Written and directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, Varshangalkku Shesham (transl. Years Later) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language period comedy drama film based on the South Indian Film Industry. Merryland Cinemas’ Visakh Subramaniam produced and distributed it. In addition to Nivin Pauly, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Y. G. Mahendran, Shaan Rahman, Neeta Pillai, Aju Varghese, Basil Joseph, Neeraj Madhav, and Vineeth Sreenivasan himself in supporting parts, the film stars Pranav Mohanlal and Dhyan Sreenivasan in the key roles. Amrit Ramnath, a rookie, wrote the background score and original songs for the movie.
The main shooting for the movie was shot over 40 days in October and December of 2023. Fifty places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala were used for filming. The editing was done by Ranjan Abraham while the cinematography was done by Viswajith Odukkathil.
was released on April 11, 2024, in theaters around the world to acclaim from both reviewers and viewers. Praise was given to Vineeth’s direction, comedy, production design, soundtrack, cinematography, and Dhyan and Nivin’s performances. On the other hand, the timing, pacing, and performances of Pranav and Kalyani were criticized. At the global box office, it brought in over ₹80 crores, making it a huge commercial success.
Venu is a high school student in the early 1970s who dedicates all of his time to helping out with traveling shows when they visit his community. One evening, the play’s producer asks him to summon Murali, an instrumentalist, from the local landlord’s home. Murali, who is inebriated, grudgingly consents to play for the evening. The man’s impromptu musicality really impresses Venu, and they soon become friends. As time goes on, Venu attends college. One day, Murali attempts to meet the principal at the college by bringing a new book that has arrived in the library. When Venu offers to assist, she learns that Annie, a first-year student, has already borrowed the book.
When Murali first meets Annie, he falls in love with her right away. That evening, they get together to swap the book and carry on their relationship. When Murali asks her out, she is shocked and turns him down. She advises him to go and admits that she has a sexual relationship with her brother-in-law because of his obsession.
The news breaks Murali, and he is missing for a while. He writes to Venu one day, saying he’s heading to Madras to try his hand at acting, and Venu comes along. They lease a room in Kodambakkam, where Murali gets employed by music director Indhra Dhanush as a violinist. Following her violin performance for a B-movie, Murali gets to know Keshavadev, the film’s producer. He assures him that his movie will be a huge failure. Shaken, he goes back to see him when it erroneously fails. Murali presents him to Venu, who is in possession of the screenplay for a potential movie. After being impressed, he consents to produce it.Murali declines Venu’s insistence that he compose the music for it, pointing to his lack of experience. Murali surreptitiously gives some of his compositions to Indhra Dhanush, who uses them to write the soundtrack for the movie. When the movie is released, it becomes a big hit, and the song that Murali wrote himself becomes very popular. The fact that he did not compose the song himself drives him insane. When he encounters Indhra Dhanush, he begs him in vain to at least acknowledge that Venu’s music is his. Eventually, Venu finds the original tape that contains the soundtrack from his film and has the words “Murali” written on it. After learning that Murali has left Madras, he makes an attempt to meet him.Venu departs the motion picture business after directing numerous more pictures over the years. When he runs across Murali again, he should go back into the film business, according to him. When he reluctantly accepts, they learn about the inexperienced filmmaker Pradeep. In order to work on Jeevithagadhakale, one of Venu’s older scripts, Venu and Pradeep begin searching for the crew. They decide on a cast that includes a number of fresh faces besides the quirky actor Nithin Molly. Keshavdev’s son Jayan, the film’s producer, becomes gravely ill at the conclusion of production and is unable to continue providing financial support for it. Disappointed, Murali vanishes once more. The paparazzi, who capture Nithin Molly intoxicated on camera, miraculously save them and generate buzz for the movie. Jeevithagadhakale opens in theaters to overwhelmingly positive feedback. After hailing a cab in Tamil Nadu, Venu runs across Senthil, an old buddy from their Madras lodge. He leads them to a Carnatic music sabha in Trichy, where Murali resides. To his delight, Venu informs him that their first joint film has been launched. They visit a Coimbatore theater to observe the response of the crowd to their movie.
| Varshangalkku Shesham | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Vineeth Sreenivasan |
| Written by | Vineeth Sreenivasan |
| Produced by | Visakh Subramaniam |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Viswajith Odukkathil |
| Edited by | Ranjan Abrahaman |
| Music by | Amrit Ramnath |
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Production
company |
Merryland Cinemas
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| Distributed by | Merryland Release |
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Release date
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Running time
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167 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Box office | est. ₹80 crore |
Plot
Venu is a high school student in the early 1970s who dedicates all of his time to helping out with traveling shows when they visit his community. One evening, the play’s producer asks him to summon Murali, an instrumentalist, from the local landlord’s home. Murali, who is inebriated, grudgingly consents to play for the evening. The man’s impromptu musicality really impresses Venu, and they soon become friends. As time goes on, Venu attends college. One day, Murali attempts to meet the principal at the college by bringing a new book that has arrived in the library. When Venu offers to assist, she learns that Annie, a first-year student, has already borrowed the book. When Murali first sees Annie, he falls in love whit her.
