Movie: Varisu (2022) |

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Varisu, a Tamil-language action drama film, hit the theatres on 11 January 2023. The movie is directed by Vamshi Paidipally, who also co-wrote it with Hari and Ashishor Solomon. Dil Raju and Sirish produced the movie together under the Sri Venkateswara Creations and PVP Cinema banners. The film features Vijay and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles, along with an ensemble cast that includes R. Sarathkumar, Prabhu, Jayasudha, Prakash Raj, Srikanth, Shaam, Ganesh Venkatraman, Sangeetha Krish, VTV Ganesh, S.J Suryah, and Suman in other pivotal roles.

The plot revolves around an entrepreneur’s youngest son, who is appointed as the chairman of his father’s business, much to the dismay of his two older brothers. The film was initially announced in September 2021 under the working title Thalapathy 66, as it marks Vijay’s 66th film in a leading role.

The shooting for the movie began in April 2022 and wrapped up in December of the same year. The film was mainly shot in Chennai and Hyderabad, with additional schedules in Visakhapatnam, Ballari, and Ladakh.

Thaman S composed the music for the film, while Karthik Palani was the cinematographer and Praveen K. L. was the editor. The film received mixed reviews from critics but grossed around ₹290–310 crore at the box office, making it the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the fourth-highest-grossing Tamil film worldwide, and Vijay’s highest-grossing film to date.

Plot For the Movie VARISU:

Vijay Rajendran, the youngest son of a well-known billionaire business magnate, Rajendran Palanisamy, is cast out of his home after he declines to join the family business and instead starts a food delivery startup. Seven years later, Rajendran is diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer with only 8-10 months to live.

He decides to inform his family about his terminal illness and appoint one of his two elder sons, Jai or Ajay, as his successor before his impending death. He plans to reveal both matters during his 65th birthday celebration. Vijay is invited by his mother, Sudha, who still considers him her son.

Upon his arrival, Vijay finds chaos in his home. Jai is cheating on his wife, Aarthi, with another woman, Smita, and neglecting his family, including his daughter Ria.

Meanwhile, Ajay is in debt to a financier named Mukesh and has offered to leak his company’s secrets to his father’s business rival, Jayaprakash “JP”, in exchange for financial relief. The two elder brothers are not on speaking terms and are constantly fighting to become their father’s successor.

During Rajendran’s birthday celebration, JP reveals Jai and Ajay’s duplicity through Smita and Mukesh, devastating the entire family, particularly Aarthi, who decides to file for divorce from Jai, and Rajendran, who has lost a business deal to JP due to Ajay’s actions.

Realizing that his elder sons cannot manage his business empire, Rajendran reaches out to Vijay, who initially refuses but later agrees to take over the business after learning about Rajendran’s illness.

Jai and Ajay leave the house in jealousy and dismay and join forces with JP and Mukesh to oust Vijay as the chairman, but Vijay manages to overcome the obstacles and run the family business smoothly.

However, after rescuing Ria from a human trafficking gang, Jai realizes his mistakes and reconciles with Vijay, Aarthi, and the rest of the family. Vijay and Jai then work together to prevent Ajay from selling their company’s shares to JP and help him realize his mistakes.

The entire family reunites and enjoys a hearty meal together, bringing happiness to Rajendran and Sudha. After Rajendran’s death, the three brothers perform his funeral together and scatter his ashes in Varanasi. The film ends with a message that every family has its flaws, but everyone has only one family.

Who Did The Production and Development of the Movie Varisu?

Vijay’s 66th film as the lead actor, with the working title Thalapathy 66, was announced on 26 September 2021. The film will be directed by Vamshi Paidipally and produced by Dil Raju and Sirish under Sri Venkateswara Creations. It will be Paidipally’s second Tamil film after Thozha (2016).

Initially, the makers intended to announce the project early in the year, but had to postpone their plans due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Vijay is reported to receive a payment of ₹110 crore (US$14 million) for the film and will sport two different looks, as the film will be set in two different time periods.

