Vineeth Sreenivasan thanks Tamil audience for accepting Malayalam cinema: ‘Manjummel Boys reached everywhere, excitement for Aadujeevitham’

While film industries across India are struggling to produce consistent hits, filmmakers in Kerala seem to have found the alchemy of making critically acclaimed hits. Manjummel Boys, Premalu, Bramayugam, and The Goat Life have found takers beyond the borders of God’s Own Country. Director-actor Vineeth Sreenivasan‘s upcoming film Varshangalkku Shesham might also join the list as it has already gotten the attention of the Tamil audience. In a recent interview with a Tamil YouTube channel for his upcoming film, Vineeth claimed that it is because the audience in the two-tier cities has started to go to theatres and watch Malayalam films which was not the case before.

Manjummel Boys, which is currently the highest-grossing Malayalam film, had houseful shows not just in Chennai, but in districts across Tamil Nadu, which is reason behind its whopping box collection of Rs 220 crore. “For years now, in Kerala, big Tamil films would have 4 am shows. In Tamil Nadu, they watch Malayalam movies with subtitles, but in Kerala, we watch Tamil films without subtitles. Everyone knows Tamil. They might not be able to converse in it, but they understand. They receive it very well. So, we used to think it would be great if our films worked that well in Tamil Nadu. Premam was just a one-time wonder. It ran for 275 days in Tamil Nadu but there was no follow-up to it. Hridayam (his debut directorial venture) too, but all these films worked well in multiplex and city audiences. Manjummel Boys have reached everywhere.”

“Now, because of that, there’s excitement for Aadujeevitham. Premalu did well in Hyderabad. First of all, I am feeling very grateful that you all have started to watch our films in theatres. It gives me happiness,” he added.

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When asked what is the reason for the success of Malayalam film, Vineeth cites OTT platforms as the reason. “I think people got exposed to more Malayalam films through OTT. Even people have started to recognize me (in Tamil Nadu) recently. I was peacefully loitering around in the city (Chennai), and now, it is becoming hard.”

Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Varshangalkku Shesham, like Hridayam, is also set in Chennai. The film follows the journey of two aspiring filmmakers from Kerala to Madras in the 80s. Pranav Mohanlal, Dhyan Sreenivasan, and Nivin Pauly are other actors part of the film, which will be released on April 11.