Varshangalkku Shesham

Story:

Varshangalkku Shesham (transl. Years Later) is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language period comedy-drama film written and directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan. Produced by Visakh Subramaniam under the banner of Merryland Cinemas, the film stars Pranav Mohanlal and Dhyan Sreenivasan in the lead roles. The supporting cast includes Nivin Pauly, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Aju Varghese, Neeta Pillai, Basil Joseph, and Neeraj Madhav.

The film’s soundtrack and background score were composed by debutant Amrit Ramnath. Principal photography took place between October and December 2023, spanning 40 days, and the film was shot across 50 locations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Cinematography was handled by Viswajith Odukkathil, while Ranjan Abraham took care of the editing.

Upon its release on 11 April 2024, the film received mixed reviews. While critics praised the performances of Pranav, Dhyan, and Nivin, along with the production design, soundtrack, and cinematography, the screenplay, pacing, and runtime were criticized. Despite this, Varshangalkku Shesham was a commercial success, grossing over ₹80 crores at the worldwide box office. It became the 8th highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2024 and the 13th highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time.

Plot

In the early 1970s, Venu, a high school student, spends his time helping with traveling plays that visit his hometown. One evening, the producer of a play asks him to bring an instrumentalist, Murali, from the house of the local landlord. Though Murali is drunk, he reluctantly agrees to perform for the night. Venu is impressed by Murali’s spontaneous musical talent, and they quickly become friends. Over time, Venu goes to college, where Murali shows up one day to meet the principal and borrow a new book from the library. Venu offers to help, only to find that the book is already lent to Annie, a first-year student. Murali falls in love with Annie at first sight. They meet that night to exchange the book and continue seeing each other. Murali asks her out, but she rejects him, revealing she is sexually involved with her brother-in-law due to his coercion.

Devastated, Murali disappears for a while and later writes to Venu, telling him he is leaving for Madras to pursue a career in cinema. Venu joins him, and they rent a room in Kodambakkam, where Murali gets a job as a violinist under music director Indra Dhanush. After playing in a B-movie, Murali meets the film’s producer, Keshavadev, and predicts the film’s failure. When it does flop, Murali introduces Keshavadev to Venu, who has a script for a new film. Keshavadev agrees to produce it, but Venu insists that Murali compose the music. Murali refuses due to his lack of experience but secretly gives some of his music to Indra Dhanush, who ends up composing the score. The film becomes a major hit, with Murali’s song becoming a sensation, driving him mad with regret for not composing it himself. He asks Indra Dhanush to tell Venu the song was his, but is rejected. Murali goes to Venu, who chastises him for his drunken behavior and their respective roles, with Venu now a promising director and Murali a minor background violinist. Murali leaves in tears, but leaves behind the original cassette with his name on it, containing the song. Venu finds it, realizes the truth, and tries to find Murali, only to discover he has left Madras.

Murali moves to Bombay, where he works as a music teacher and falls in love with Bhumi, a colleague. They eventually break up after a misunderstanding. After the 1993 bombings, Murali disappears. Over the years, Venu continues directing films but falls out of the industry. He tries unsuccessfully to locate Murali. Fifty years after their time in Madras, Venu unexpectedly meets Murali again. Murali urges him to return to filmmaking, and Venu agrees, asking Murali to compose the music for his new film. Annie and her husband John persuade Murali to accept. At the funeral of Indra Dhanush, they meet the young director Pradeep, and Venu and Pradeep begin searching for the crew for one of Venu’s old scripts, Jeevithagaadhakale. They cast mostly new artists, except for the eccentric actor Nithin “Molly/Mollywood” Mulanthuruthy. During filming, the producer’s son, Jayan, falls ill and can no longer fund the film. Murali disappears again in disappointment. However, Nithin’s public outburst at the film industry leads to newfound fame, creating a buzz for the film. Jeevithagaadhakale is released to rave reviews. At the premiere, Venu receives a call and leaves.

Venu hires a taxi to a location in Tamil Nadu, where they meet Senthil, an old friend from their time in Madras. Senthil directs them to Karpagam, a village near Salem, where Murali lives in a Carnatic music sabha. Venu shares the news that their first film together has been released, and they go to a theater in Coimbatore to see the audience’s reaction to their movie.