Paidipally co-wrote the story and screenplay with Hari and Ashishor Solomon, while Raju Murugan was signed as the dialogue writer but opted out of the project due to other film commitments. He was replaced by Vivek for additional screenplay and dialogues.

The film’s technical crew includes cinematographer Karthik Palani, editor Praveen K. L., and production designers Sunil Babu and Vaishnavi Reddy. Dil Raju described the film as “family-centric” like most of Vijay’s films from the 1990s. Although several reports anticipated the film to be a Tamil-Telugu bilingual, the makers clarified that the film would be shot only in Tamil.

The title Varisu was announced on 21 June 2022, on the eve of Vijay’s 48th birthday. In an interview with Ananda Vikatan, Vamshi claimed that the film is a family entertainer in the baseline and not specific to any particular genre, as he included several elements to cater to the target audience, especially while writing for a big star like Vijay. He felt that every section of the audience, including children and seniors, would enjoy the film.

Cast for the Movie Varisu – Who Is Who?

This is the cast of a film, which appears to be titled Thalapathy 66. The film stars actor Vijay in the lead role as Vijay Rajendran, and Rashmika Mandanna as Divya. Other cast members include R. Sarathkumar as Rajendran Palanisamy (Vijay’s father), Jayasudha as Sudha Rajendran (Vijay’s mother), Srikanth as Jai Rajendran (Vijay’s first elder brother), Shaam as Ajay Rajendran (Vijay’s second elder brother), Prakash Raj as Jayaprakash “JP,” Prabhu as Dr. Anand Padmanabhan (Rajendran’s best friend),

Yogi Babu as Kicha, Ganesh Venkatraman as Mukesh, Sangeetha Krish as Aarthi (Jai’s wife and Divya’s sister), Samyuktha Shanmughanathan as Ajay’s wife, Sanjana Tiwari as Ria (Jai and Aarthi’s daughter), Advaith Vinod as Ajay’s son, Harshitha Karthik as Harshu (Ajay’s daughter), Mime Gopi as the union leader, Pondy Ravi as Eeshwar, Nandini Rai as Smita, Matthew Varghese as Matthew, Suman as Gautham, Nimisha Nambiar as Gautam’s wife, Sriman as Thambi Durai, VTV Ganesh as Velraj, S. J. Suryah as Adithya Mittal (in a cameo appearance), Bharath Reddy as Police Officer, Sathish as Vijay’s friend, D. R. K. Kiran as Anthony, Boys Rajan as Bid Manager, Kiki Vijay as herself, and Jani Master (in a special appearance in the song “Thee Thalapathy”).

Who Did The Casting and When Was It?

Cast and crew details for the film are as follows:

Lead Cast:

Vijay as Vijay Rajendran
Rashmika Mandanna as Divya

Supporting Cast:

R. Sarathkumar as Rajendran Palanisamy, Vijay’s father
Jayasudha as Sudha Rajendran, Vijay’s mother
Srikanth as Jai Rajendran, Vijay’s first elder brother
Shaam as Ajay Rajendran, Vijay’s second elder brother
Prakash Raj as Jayaprakash “JP”
Prabhu as Dr. Anand Padmanabhan, Rajendran’s best friend
Yogi Babu as Kicha
Ganesh Venkatraman as Mukesh
Sangeetha Krish as Aarthi, Jai’s wife and Divya’s sister
Samyuktha Shanmughanathan as Ajay’s wife
Khushbu in a minor role (scenes excluded from theatrical cut)
Sriman as Thambi Durai
VTV Ganesh as Velraj
S. J. Suryah in a minor role

Production Details:

