Chithha
Theatrical release poster
Directed byS. U. Arun Kumar
Produced bySiddharth
Starring
CinematographyBalaji Subramanyam
Edited bySuresh A. Prasad
Music by
Production
company
Etaki Entertainment
Distributed byRed Giant Movies
Release date
  • 28 September 2023 (2023-09-28)
Running time
139 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Chithha (transl. Uncle)[lower-alpha 1] is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language drama film[1] directed by S. U. Arun Kumar and produced by Siddharth, who stars in the lead role alongside with Nimisha Sajayan (in her Tamil debut) play female lead, in addition to Baby Sahasra Shree and Baby S. Aafiyah Tasneem in the prominent roles.[3][4]

Chithha was released theatrically on 29 September 2023 to critical acclaim from critics and became a commercial success at the box office.

Plot

Eeswaran is a government employee from Palani who bonds with his eight-year old niece Sundari and is always protective about her. Eeswaran also has a couple of close friends, one of whom happens to be an undercover cop named Vadivelu, whose niece Ponni and Sundari are also good friends. Unable to comprehend her elder sister’s romantic conversation with her boyfriend, Ponni assumes that a bevy of deers is present in a forest area close to the school and asks Sundari if she would be interested in going to see the animals after school.

The two girls plan to leave Eeswaran and head to the area on their own. Ponni and Sundari board an auto rikshaw to the area as per the plan, but Sundari gets scared and leaves Ponni, who goes alone to see the area. The next day, Ponni's father accuses Eeswaran of assaulting Ponni, but Vadivelu finds that Eeswaran is innocent and apologizes to him. One day, due to ongoing pressure and doubts on him from his Sister-in-law makes Eeswaran angrily walk away from home, and Sundari tries to run behind him, but gets kidnapped by a notorious pedophile. Eeswaran sets on a crusade to save Sundari, where they finally save Sundari and admits her to the hospital after being abused by the pedophile.

Eeswaran finds that the police has captured the culprit, but finds out that the culprit is actually Ponni's abuser who was the driver of the auto rickshaw. Eeswaran still stabs him. Eeswaran's girlfriend Shakti shares about her tragic past of being assaulted and ask him to forget about his vengeance. Eeswaran agrees and takes care of Sundari.

A year later, the police find a burnt corpse of the pedophile, implying that Eeswaran had learnt about the pedophile's identity and killed him.

Cast

  • Siddharth as Eeswaran "Eesu", Sundari's uncle (Chithha)
  • Baby Sahasra Shree as Sundari "Settai", Eeswaran's niece
  • Baby S. Aafiyah Tasneem as Ponni, Sundari's friend
  • Nimisha Sajayan as Sakthi, Eeswaran's love interest
  • Anjali Nair as Sundari's mother and Eeswaran's sister-in-law
  • Baalaji S. U. as SI Vadivel, Eeswaran and Sakthi's friend; Ponni's uncle
  • R. Dharshan as the pedophile
  • R. Suresh as Suresh, Eeswaran, Vadivel and Sakthi's friend
  • Natturaja Durai as CI N. Dhivakar
  • Sindhuja Viji as Ponni's mother
  • Saleth santhosh cameo role

Production

The film was produced by Siddharth under his banner, Etaki Entertainment. On April 17, 2023, Siddharth's birthday, Kamal Haasan unveiled the first-look poster and the film's title.[5][6] The major portions of the film were shot in Palani.[7] The filming was wrapped up in April 2023.[8] The cinematography of the film was by Balaji Subramanyam, and the editing was handled by Suresh A. Prasad.

Music

The songs for the film were composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Santhosh Narayanan,[9][10] while the background score was composed by Vishal Chandrashekhar.

