The best thing about Chithha is how it handles the sensitive topic of child sexual abuse. It's not something anyone can sit down for, without trigger warnings, and when it unfolds on screen, I could sense S U Arun Kumar's evolution as a filmmaker. He uses the first act to establish an emotional connect with the lead characters - Ees (Siddharth), his girlfriend Sakthi (Nimisha Sajayan), his niece Sundari (Sahasra Shree), and sister-in-law (Anjali Nair). The writing is layered and takes you through the proceedings in no hurry. One devastating incident leads to a lot of physical and emotional scars, but before you've fully recovered from it, you're subjected to yet another.
The performances from all four key characters (plus the two friends of Ees') are top-notch. I did NOT see Siddharth in the film - I only saw Ees, Sundari's extremely loving and protective uncle. The little girls are fantastic too, making you smile at their adorable antics in the beginning, and later, effectively conveying the trauma of living (or having lived) through such a prolonged, abusive nightmare. Just when I began to wonder why Nimisha Sajayan signed up for this role (of a typical love interest), the writing lets her make a very bold statement in a scene that arrives close to the end. Of course, there are a few other moments as well, but this one leaves you the most affected. Arun Kumar also treats it with the urgency and tension of a thriller in the latter stages, making you want to know what happens at each juncture.
As opposed to the rest of the film, the finale takes some commercial liberties from both writing and performative standpoints. While I absolutely loved the way the director chose to end the film (i.e. When the director's card showed up), the tail-end sort of undoes that effort. All things considered, I'm glad Siddharth chose to fund and act in this venture. It's certainly going to fetch him a lot of acclamation, and all of it is deservedly so.
P. S. I couldn't help but hoot at the random and unexpected mass moment featuring the lady in the shared auto-rickshaw.