The film was originally written with Mahesh Babu in mind, but he could not sign up for it.
Prakash Raj was confirmed to play a key role in October 2021, marking his collaboration with Vijay after over a decade since Villu (2009).
Rashmika Mandanna was announced as the lead actress on her birthday on 5 April 2022, making it her second Tamil film after Sulthan (2021).
Pooja Hegde was initially considered for the lead actress role but was ultimately not chosen.
The supporting cast was gradually confirmed, with Shaam, Yogi Babu, Prabhu, Jayasudha, Srikanth, Sangeetha Krish, and Samyuktha Shanmughanathan all joining.
Khushbu’s role was initially denied by the actress but later confirmed, though her scenes were excluded from the theatrical cut.
Ganesh Venkatraman and Sriman were confirmed to be part of the film in August and September, respectively.
S. J. Suryah was announced to play a minor role at the film’s audio launch in December.

Who,When and Where Was the Filming for the Movie Varisu Held?

The inaugural puja ceremony for the film’s shooting was held on 6 April 2022 in Chennai, and was followed by filming of the first schedule, which took place at a specially constructed set at a film city in East Coast Road, Chennai and was completed on 15 April.

Although 75% of the shoot was initially planned to take place in Hyderabad, Vijay requested the production to remain in Chennai to benefit the local FEFSI members, and the makers reportedly agreed. However, the Hyderabad schedule began on 3 May and concluded by 23 May.

The Chennai schedule resumed on 3 June with the recurring portions also being shot at the film city, including a song sequence and a few talkie portions. Despite stringent measures taken by the production team, pictures taken from the sets were leaked onto the internet, and by 15 June, the team planned to shift the shooting location to a private spot, resulting in the halt of filming. By 23 June, 45% of filming was over, with another schedule to begin in July.

The fourth schedule began on 5 July in Hyderabad and completed within three weeks. The team headed to Visakhapatnam for the fifth schedule in late-July, and Paidipally planned to shoot the film in live locations in the city, with the details of the venue undisclosed to avoid fans gathering.

Despite the Telugu Film Producers Guild’s decision to halt shootings of Telugu films from 1 August 2022, Dil Raju, the head of TFPG, assured that the shooting of Varisu would continue as it was a Tamil-language film and not a bilingual.

During the production in Hyderabad, several stills from the film were leaked, and fans criticized the carelessness of the production house. In mid-August 2022, a song shoot was held featuring Vijay and Mandanna, and was choreographed by Jani Master. The team moved to Hyderabad for filming another song with the lead pair and choreographer in September.

The final schedule commenced on 25 September, with two fight sequences and two songs left to be shot in this schedule. The filming was completed on 27 October 2022, except for patchwork sequences and a final song, which was shot from 14 to 19 November in Bellary.

It was followed by the ongoing shooting of the climax sequences in Hyderabad, taking place for nearly 10 days. Post-production for the film went simultaneously in mid-November, and full-fledged post-production works would begin by December, once filming was wrapped. The technical team also travelled to Ladakh to capture montage sequences. Filming was completed in December.

Who Composed The Music for the Movie Varisu?

The music for the film Varisu is composed by Thaman S, who is collaborating with Vijay for the first time. The album features a total of five songs, all of which have lyrics written by Vivek. The first single, “Ranjithame”, was released on November 5th, 2022, followed by the second single “Thee Thalapathy” on December 4th, and the third single “Soul of Varisu” on December 20th.

The audio launch for the album was held on December 24th. The song “Ranjithame” features vocals by Vijay and M. M. Manasi, and samples the song “Mocha Kotta Pallazhagi” from the 1994 film Ulavaali. The second single, “Thee Thalapathy”, is sung by Silambarasan. The third single, “Soul of Varisu”, is performed by K. S. Chithra, and reached the top position on the Billboard Hot Trending Songs chart, a rare feat for any South Indian song, according to Billboard’s release on December 28th.

The album also includes the song “Jimikki Ponnu”, which is sung by Anirudh Ravichander and Jonita Gandhi, and “Vaa Thalaivaa”, which features vocals by Shankar Mahadevan, Karthik, Deepak Blue, Thaman S, and Aravindh Srinivasan. The total length of the album is 19 minutes and 26 seconds.

