How India’s first 3D film ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’ made magic for Rs 40 lakh

When asked which Malayalam film every Indian should watch, actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran chose Jijo Punnoose’s 1984 classic My Dear Kuttichathan, India’s first film shot in 3D.

Prithviraj made the choice during the 16th edition of Expresso at Taj Lands End in Mumbai. After taking a moment to consider the question, he chose the film, citing both its pioneering technology and his love of cinematic nostalgia.

“That’s tough, because we have made such great cinema over the decades,” Prithviraj said. Explaining his choice, he added that he was a big fan of “cinema nostalgia” before pointing to the film’s place in Indian cinema history.

“It’s the first 3D film ever made in India, and I don’t know how many people know that Malayalam cinema did it,” he said, highlighting the pioneers behind the project.

Directed by Jijo Punnoose, My Dear Kuttichathan is a fantasy film about a mischievous but good-hearted supernatural character who befriends three children after they rescue him from an evil sorcerer’s spell. The film was written by Raghunath Paleri and produced by Navodaya Studios.

The film was an ambitious technical experiment at a time when 3D filmmaking was largely unfamiliar to Indian audiences. Punnoose travelled to the United States several times to study 3D technology before production began. The film was shot at Navodaya Studios in Kochi using an ARRI Model IIC camera, with a 35mm Mitchell camera kept as a backup.

Filming took around 90 days, considerably longer than a conventional Malayalam production. The team also had to deal with the challenge of preparing cinemas to screen the film in 3D, including installing special lenses on projectors and arranging for 3D glasses made from imported polaroid material.

One of the film’s most memorable sequences features Kuttichathan and the children apparently walking on a wall during the song “Aalippazham Perukkaan”, composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

To create the gravity-defying effect, the filmmakers constructed a rotating set. According to Navodaya Studio’s account, the rotating-set sequence alone took 14 days to film. The production had initially been estimated at around Rs 40 lakh, a substantial amount for a Malayalam film of that period.

The film’s original release date was August 24, 1984. It went on to receive multiple re-releases, while its Hindi-dubbed version, Chhota Chetan, introduced the film to a wider audience.

My Dear Kuttichathan also won the National Film Award for Best Children’s Film, further cementing its place in Indian cinema history.