Little Hearts is a 2024 Malayalam-language romantic comedy film story and directed by Aby Treesa Paul and Anto Jose Pereira, written by Rajesh Pinnadan and produced by Sandra Thomas Productions. The film features Shane Nigam and Mahima Nambiar in the lead roles.[1] The soundtrack and background score were composed by Kailas Menon, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Luke Jose and Noufal Abdullah.
| Little Hearts | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Anto Jose Pereira Aby Treesa Paul |
| Written by | Rajesh Pinnadan |
| Story by | Anto Jose Pereira Aby Treesa Paul |
| Produced by | Sandra Thomas Wilson Thomas |
| Starring | Shane Nigam Mahima Nambiar Baburaj Aima Rosmy Sebastian Shine Tom Chacko Shammi Thilakan |
| Cinematography | Luke Jose |
| Edited by | Noufal Abdullah |
| Music by | Kailas Menon |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Million Dreams |
Release date |
|
Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
Little Hearts was theatrically released on 7 June 2024 to mixed reviews from critics.[2]
Synopsis
editSibi and his father Baby live a simple life, taking care of their family friend Johnson’s cardamom estate and his family’s needs. Amidst this romance blooms in both Sibi's and Baby’s lives, and he also has to play an integral role in breaking an important news about Johnson’s son's unexpected and impending wedding to the latter’s parents. Can Sibi handle everything without breaking any hearts?[3]
Cast
edit- Shane Nigam as Sibi
- Mahima Nambiar as Sosha
- Baburaj as Baby
- Shine Tom Chacko as Sharon
- Jaffer Idukki as Paappan
- Parvathy Babu as Paappan's daughter
- Aima Rosmy Sebastian
- Ramya Suvi as Cicily
- Renji Panicker as Johnson
- Maala Parvathy as Anita
- Shammi Thilakan as Joy
- John Kaippallil as Rony
- Joardy Poonjar as Kurikasoe
- Thomas Joseph As Priest
Production
editThe film is written by Rajesh Pinnadan, known for his work on Vilayath Buddha and Oru Thekkan Thallu Case. The film marks the reunion of Shane Nigam, Mahima Nambiar, Aima Rosmy Sebastian and Maala Parvathi who were the characters in RDX: Robert Dony Xavier. Sandra Thomas and Wilson Thomas served as joint producers under the banner Sandra Thomas Productions.[4]
Music
editThe songs and background score for the film were composed by Kailas Menon. The audio rights were acquired by Sony Music India. The first single "Edan Poove" was released on 16 January 2024.[5] The second single "Naam Chernna Vazhikalil" was released on 4 April 2024.[6] The third single "Aanne" was released on 1 June 2024.[7] The fourth single "Simple Song" was released on 8 June 2024, after the film's release.[8]The fifth single "Oru Sayahnam" was released on 17 June 2024, after the film's release.[9]The sixth single "Chimmathe" was released on 28 June 2024.[10]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Edan Poove" | Vinayak Sasikumar | Kapil Kapilan Sanah Moidutty | 4:26 |
| 2. | "Naam Chernna Vazhikalil" | B. K. Harinarayanan | Vijay Yesudas Judith Ann | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Aanne" | Dabzee Athul Narukara | Dabzee Athul Narukara Sruthy Sivadas | 3:25 |
| 4. | "Simple Song" | B. K. Harinarayanan Shabareesh Varma | Shabareesh Varma Aravind Dileep Nair | 3:46 |
| 5. | "Oru Sayahnam" | Vinayak Sasikumar | Vijay Prakash | 3:25 |
| 6. | "Chimmathe" | Vivek Muzhakkunnu | Indrajith Sukumaran | 2:28 |
Release
editTheatrical
editLittle Hearts was released in theatres on 7 June 2024.[11]
Reception
editCritical response
editRohit Panikker of Times Now gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Little Hearts is a fun and light comedy entertainer that delivers exactly what it promises. It's complete with laugh out loud moments and some hilarious performances, which are best experienced with a crowd in a packed theatre".[12] Anna Mathews of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "The film directed and co-written by Aby Treesa Paul, Anto Jose Periera, along with Rajesh Pinnadan, who also shares a writing credit, could have been a sweet enough, feel-good romance with some good lessons for the audience, but it needed a proper tightening at the writing and making stages. As it is now, the key moments feel lost as the story progresses, particularly with a messy resolution.[13] Sanjith Sidhardhan of OTTplay gave 2/5 stars and wrote, "Shane Nigam’s film could have easily been trimmed by a good 15 minutes and would have been a time-pass movie. It’s one of those films that is watchable and yet you tend to immediately forget once it’s over".[14] Vignesh Madhu of The New Indian Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote, "With an efficient cast and a potential premise, Little Hearts had it all to be a meaningful entertainer, yet settles for the bare minimum. Little Hearts is half-hearted, despite having its heart at the right place".[15]
Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote, "While Luke Jose’s cinematography and Noufal Abdullah’s editing are competent in many instances, they never push the movie beyond a certain level of impact".[16] S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote, "One wishes filmmakers do not further muddle issues about which misconceptions are galore in the society, through their half-baked handling of it".[17]
Controversies
editThe film was banned from screening in GCC countries because one the three love stories in the film one deals with a homosexual individual, queer identity, and the struggle for social acceptance of homosexual relationships and marriages in Indian society.[18][19]
KCBC Jagratha Commission News, a publication of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) censured the film as "Immoral ideas hatched in anti-Christianity".[20][21] The Commission criticized film for the promotion of homosexual love affair and extramarital affair, as the film's female and male protagonists supports and paves the path for such affairs respectively in the story. The Commission alleged that the film is purposely and selectively setting the anti-christian elements of the story in a Christian background, as homosexual marriage and homosexuality are strongly opposed by the Christian community, because they are objectively disordered, and Church disapproves of such unnatural tendencies, saying even as it calls for humane treatment of the individuals involved.[20][22]
During the promotional interview of the film Shane Nigam humoursly mocks actor Unni Mukundan it creates lot of trouble through social media by the fans of the actor and later Shane Nigam apologize for his words and problem was solved.[23]
References
edit- ^ FC, Team (11 October 2023). "Shane Nigam And Shine Tom Chacko Join Forces For Little Hearts". www.filmcompanion.in. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "Shane Nigam's Little Hearts gets a release date". Cinema Express. 4 May 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "'Little Hearts' Teaser Review: Shane Nigam And Mahima Nambiar Give You The Butterflies In This Romcom". Outlook India. 25 December 2023. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "'Little Hearts': Shane Nigam, Shine Tom Chacko's next goes on floors". The Hindu. 10 October 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "'Edan Poove' Song From 'Little Hearts' Is Out!". The Times of India. 17 January 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Little Hearts Naam Chernna Vazhikalil song depicts the budding romance between Baburaj and Ramya Suvi". OTTplay. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ "Aanne song from Little Hearts out". Cinema Express. 2 June 2024.
- ^ "'Simple' song from Little Hearts out". Cinema Express. 9 June 2024.
- ^ "'Oru Sayahnam' video song from 'Little Hearts' is out". The Times of India. 17 June 2024.
- ^ "A heartbreaking melody from #LittleHearts 💕 Chimmathe video song OUT NOW 🎼". Twitter. 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Release Date Of Shane Nigam And Mahima Nambiar Starrer 'Little Hearts' Is Locked!". The Times of India. 6 May 2024.
- ^ "Little Hearts Review: An Entertaining Romantic Comedy That Delivers As Advertised". Times Now. 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Little Hearts Movie Review : A romcom with poor focus on the romances". The Times of India. 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Little Hearts movie review: Shane Nigam's film is a string of squandered opportunities". OTTplay. 7 June 2024.
- ^ "'Little Hearts' movie review: Half-hearted despite its potential". The New Indian Express. 8 June 2024.
- ^ "Little Hearts review: Shane Nigam, Mahima Nambiar film tries too hard to present itself as simple and rooted". The Indian Express. 7 June 2024.
- ^ "'Little Hearts' movie review: A below par, half-baked effort at being progressive". The Hindu. 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Shane Nigam, Mahima Nambiar-combo 'Little Hearts' banned in Gulf countries". mathrubhumi. 7 June 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Little Hearts: It's The Gay Love Story That Caused The Ban In GCC". TimelineDaily. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Immoral ideas hatched in anti-Christianity". KCBC Jagratha Commission. 10 June 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ Kuruvilla, Anu (9 April 2024). "Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council takes up issue of minority persecution in BJP-ruled states". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Immoral ideas hatched in anti-Christianity which are made through films like Little Hearts and Kathal; Unknown Lobbies behind; KCBC criticized furiously". Southlive (in Malayalam). 13 June 2024. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "Shane Nigam apologizes to Unni Mukundan amid backlash and vows to be cautious about future remarks". Times of India. 5 June 2024.