How Was the Marketing and Theatrical Release for the Movie Varisu?

Varisu’s first poster was released on 21 June 2022, which faced criticism from some social media users who alleged that it was plagiarized from the advertisements of the Otto clothing board. These users also edited the poster to support their claim. Responding to the trolls, the company claimed that the image was not related to their company in any way.

Outdoor promotions for the film began in early December 2022, with the film’s poster being wrapped in Chennai Metro trains and the Uzhavan Express train. Varisu was released on 11 January 2023, during the week of Pongal, competing with Thunivu.

The film is planned to have dubbed versions in Telugu and Hindi, titled Vaarasudu in Telugu. Initially, the release of the Telugu version was at risk of being moved to an earlier date than the Tamil version as the Telugu Film Producers Council urged theatre owners to give first preference to direct Telugu films releasing in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during the week of the Sankranti festival.

Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Veera Simha Reddy and Chiranjeevi’s Waltair Veerayya were scheduled for release on the festival on 12 and 13 January 2023, respectively.

Despite this, the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Association announced that the Telugu version would release as planned after talks with the Telugu Film Producers Council. However, the Telugu version was later pushed to 14 January 2023 due to Raju choosing to let Veera Simha Reddy and Waltair Veerayya release first.

Pre – Release and Distribution For the Movie Varisu.

In November, it was reported that Seven Screen Studios had acquired the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights for the film, which will be distributed through their sub-distributors such as Shri Sai Combines, Five Star Films, Radhu Infotainment, and Senthil. Red Giant Movies will distribute the film in several regions including North Arcot, South Arcot, Chennai, Coimbatore, and Chengalpet.

Ahimsa Entertainment released the film in Tamil and Telugu in the United Kingdom, while 4 Seasons Creations acquired the rights for distributing the film in European countries such as France, Norway, and the Netherlands.

Shloka Entertainment acquired the North American theatrical rights, while DMY Creations bought the distribution rights for Malaysia and Home Screen Entertainment did so for Singapore.

As for the pre-release business, the film’s non-theatrical rights, including satellite, digital, audio, and dubbing rights, were sold for INR 150 crore (USD 19 million).

Meanwhile, the film’s theatrical rights were sold for over INR 139 crore (USD 17 million), with Seven Screen Studios acquiring the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights for a minimum-guarantee basis of INR 70 crore (USD 8.8 million).

The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana theatrical rights were sold for INR 20 crore (USD 2.5 million), while the Karnataka and Kerala rights were sold for INR 7.5 crore (USD 940,000) and INR 6.5 crore (USD 810,000) respectively. Overseas theatrical rights were sold for INR 35 crore (USD 4.4 million), and the Hindi-dubbing rights of the film were sold for over INR 34 crore (USD 4.3 million).

What are the Reviews and Criticism about the Film?

The movie “Varisu” has received mixed reviews from critics. M Suganth of The Times of India gave it a score of 3.5 out of 5 and commended Vijay’s performance, noting his ability to deliver witty one-liners, self-referential jabs, and sincere sentimental moments.

Onmanorama’s Prem Udayabhanu described the film as a nod to the formula era, featuring traditional family values, a prodigal heir, and a fortune awaiting business inheritance. Latha Srinivasan of India Today rated the movie 3 out of 5 and praised Vijay’s comedy and action, despite its resemblance to some Telugu films.

Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu noted the lack of originality in the film’s plot and emotional moments, but praised Vijay’s performance as the highlight of the movie.

Priyanka Thirumurthy of The News Minute gave the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a predictable but enjoyable family drama. Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times claimed that the film met viewers’ expectations, especially for those who watched the trailer.

