Kumari 21F

Devi Sri Prasad (left) and R. Rathnavelu (right) were signed as the film's music composer and director of photography. Neither of them charged remuneration for this film.[5]

In October 2014, Sukumar announced he would co-produce a film along with Vijay Bandreddi and Thomas Reddy under the banner P.A. Motion pictures. Palnati Surya Pratap, who made his directorial debut with Current (2009), was chosen to direct this film.[6] Sukumar titled the film Kumari 21F because it is about a 21-year-old woman named Kumari. He said it is not a female-centric film and both the lead roles, for which Raj Tarun and Sheena Bajaj were chosen, would be equally important.[7] Tarun charged a remuneration of ₹25 million.[8]

Sukumar wrote the film's story and screenplay, taking inspiration from his college days in Razole where a young woman went to a picnic with some young men; a major undertaking for a woman at the time. Rumours were spread and the woman was labelled as a "loose" character, which stayed in Sukumar's mind.[9] He defined Kumari as an "honest and genuine human being who isn't afraid of expressing herself" and the "sort of girl most people would know", despite going overboard at times with her characterisation during the scripting stage.[9]

Sukumar's technicians Devi Sri Prasad and R. Rathnavelu were signed as the film's music composer and director of photography respectively.[10] In an interview with Behindwoods in December 2014, Rathnavelu said the necessity of rejuvenating himself after Lingaa (2014), the film's script and his friendship with Sukumar were the reasons for choosing to work for this film.[11] Neither Rathnavelu nor Prasad charged any remuneration for the film[5] Hebah Patel replaced Bajaj after the makers were impressed with her performance in Ala Ela (2014).[12] Patel went through many workshops for her role that occupied 80% of the screen space;[13] her voice was dubbed by Lipsika.[1] Tarun did little preparation for his role because he felt it was "brilliantly conceived" and an extension of the roles he played in Uyyala Jampala (2013) and Cinema Choopistha Mava (2015).[14]

Kumari 21F was produced on a budget of ₹60—150 million.[lower-alpha 1] The film's principal photography commenced in December 2014,[12] and was finished in 70 working days.[1] Initially, Krishna Nagar, Hyderabad, was chosen as the film's backdrop. Rathnavelu felt they would create a noisy, crowded environment if shot there and chose to shoot in an isolated colony and in confined spaces.[15] 60% of the film was shot at the R&B colony in Malakpet, Hyderabad. The song "Bang Bang Bangkok" was filmed in picturesque locales in Bangkok, and was choreographed by Prasad.[1][16] Prasad said he composed a few signature steps during the composition of the song, which Sukumar and Rathnavelu liked. They wanted him to choreograph the song.[17]

According to Rathnavelu, lighting played a key role in Kumari 21F. He shot the film with limited equipment and mostly used natural light.[15] The experience he gained working on Haridas (2013) helped him with this film; he used Digital low lighting photography techniques, thereby using 80% of the generally required lighting. He found the climax sequences challenging to film because the emphasis was more on visuals rather than dialogue.[18] Patel said of her experience during the filming of some intimate sequences, "There were so many people on the sets, so it was obviously uncomfortable. But then, I got myself mentally prepared for this kind of thing in a workshop I had undergone before the shoot. It also helped that I became good friends with Raj Tarun and that made things way less awkward". Tarun said he and Patel "put in a part of us into the characters to make the romance more believable".[19]

One of the first-look posters released in October 2015 was alleged to have been plagiarised from the Russian magazine Chai-llot.[32] After the film's first-look teaser was released by N. T. Rama Rao Jr., the makers announced a dubsmash challenge. Interested female participants were asked to search for an audio clip uploaded by the film's team and upload it on their Facebook pages. They were asked to e-mail the link or send a message on Facebook. The first 500 participants won invitations to the soundtrack launch event and 21 participants with most likes on their videos shared the stage with the film's cast and crew at the event. One winner was crowned "Kumari 21F" and received a special gift.[33]

Karthik Keramalu of CNN-IBN gave Kumari 21F 3.5 stars out of 5 and called it a "surprisingly good" film, adding, "The emotions of the leads are true and it rightly says that at the end of the day trust is all that matters and nothing else comes into the picture".[34] Sify gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and called it a "coming-of-age story told in bold manner with an unusual climax", and praised the film's music and cinematography.[35] Siddharth Rao of The Times of India also gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and stated, "In an industry where a damsel-in-distress-wooed-and-saved-by-an-angry-young-man is the norm, this is a refreshing film which provokes some thought". Rao also said, "The best part is the way that the film's climax is presented; the director Palnati Surya Pratap has definitely done a very mature job".[36]

The Hans India also gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and stated, "Sukumar popularly known as a creative director in the industry, has once again come out with an unusual story. The film may disappoint normal audience but it will surely entertain the youth audience".[37] Suresh Kavirayani of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 3 stars out of 5, called it a "[b]old and beautiful" one and praised the performances and the film's climax.[38] Giving 2.75 stars out of 5, Behindwoods also called the film "[b]old and beautiful" and stated, "Kumari 21F starts off as a feel good romantic film, shifts gears slowly and gets very intense towards the end ... Sukumar must be credited for having given us a memorable character that would be talked about for years. You don’t find such bold female characters in Telugu cinema often."[39]

Y. Sunita Chowdary of The Hindu called the film "[r]egressive and cliched", and stated, "It's not enough if a canvas boasts of the biggest names in the industry, the content should be simple and progressive". She called the performances "strong and authentic".[40] A. Harini Prasad of The New Indian Express called Kumari 21F a "Lacklustre Love Story" and stated, "Though the basic theme is enticing, the story-telling fails to impress. Raj Tharun’s performance and the climax, which is gripping, are probably the only things that could drive you to the theaters".[41]

Kumari 21F debuted with an average occupancy of 80% globally; it grossed more than ₹30 million with a distributor share of more than ₹20 million, out of which approximately ₹56,69,014 was collected from Guntur, Krishna, East, West and Nellore areas. It collected US$27,153 from 80 screens in the US on the first day.[42] In its first weekend, Kumari 21F grossed ₹85 million with a distributor share of ₹55 million at the AP/Nizam box office. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, it grossed US$149,752 (₹9.9 million) in its first weekend at the North American box office.[43] The first weekend global gross and share figures stood at ₹105.8 million and ₹63.4 million respectively.[44] It collected US$188,457 (₹12.5 million) at the US box office in its first weekend, becoming one of the highest grossing Telugu films of the year there.[45]

In ten days, Kumari 21F grossed ₹174 million and collected a distributor share of ₹106.6 million at the AP/Nizam box office. It grossed ₹23 million with a distributor share of ₹0.85 million at the Karnataka box office. The ten-day global gross figure stood at ₹210 million and Kumari 21F was declared a profitable venture.[46] After losing screens to Size Zero and Shankaraabharanam, Kumari 21F collected US$3,190 from eight screens in the US and its 17-day total stood at US$252,151 (₹16.8 million).[47] Its US screen count was reduced to four in its fourth week and the 24-day US revenue was US$253,961 (₹17 million).[48] With this, Kumari 21F secured the tenth position in the list of the ten highest-grossing Telugu films of the year at the US box office.[49]

In its lifetime, Kumari 21F grossed ₹380 million and earned a distributor share of ₹180 million worldwide. It was declared a commercial success based on the return on distributor's investment of ₹100 million and became the 12th highest grossing Telugu film of the year.[4]