Amma Cheppindi

Amma Cheppindi (“Mother Told Me”) is a 2006 Telugu drama written and directed by Gangaraju Gunnam, with Sharwanand as a young man with the mind of a child, Suhasini as his mother and Shriya Reddy in a key role. M. M. Keeravani composed the songs and score, Gangaraju’s son Sandeep shot the film and Mohan Rama Rao edited it. It was released on 28 July 2006, and won Gangaraju a Nandi Special Jury Award as producer.

What the story is about

Bose’s father is India’s foremost rocket scientist and head of the Bharat Rocket Centre; his younger brother topped class 12 in the country. Bose is 21 and has failed the third standard again and again. He is a happy child trapped in a man’s body, his mother Saraswati’s pet and the bane of the township, where people either despise him or take advantage of him while he plays with his third-standard friends.

When he is finally taken out of school, Saraswati gets him a job in the Rocket Centre canteen. The centre is preparing a grand Independence Day launch of a new Space Tech School, bringing together the country’s brightest students and top scientists. A terror cell plans to strike that day, and its agents befriend the trusting Bose. The film builds towards that day and towards a choice that tests both mother and son.

Cast and crew

• Sharwanand as Bose
• Suhasini as Saraswati, Bose’s mother
• Shriya Reddy as Razia
• Pavan Malhotra as Bose’s father
• Suman as Major K. L. Chowdary, the principal
• Nagendra Babu as a terrorist
• Krishna Bhagavan as Sattiraju, the cook
• L. B. Sriram as Tirupathi, the barber
• Tanikella Bharani as Paparao

Writer and director: Gangaraju Gunnam. Casting: Urmila Gunnam. Music: M. M. Keeravani. Cinematography: Sandeep Gunnam. Editing: Mohan Rama Rao.

Making the film

Gangaraju had not directed since Little Soldiers in the 1990s; his productions Aithe and Anukokunda Oka Roju had not done much business, and he told Idlebrain he “could not connect with larger section of audiences”. The idea came from Flowers for Algernon, a short story he had read long before, though he said the final screenplay is not like it; the script was written six years before filming and did not change.

His wife Urmila Gunnam chose the cast. They spotted Sharwanand in Vennela (2005) and picked him after a screen test. Gangaraju first worried that Suhasini was too young and slim to play the mother, but later called hers one of the most natural performances in recent times.

Music and reviews

Keeravani’s eight-song soundtrack includes “Vasthava Natho”, sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Harish Raghavendra, two songs by Pranavi, and a “Janaganamana” sung by Harish Raghavendra. Reviews were generally positive. Idlebrain wrote that Sharwanand “should feel lucky to get this role in the beginning of his career”, praising the music, dialogue and emotional scenes while wishing the editing, screenplay and direction were tighter. Andhracafe found the start slow but praised the cast and technical work. We have not found box-office figures from a named outlet.

Where to watch Amma Cheppindi

We do not have a confirmed streaming listing for Amma Cheppindi on file. If we verify one with a platform, it will appear on this page.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Amma Cheppindi and the reviews and interview it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.