Varshangalkku Shesham: How Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Malayalam film pays tributes to two Tamil superstars in its own way

Following the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Malayalam hit film Manjummel Boys, comes another film from the industry which has a special connect with Tamil Nadu. It is none another than Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Varshangalkku Shesham which made its OTT debut on SonyLIV recently.

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While Manjummel Boys rooted its storyline to Guna Caves, the famous tourist spot in Tamil Nadu’s Kodaikanal, Varshangalkku Shesham took the essence of Madras as a city, which was once a hub for film industry across the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Varshangalkku Shesham’s special Tamil connect

Varshangalkku Shesham, directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, stars Pranav Mohanlal and the director’s brother and actor Dhyan Sreenivasan in the lead roles. They play two men from Kerala, who travel all the way to then Madras (now called Chennai), in the hopes of becoming music composer and director respectively.

Why all the way to Madras you may ask. It is to be noted that Madras was the happening hub for south cinema across languages, and it is no wonder that Varshangalkku Shesham which is set in the 70s, begins the dreams of its lead characters from one particular day which was landmark for Tamil Nadu’s political and cinematic landscape. The day Murali Vishwambaran (Pranav) and Venu Koothuparambu (Dhyan) arrive to Madras with a twinkle in their eyes and dreams in their hearts, is the very same day superstar MG Ramachandran was sworn as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu in the 70s. If you may recall Varshangalkku Shesham’s first look, the cutout of iconic MGR in his royal suit, stands tall with the two lead actors engaged in a pose of celebration. And needless to say, just like Manjummel Boys, Varshangalkku Shesham too ropes in Tamil actors like YG Mahendran to further stamp the authenticity of Tamil flavour.

A Rajinikanth tribute

Given the film happens in the 70s, we are also presented with a delightful tribute to Rajinikanth, who as per the storyline is yet to make his debut. On their first day in Chennai, when Venu and Murali come to the lodge they are going to reside, the owner of the premise played by Mahendran says that it is the very same place where superstars once visited and stayed before they became one.

Soon enough, we are also told how in one of those rooms is a resident who aspires to be an actor while referring to Rajinikanth’s iconic mannerism of catching a cigarette. “He is a good guy. He has a unique style,” says the bus boy to the lead characters of Varshangalkku Shesham. Soon, in a song that follows featuring the dreams of the men, we are shown montages of a lookalike resembling younger Rajinikanth practising the cigarette move until he perfects it.

Also read: Did you know? This Varshangalkku Shesham star worked in Prashanth Neel’s Ugramm | Exclusive 

Varshangalkku Shesham may have only portions of these references as a passing, but carefully places them so that they pay as fitting tributes to the Tamil superstars, MGR and Rajinikanth, the stars of the masses. The film, which is set against the backdrop of movie industry, borrows enough flavour from the Madras city, to brandish the stardust on its audience.

The film is available for streaming on SonyLIV and OTTplay Premium.

Also read: Varshangalkku Shesham’s OTT release is the best creative choice made by Sony LIV; Here’s why