Chithha
Album cover
Soundtrack album by
Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Santhosh Narayanan
Background Score:
Vishal Chandrashekhar
Released2023
Recorded2023
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length12:38
LanguageTamil
LabelThink Music
ProducerDhibu Ninan Thomas, Santhosh Narayanan, Vishal Chandrashekhar
Dhibu Ninan Thomas chronology
Nadhi
(2022)		 Chithha
(2023)
Santhosh Narayanan chronology
Dasara
(2023)		 Chithha
(2023)		 Jigarthanda DoubleX
(2023)
Vishal Chandrashekhar chronology
Soppana Sundari
(2023)		 Chithha
(2023)
External audio
Chithha - Jukebox on YouTube
Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Kangal Edho"YugabharathiDhibu Ninan ThomasPradeep Kumar, Karthika Vaidyanathan4:02
2."Unakku Thaan"VivekSanthosh NarayananSanthosh Narayanan, Dhvani Kailas3:36
3."Theera Swasame"S. U. Arun KumarDhibu Ninan ThomasKapil Kapilan3:46
4."Show Me The Way"—Dhibu Ninan ThomasPoorvi1:14
Total length:12:38

Reception

Chithha received critical acclaim from critics.

Critical response

Sudhir Srinivasan of Cinema Express gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "A sensitive, powerful film that breaks conventional rules of heroism."[11] M. Suganth of The Times of India gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Siddharth's Chithha is a hard-hitting and deeply unsettling tale of abuse."[12] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of The Indian Express gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "This is easily Siddharth's best performance by far. It is painful to watch him suffer through it all without respite."[13] K. Janani of India Today gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Chithha' is a much-needed film with a solid message. This is truly a hard-watch but will leave with a good afterthought."[2]

Thinkal Menon of OTTPlay gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Chithha is one of the must-watch films of the year, thanks to the terrific performances from lead actors, intriguing screenplay and the originality with which a sensitive subject is handled."[14] Krishna Selvaseelan of the Tamil Guardian gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and said the film "tears out the viewer's heart and holds it ransom - an impressive feat". "S. U. Arun Kumar has delivered a gut-wrenching thriller, displaying a little horror whilst insinuating a lot."[15]

Rajasekar S. of The Federal wrote "Chithha will go down as one of the best Tamil films of this year. It is a must-watch for its message, exemplary writing and performances."[16] Gopinath Rajendran of The Hindu wrote "Handling the sensitive issue of child sexual abuse with care, Chithha marks a befitting resurgence for both its director S. U. Arun Kumar and lead actor Siddharth."[17]

Home media

After much confusion about the digital premiere of Chithha, Disney + Hotstar, bagged the digital rights of the film. Chithha premiered on Disney + Hotstar on the 28th of November, 2023. [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ The title is short for Chithappa.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Chithha". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-25. A distraught family search for a missing young girl after a spate of horrifying attacks in this Tamil language drama, which contains disturbing themes around the sexual abuse, mutilation and murder of children.
  2. 1 2 "'Chithha' Review: Siddharth, Arun Kumar's take on sensitive issue is a lesson to many". India Today. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Chithha: Siddharth's thriller flick gets a release date, makers reveal a new poster. Details inside". ottplay.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Here's the first review of Siddharth's 'Chiththa'". The Times of India. 22 September 2023. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Kamal Haasan unveils the first poster of Siddharth-starrer 'Chiththa'; Watch". The Economic Times. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "Kamal Haasan launches Indian 2 co-star Siddharth's Chiththa poster". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Siddharth's 'Chiththa' team lands in Palani to promote the film". The Times of India. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Siddharth's next titled 'Chittha'". The New Indian Express. 18 April 2023. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Siddharth's Chithha Jukebox is out". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Chithha – All Songs – Download or Listen Free – JioSaavn". JioSaavn. 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Chithha Movie Review". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  12. ↑ Suganth, M. "Chithha Movie Review: Siddharth's Chithha is a hard-hitting and deeply unsettling tale of abuse". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  13. ↑ "Chithha movie review: Siddharth-starrer is a hard but affecting film on child abuse". The Indian Express. 29 September 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  14. ↑ Menon, Thinkal. "Chithha review: Siddharth's suspense-laden emotional drama is complemented by amazing performances". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Selvaseelam, Krishna (7 October 2023). "'Chithha - a devastating, nauseating watch". Tamil Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  16. ↑ S, Rajasekar (25 September 2023). "Chithha review: Emotional roller-coaster that lands a strong punch". thefederal.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Rajendran, Gopinath (28 September 2023). "'Chithha' movie review: Siddharth stars in a painfully-relevant and poignantly-brilliant drama". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  18. ↑ "Chithha OTT release date: When and where to watch Siddharth's 'film of the year'...:-". Ottplay. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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