That evening, they get together to swap the book and carry on their relationship. When Murali asks her out, she is shocked and turns him down. She advises him to go and admits that she has a sexual relationship with her brother-in-law because of his obsession.
The news breaks Murali, and he is missing for a while. He writes to Venu one day, saying he’s heading to Madras to try his hand at acting, and Venu comes along. They lease a room in Kodambakkam, where Murali gets employed by music director Indhra Dhanush as a violinist. Following her violin performance for a B-movie, Murali gets to know Keshavadev, the film’s producer. He assures him that his movie will be a huge failure. Shaken, he goes back to see him when it erroneously fails. Murali presents him to Venu, who is in possession of the screenplay for a potential movie. After being impressed, he consents to produce it.
Murali declines Venu’s insistence that he compose the music for it, pointing to his lack of experience. Murali surreptitiously gives some of his compositions to Indhra Dhanush, who uses them to write the soundtrack for the movie. When the movie is released, it becomes a big hit, and the song that Murali wrote himself becomes very popular. The fact that he did not compose the song himself drives him insane. When he encounters Indhra Dhanush, he begs him in vain to at least acknowledge that Venu’s music is his. Eventually, Venu finds the original tape that contains the soundtrack from his film and has the words “Murali” written on it. After learning that Murali has left Madras, he makes an attempt to meet him. Hakale opens in theaters to overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Venu departs the motion picture business after directing numerous more pictures over the years. When he runs across Murali again, he should go back into the film business, according to him. When he reluctantly accepts, they learn about the inexperienced filmmaker Pradeep. In order to work on Jeevithagadhakale, one of Venu’s older scripts, Venu and Pradeep begin searching for the crew. They decide on a cast that includes a number of fresh faces besides the quirky actor Nithin Molly. Keshavdev’s son Jayan, the film’s producer, becomes gravely ill at the conclusion of production and is unable to continue providing financial support for it. Disappointed, Murali vanishes once more. The paparazzi, who capture Nithin Molly intoxicated on camera, miraculously save them and generate buzz for the movie.
After hailing a cab in Tamil Nadu, Venu runs across Senthil, an old buddy from their Madras lodge. He leads them to a Carnatic music sabha in Trichy, where Murali resides. To his delight, Venu informs him that their first joint film has been launched. They visit a Coimbatore theater to observe the response of the crowd to their movie.
Cast
- Pranav Mohanlal as Murali Vishwambaran
- Dhyan Sreenivasan as Venu Koothuparambu
- Nivin Pauly as Nithin Mulanthuruthy a.k.a. Nithin Molly (extended cameo appearance)
- Kalyani Priyadarshan as Annie, Murali’s ex-girlfriend (voiceover by Raveena Ravi)
- Vineeth Sreenivasan as Venu’s taxi driver
Aju Varghese in a dual role as: - Producer Kamukara Keshavadev
- Jayan Keshavadev, Keshavadev’s son
- Basil Joseph as Pradeep, an assistant director
- Neeraj Madhav as producer ‘Fearless’ Alex Mathew (cameo)
- Shaan Rahman as actor Kamraj
- Y. G. Mahendran as Swaminathan, Swami’s lodge owner
- Neeta Pillai as actress Radhika, Venu’s wife
- Kalesh Ramanand as music director Indradhanush “Indra”
- Deepak Parambol as Shakespeare Shekharan a.k.a. Kuntham Kulukki
- Bhagath Manuel as Frederick, Nithin’s manager
- Aswath Lal as Jeevithagadhakale movie production controller Saji
- Arjun Lal as Christy, Annie’s brother-in-law
- Darshana Sudharshan as Annie’s bedridden sister
- TSR Sreenivasan as movie art director Ilango
- Harikrishnan as Jeevithagadhakale movie cameraman
- Sreeram Ramachandran as Jeevithagadhakale movie art director
- Krishnachandran as Pro Arumai Prakasham
- Biju Sopanam as film producer
- Reshma Sebastian as Nithin Molly’s movie actress
- Fahim Safar as the music composer of Venu’s new film
- Parvathy R. Krishna as Nithin Molly’s programme anchor
- Blessy Kurien as Jeevithagadhakale movie costume designer
- A. R. Raja Ganesh as Senthil, Swami’s lodge steward
- Unni Raja as Singakkutty
Production
Development
Following the success of Hridayam (2022), Vineeth Sreenivasan revealed on July 13, 2023, that he will be working with Merryland Cinemas producer Visakh Subramaniam once more on their second project, Varshangalkku Shesham. Pranav Mohanlal and Kalyani Priyadarshan return from their previous film in this one as well.According to Vineeth, the movie will center on a group of buddies.
