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“I have been waiting for good work and when 35 came my way, I could not let it go. It would have been an injustice had I not taken it up,” says actor Nivetha Thomas, when we meet for an interview at Ramanaidu Studios, Hyderabad. Directed by debutant Nanda Kishore Emani, 35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu (not a small story), releasing in theatres on September 6, is a family drama set in Tirupati.
The last time Nivetha was seen in a Telugu film was in Saakini Daakini (2022). In 2023, she featured in the Malayalam film Enthada Sajji, marking her return to the language after nine years. The unavoidable question is whether good films are rare to come her way, across languages. Nivetha considers the question and says, “People think I am difficult to please, which is not true. I wholeheartedly enjoy listening to narrations and reading scripts in different genres. There have been many cases when I have come across interesting scripts but after a few discussions, if I felt that they had not shaped up to their potential, I have stepped back so that they can proceed with another actor. I am game to work in five or six films each year but I would like all of them to be different.”
Those who have followed Nivetha’s filmography would know that she was eight when she debuted as a child actor and went on to work in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. She concurs that fame and spotlight are not the driving force for her choices. An architect and an actor, she reckons that there have been times when she wondered if being out of sight would translate to the audience not remembering her work enough.
“This thought has crossed my mind,” she says and adds that she believes in a healthy work relationship and strives to strike a balance even for visibility on social media. “When I do not have a movie update, I do not like to put out images of me just having coffee… People do not need to waste their time looking at me. But I realise that some of this is also needed for visibility. I wish I could do more films at a better pace.”
Popular recall
Nivetha’s notable Telugu films: Gentleman, Ninnu Kori, 118, Vakeel Saab, Brochevarevarura, Saakini Daakini
Tamil: Papanasam, Darbar
Malayalam: Veruthe Oru Bharya, Thattathin Marayathu, Enthada Sajji
When the promos of 35 were unveiled, Nivetha was beseigedwith messages from well-wishers and social media posts. “People told me they are happy to see me in a new film. It moved me to tears. It also made me think that perhaps I have set my standards too high; maybe I should take up more films and learn by making a few mistakes.”
Soon after the release of Brochevarura, the feedback she received from those who loved the film made her understand that she had come to be known as an actor who made worthwhile choices. “There were many who told me that if they knew that I was in a film, they would consider it worthy of watching. Such trust made me more responsible and also cautious; I wanted everything to be perfect. For Saakini Daakini, I gave my 100% and it took me a while to move on when it did not get its due.”
Nivetha agrees when asked if this is a transition phase. “When I transitioned from being a child actor to a leading lady, I did not think much. It all happened quickly. I was enjoying working and studying.” She says that even today, she thinks of stardom and celebrity status as additional baggage. “I want to transition to a new phase in a way that I can find more interesting work.” After a pause, she adds that she is open to producing films to bankroll interesting scripts, but negotiating distribution and release would be challenging.
‘35’ is set in the temple town of Tirupati.
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In Nanda Kishore Emani, Nivetha could sense an honest storyteller. She plays Saraswati, a mother of two young children. “I did not think twice about playing a mother. This is a beautiful character of a woman who has not passed 10th standard and her world revolves around her family.”
She was also impressed by the detailing in the script. “The door handle in Saraswathi’s house is shaped like a veena since she plays the instrument. The colours of her sari, the zari, her hair length, how she is a stickler to practices such as maintaining her distance when she drapes the ‘madi’ sari, everything was in the script. We even discussed if she would let go of her ‘madi’ custom and embrace her son in an emotional scene.”
Nivetha emphasises that 35 never gets into a preachy zone; it made her recall the sacrifices made by her mother, a practising nurse. “When I began acting in the fourth grade, my mom gave up her work to be by my side. She never complained. At that time, I did not know its value.”
35 also brings Nivetha back with Gautami Tadimella, after Papanasam (the Tamil remake of Drishyam, in which Nivetha played Kamal Haasan and Gautami’s daughter). “In 35, Gautami ma’am is a representation of an urban woman. The conversations she and Saraswathi have to reflect how the two women, given their different world experiences, talk about aspects such as self-dignity. This time, I was fortunate to have more conversations with Gautami Ma’am, who is as graceful as ever. She never puts down a co-star who is less experienced than her. I also observed the little things she brought into her characterisation. For instance, she wore a bulky watch, her own, because she felt that character would not wear a typical slim wristwatch we associate with older women.”
Nivetha and the rest of the cast were coached in the Tirupati Telugu dialect for 35. “We had tuitions at 7am,” she recalls. “We had the help of Prashant who prepared training modules and published a book. We learnt phonetics and lexical, understood how the Tirupati dialect is different from that of Chittoor and how people speak it with a mix of Tamil, thanks to the transition crowd. Saraswathi’s brother is a pujari at the Tirupati temple. So all this influences the way she speaks. The audio was recorded in sync sound and speaking the dialect with ease was important.”
As a parting shot, Nivetha says 35 is an entertaining film featuring more than 60 children and is bound to put a smile on the faces of the audience. “Given a chance, I would knock on every door and request people to go watch the film in theatres with their families. When you watch something relatable and personal on the big screen, it can be magical.”
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