Kirubhakar Purushothaman of The Indian Express gave the film a score of 3 out of 5 and criticized its lack of novelty, stating that the movie felt more like a product than a film. News18’s Navneet Vyasan rated the movie 3 out of 5 stars and noted the film’s family-oriented screenplay, which included twists and turns. Priyanka Sundar of Firstpost criticized the movie for its stereotypical portrayal of women, stating that viewers have become desensitized to such subliminal messaging.

Behindwoods rated the film 2.75 out of 5 and described it as a typical family entertainer for the Pongal festival. Navein Darshan of Cinema Express rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and praised Vijay’s confident performance and witty commentary on family dramas.

Vivek MV of Deccan Herald rated the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars and criticized Vijay’s decision to play it safe instead of collaborating with a new-gen filmmaker like he did with “Master.” Finally, Lakshmi Subramanian of The Week rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and stated that the movie offered nothing new and would disappoint even the most loyal Vijay fans. Below is the trailer for Varisu:

What is the story of Varisu movie?

Vijay Rajendran, the youngest son of a renowned billionaire, Rajendran Palanisamy, is estranged and expelled from his family for rejecting their business offer and starting his own food delivery start-up.

After seven years, Rajendran is diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer, with only 8-10 months left to live. In the hope of finding a successor to his business empire, he invites his two elder sons, Jai and Ajay, to his grand 65th birthday celebration, intending to reveal both matters during the event.

Vijay is invited to the party by his mother, Sudha, who still considers him as her son. Upon arriving, Vijay discovers that Jai is cheating on his wife, Aarthi, and neglecting his family, while Ajay owes a substantial amount of money to a financier and has offered to leak his company’s secrets to Rajendran’s business rival to repay his debt. Jai and Ajay are constantly vying to be their father’s successor and do not get along with each other.

Vijay meets Divya, Aarthi’s younger sister, and they develop a romantic relationship. During the birthday celebration, Rajendran’s business rival exposes Jai and Ajay’s deceitful acts, causing chaos and heartbreak in the family. Aarthi files for divorce from Jai, and Rajendran loses a business deal to his competitor due to Ajay’s actions.

Rajendran, knowing that he cannot trust his elder sons to run his business empire, reaches out to Vijay, who initially refuses but eventually agrees to take over the business after learning about his father’s illness.

Jai and Ajay team up with Rajendran’s rival to eliminate Vijay as the chairman, but Vijay manages to overcome the challenges and handle the family business successfully. After rescuing Ria from a human trafficking gang, Jai realizes his mistakes and reconciles with Vijay and the rest of the family.

Vijay and Jai work together to prevent Ajay from selling their company’s shares to their rival and make him realize his wrongdoing. The entire family reunites and shares a meal, bringing joy to Rajendran and Sudha.

When Rajendran passes away, the three brothers come together to perform his funeral and scatter his ashes in Varanasi, signifying their unity. The movie ends with a message that families may not be perfect, but they are invaluable.

Is Varisu remake of Maharshi?

Yes, Varisu is the Tamil remake of the Telugu film Maharshi, which was released in 2019. The Tamil remake features actor Arulnithi in the lead role, which was originally played by Mahesh Babu in the Telugu version. The movie follows a similar storyline to the original, with some changes made to suit the Tamil audience.

What is the rating of Varisu movie?

Varisu is generally rated a good movie which was like by the audience: M Suganth, a reviewer for The Times of India, awarded the movie a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and commented that Vijay’s performance was outstanding. The reviewer appreciated Vijay’s witty one-liners, which left the audience smiling, as well as his ability to deliver emotional scenes with sincerity.

Prem Udayabhanu of Onmanorama described Varisu as a film that harkens back to the traditional formula era of Indian cinema, incorporating elements such as family values, a prodigal heir, and the anticipation of inheriting a significant fortune.

Meanwhile, Latha Srinivasan from India Today gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and highlighted Vijay’s contribution to keeping the audience engaged through his comedy and action sequences. Although the film bears some resemblance to certain Telugu movies, according to the reviewer, Vijay’s performance elevates the overall viewing experience. You may also like:

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