Debutant director Nanda Kishore Emani is a master craftsman at noticing minor nuances of life. The team behind 35 has undoubtedly produced a winner, and this film is more than just weekend entertainment. In an age where films compete to display the most spectacular feats conceivable, here comes a film that takes a gentle, mindful walk through a spiritual garden, seeking to capture even the smallest nuances. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a film about childhood that feels poetic yet straightforward.
In Tirupati, the idyllic life of Prasad (Vishwadev Rachakonda) and Saraswati (Nivetha Thomas) with their young children becomes tough when their eleven-year-old son, Arun (Arundev Pothula), finds mathematics to be an impossible mystery. The story follows Saraswati, a mother who dropped out of school, as she guides her son through the subject while keeping his curious spirit alive.
It’s not graceful to sum this film up in a single phrase since its beauty lies in the details. The textures in the grading, the velvety edit, and the grounded performances blend together like sweet nectar. This film is not about a high-stakes conflict or a dramatic adventure, rather, it depicts a way of life in a small town family. We seldom see the small town regions of Telangana and Andhra in cinema. Through the lens of cinematographer Niketh Bommi, Tirupati looks like a blissful place. Furthermore, with the enchanting work of musician Vivek Sagar, the narrative almost grants you a spiritual escape.
Many threads in the film flow beautifully, such as the husband-wife relationship, the rivalry with the mathematics teacher (played by a beloved Priyadarshi), peer camaraderie, and childhood restlessness. The gentle romance between Prasad and Saraswati is a beautiful page out of many scriptures. Prasad, played by Vishwadev Rachakonda, reveals the earnest depth that many fathers hold. As the filmmaker has remarked in several interviews, the marriage is depicted in metaphorical parallels with Sita and Ram or Shiva and Parvathi. There is no villain in this story. Neither the father nor the maths professor is a harsh disciplinarian. And the best part is that the film never tries to preach a message about how toxic the education system is or how dictatorial teachers are; it’s a purely humane narrative.
Also, how blessed we are to get to witness a performer like Nivetha Thomas. Those tiny moments as she navigates the ebbs and flows of her house, the way she plays chess with her son, gets her husband ready, tastes the bits of the dish she so lovingly makes, and engages in the curious questioning of her children, all while mouthing the Chittoor dialect, make for moments of fine art. Nivetha rises above the mechanical debate of other-language actors working in Telugu. She goes beyond just doing the job; it’s always the stars she seems to be aiming for. Though it’s obviously a treat to watch her as the master of this universe, the director goes above and beyond, providing additional delight in the form of Arundev Pothula, who plays Arun. Arun is a dynamic character straight out of a Telugu novel because he is more than just a troubled child; he is an active, never-giving-up, bright-eyed kid who has the courage to tackle any zeroes and minuses life throws at him. And those guts come from his formidable mother.
For a brief moment, I felt like the only person in the packed dark theatre hall as Saraswati, the tenth-failed mother, explains to her restless son why zero, while having no value, determines the worth of a number simply by being adjacent to it. It is commendable how the film immerses you in the micro-world of children while also delivering a payoff. Children’s world is always full of questions since they are constantly absorbing from every moment of life. The tender attention required as a child grows and learns the essentials of life is something that not many adults possess. But writer Nanda Kishore Emani delves beyond the surface in a way that is maddeningly beautiful. If you are to nitpick, the philosophical dialogue gets repetitive, but even this would work for most.
Transporting a viewer to another world is an act many films can pull off, but transporting you to your own world and making you win—now that is an act that filmmakers seem to have forgotten. And films like 35 have the audacity to come around these cynical times and sweep you off your feet. Take some time, go watch this film with family, and come back beaming.
35
Cast: Nivetha Thomas, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Vishwadev Rachakonda, Arundev Pothula
Director: Nanda Kishore Emani
Rating: 4/5