placed at the beginning and midway through the film.

The story is predictable from start to finish, and surprisingly, the emotional connection between Seetha and her father—the backbone of the story—fails to leave an impact. Aishwarya Arjun also appears older than Niranjan, making their on-screen pairing unconvincing, especially when the script explicitly points out their age difference.

Aishwarya Arjun looks neat onscreen and carries her role with dignity, but the writing doesn’t give her enough scope to shine emotionally. Niranjan Sudhindra’s inexperience shows clearly, and his chemistry with Aishwarya never clicks. Arjun Sarja and Dhruv Sarja appear only for action sequences. Prakash Raj adds some weight with his presence, while Sathyaraj feels routine. Other supporting actors are just about adequate.

The music is average, the cinematography is decent with a few well-shot locales, and the dialogues are passable at best.

Seetha Payanam turns out to be a tedious journey rather than an emotional one. What could have been a heartfelt father-daughter drama is spoilt by outdated narration, forced elements, and missing emotional depth. If the film is truly a gift, it is clearly meant for Arjun Sarja’s daughter—not for the audience, who are left feeling that this journey is long, slow, and boring.