35 Chinna Katha Kaadu () is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Nanda Kishore Emani in his directorial debut. The film features Nivetha Thomas, Arundev Pothula, Vishwadev Rachakonda and Priyadarshi Pulikonda in lead roles. The film was released on 6 September 2024 to positive reviews from critics.
Vivek Sagar composed the music, T. C. Prasanna is the editor and Niketh Bommi handled the cinematography. It was featured at the 55th International Film Festival of India in the Indian Panorama section. Nivetha Thomas won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress â Telugu.
The story is set in a traditional Telugu Brahmin household in Tirupati, centered around Saraswati, a devoted homemaker; her husband Prasad, who works as a bus conductor with the TTD; and their two children, Arun and Varun. Together, they lead a simple yet beautiful middle-class life.
Arun, the elder of the sons, is curious by nature. He likes to ask questions and learn the why of everything. His only question nobody seems to know the answer to: how can zero, a number with no value, increase the value of another number when placed to its right? Despite Arun struggling with maths in school, getting zeros on exams, he gets promoted till the 6th grade. This worries Prasad.
At the same time, a new maths teacher named Chanakya Varma joins Arun and Varun's school. He is arrogant and strict, but appears to care for the futures of his students. Arun, who continuously pesters and challengers Chanakya with his questions, irritates the teacher. He tries disciplining him, which in turn makes Arun rebellious.
Chanakya suggests that Prasad and the principal Buchi Reddy demote Arun to the 5th grade (Varun's grade) in order to get him to work on his maths foundation. Prasad agrees, but this enrages Saraswati. Over a course of events, Arun is publicly challenged to score 35 marks (the passing grade) in the 5th grade annual exam. The rest of the story is about how the seemingly valueless zero ignites events that test the family's resilience and unity, and stirs up rifts and friendships in his class. It's not a small story (Chinna Katha Kadhu), as Arun's father often says.
The film was produced by Srujan Yarabolu and Siddharth Rallapally under the banners of Suresh Productions, S Originals, and Waltair Productions. The film's budget was under . The film's story is set in Tirupati. The cast, including Nivetha Thomas, underwent training from the dialect coach and co-writer of the film Prashanth Vignesh, in the local Telugu dialect, covering phonetics and lexical aspects, as well as its distinct Tamil influences. Nivetha underwent physical transformation, gaining weight, to portray the character Saraswati in the film.
The title of the film was unveiled on 25 June 2024. The cinematography was by Niketh Bommi, while the editing was handled by T. C. Prasanna. The film received a U certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.
The background score and soundtrack were composed by Vivek Sagar.
The film was initially scheduled to release on 15 August 2024, but was released on 6 September 2024, with limited paid premieres on 5 September 2024. Post-theatrical digital streaming rights were acquired by Aha and announced the premiere date to be 27 September 2024, but was later released on 2 October 2024. Television satellite rights were acquired by Zee Telugu, and was premiered on 22 December 2024, coinciding with National Mathematics Day. It was premiered at the 55th International Film Festival of India in November 2024.
The Tamil version titled 35 Chinna Vishayam Illa was released on 25 December 2024.
Aditya Devulapally of The New Indian Express gave a rating of 4 out of 5 and, cited the film as a "h<bdi>eartfelt love letter to childhood curiosity</bdi>" with extended praise to the direction, screenplay and the music. Eenadu gave a positive review with particular praise to screenplay, dialogues, Nanda Kishore Emani's work and the performances of the lead cast. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu called it "an uplifting tale of triumph" while praising performance of Nivetha Thomas and the child actors. Jalapathy Gudelli of Telugucinema.com particularly praised the performance of Nivetha Thomas, Vivek Sagar's music and Nanda Kishore Emani's screenplay, and storytelling.
Sruthi Kuruganti of Telangana Today stated in her review that, "The charm of 35 â Chinna Katha Kaadu lies in its simplicity and humanism. The subtle interplay between mathematics and human relationships creates a layered story that celebrates the beauty of questioning and learning, both inside and outside the classroom". Calling Nivetha Thomas's performance as "stellar", Avad Mohammad of OTTPlay praised the dialogues and background score. He further stated, "A lot of detailing has gone when it comes to locations, costumes, and sets. All this was showcased so well and became a character in the film".