Movie: Little Hearts
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: ETV Win Original
Cast: Mouli Tanuj Prashanth, Shivani Nagaram, Rajeev Kanakala, SS Kanchi, Anitha Chowdary, Sathya Krishnan, and others
Music: Sinjith Yerramilli
Cinematography: Suriya Balaji
Editor: Sreedhar Sompally
Art Director: Divya Pavan
Producer: Aditya Haasan
Written and Directed by: Sai Marthand
Release Date: September 5, 2025
Comedian Mouli Tanuj and director Aditya Haasan belong to the new-age YouTube and OTT generation. Their earlier project, 90s Biopic, for ETV Win turned into a sensation. This time, Mouli steps into the shoes of a hero while Aditya Haasan takes on the role of producer. The film hit the theaters today.
Let’s see if it delivers the laughs it promises.
Story:
The story is set in Hyderabad in 2015. Nalli Akhil (Mouli Tanuj) is weak in academics and has no interest in Engineering, but his father is determined to see him secure a B.Tech seat. When his low CET score keeps him out of reputed colleges, his father admits him to a long-term coaching center. There, Akhil meets Kathyayani (Shivani Nagaram), who is preparing for medical entrance exams.
When Akhil proposes, she discloses that she is actually much older than him. Undeterred, he continues to pursue her, and she eventually agrees. Their love story soon comes to light, leading to a series of comical situations between both families. What follows forms the rest of the story.
Artistes’ Performances:
Mouli as the lead hero, generated comedy with his timing and his pleasant screen presence added value to the 'inncoently intelligent' character. His deadpan dialogue delivery and quirky expressions generated laughs.
Shivani Nagaram fits the role of a girl just out of her teens perfectly, and her charm and screen presence are an advantage. She proves to be the perfect cast for the role.
The actor playing Madhu manages to provide a few good laughs, while Rajeev Kanakala shines as Mouli’s father, getting some of the film’s best moments.
Kanchi, as Shivani’s father, is passable, and he brought some laughs with his expressions itself. Satya Krishnan and Anitha Chowdary, playing the mothers of the young couple, deliver neat performances.
Technical Excellence:
The film’s production design and overall quality is mediocre but that proves sufficient for this kind of film to bring some realistic vibe.
Highlights:
Fun moments
Timing of the actors
Dialogues
Screenplay Driven
Drawback:
Thin story
Failed punchlines here and there
Analysis
In recent times, films with little to no story but sprinkled with laughs have become a trend, especially after the success of “MAD.” Earlier, “Jathi Ratnalu” or "DJ Tillu" gave this genre both believability and success, thanks to a proper story arc and some interesting twists like the crime angle. In contrast, “Little Hearts” has almost no story to speak of.
The film simply revolves around two academically weak students who fall in love during their intermediate coaching days.
The narrative spans a decade, beginning in 2015 and ending in 2025. In those ten years the world has seen drastic changes, including the COVID pandemic, but as the film itself quips, only “Modi Sarkar and the lovers’ pyaar” remain unchanged. That pretty much sums up the wafer-thin plot. The only so-called “twist” is that the girl is three years older than the boy, which tells you everything about the script’s depth.
Of course, you don’t go to such films expecting a story or strong writing. What matters is whether they entertain. “Little Hearts” clearly aims at youngsters who are hooked to mobile content such as YouTube skits, memes, and social media jokes, and to large extent it succeeds with that crowd.
One of the funniest moments comes when the hero makes a song video for the heroine, which was accidentally seen by her father. This episode is genuinely hilarious. There are indeed a few laugh-out-loud gags, but here and there the humor begins to feel repetitive and some punchlines fail to generate laughs.
Ultimately, this is not a film for everyone. It is made for a very specific audience, and if you go in with that mindset and keep your expectations low, you may find nonstop entertainment. But as a film, “Little Heart”s feels more like an extended short skit peppered with a handful of laughs rather than a full-fledged cinematic experience. It entertains if watched with a youthful mindset; otherwise, it goes over the head of the older audience.
Bottom-line: Only for teen minds!