When discussing his influences, Vineeth mentioned in an interview that he used to listen to his father Sreenivasan’s stories about his early years in Madras and his peers’ experiences in the film industry. Vineeth read prominent Malayalam film magazines like Nana, Vellinakshatram, and Chithrabhumi religiously during his school years. These publications contained interviews and articles with people in the film industry. Varshangalkku Shesham was influenced by these tales as well as the imagined vision of Madras they painted. He also remembered how actors Mukesh and Innocent used to amuse the team with anecdotes from their experiences in the movie industry and from their life in Madras during stage presentations.
Living in Chennai (formerly Madras), Vineeth characterizes his home city as “a place that had always fascinated” him. Varshangalkku Shesham is a film that “attempts to showcase that arc of time, the mood and the style of working”; it depicts Madras in the 1970s and 1980s, spanning 50 years from the early 1970s, and shows the development of the film industry during this time.
Vineeth had the story in his head since his time in college, but he lacked the courage to carry it out. He developed the confidence to see it through after Hridayam. In 2022, he started writing screens. According to Vineeth, Sreenivasan wrote two screenplays that served as inspiration for the Varshangalkku Shesham tale. After sharing the screenplay with filmmaker Priyadarshan, Vineeth also incorporated some of his ideas. Vineeth included Priyadarshan’s account of an incident that happened in a film studio into the movie.
Casting
Pranav Mohanlal, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Aju Varghese, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Basil Joseph, Vineeth, Neeraj Madhav, Neeta Pillai, Arjun Lal, Nikhil Nair, Shaan Rahman, and Nivin Pauly were among the original cast members announced with the film. In the movie’s teaser, more cast members were shown off. In supporting parts, they included Y. G. Mahendran, Harikrishnan, Anjali Nair, Darshana Sudarshanan, Deepak Parambol, Bhagath Manuel, Ashwath Lal, Sreeram Ramachandran, Krishnachandran, and TSR.
When Vineeth was writing the script, Pranav, Dhyan, and Nivin were on his mind. Vineeth claims that the trio is essential to the movie’s success. He stated, “After hearing the story, everyone suggested Kalyani for the role.” Vineeth modelled Pranav’s persona on actor Murali, whom he saw in Champakulam Thachan (1992) filming. He remembers seeing Murali singing a poem as he walked toward their hotel from a distance, wearing a jubba and mundu and carrying a sling bag. The portrayal was characterized by Vineeth as “a man flowing in the wind”. He also gave the actor’s name to the role. After Hridayam, Pranav and Kalyani reunite with Vineeth in the movie. Following an eight-year break, Vineeth and Nivin once again work together.
Nivin, according to Vineeth, was at his “best form”. Dhyan lost twelve kg of weight in order to get in shape for the movie.
With Varshangalkku Sheshma, Shaan—who had previously worked with Vineeth as a music director on some of his earlier projects—made his acting debut. Shaan was originally offered a small role in Vineeth’s Thira (2013), but he turned it down. But because of Vineeth’s faith in him, he agreed to take this offer. Shaan got a makeover and wore a mustache, wig, and costume for the part. “Tamil-speaking actor with calm demeanor” was what Vineeth was looking for in a director, however Lokesh Kanagaraj denied the assignment because of his directorial commitments. As a result, Visakh’s suggestion to cast Kalesh Ramanand—who had previously starred in Hridayam—was accepted.
Unlike in Hridayam, where most actors were still in the early phases of their careers, Vineeth remembered how different actors in the film had to juggle many producers during filming dates. He described it as “a wonderful coincidence that we were able to bring them all together for this film”.
Filming
On October 26, 2023, principal photography got underway. The filming was moved to Aroor the next day. Nimesh Thanur, the film’s art director, built sets at Aroor that imitated Kodambakkam and Madras’s film studios. In addition, Coimbatore and Pollachi were used for a few vintage studio scenes. Building the sets took two months.When he narrated the screenplay to Vineeth, filmmaker Priyadarshan gave him some crucial details about the design of Swami’s Lodge, one of the main backdrops in the movie.
After 23 days of filming, the initial filming schedule came to an end in the fourth week of November. In early December, Nivin joined the movie for its second schedule in Munnar. The last day of shooting was December 20, 2023. Over 200 crew members worked over more than 50 locations during the course of 40 days to shoot the movie.The movie was not filmed in Chennai, even though it is set in the city in the 1970s and 1980s.
Post-production
In Chennai, dubbing for the movie started in early January 2024. The dubbing was finished in the same calendar month. That month, the last round of editing came after it. The movie’s audio mixing was finished by March 2024.
Music
The first feature film composition by Amrit Ramnath, son of singer-composer Bombay Jayashri, is Varshangalkku Sheshma. He had been writing his own songs for a while prior to then. Ramnath composed three tracks for the movie while he was at the hospital, where his mother was receiving treatment. The lyrics were written by Manu Manajith, Vaisakh Sugunan, Jayashri, and Sreenivasan. On April 7, 2024, Think Music released the soundtrack CD for the movie, which included 14 songs.
Home media
The film starting streaming on SonyLIV from 7 June 2024.
Box office
The film grossed over ₹80 crore in its theatrical run.
