Varisu

Varisu ( transl. Heir) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Vamshi Paidipally, who co-wrote the film with Hari, Ashishor Solomon and Vivek Velmurugan. Produced jointly by Dil Raju and Sirish under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Creations and PVP Cinema. The film stars Vijay in the main lead role alongside Rashmika Mandanna, R. Sarathkumar, Shaam, Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Srikanth, Jayasudha, Sangeetha, Samyuktha Shanmughanadhan, Nandini Rai, Yogi Babu, Ganesh Venkatraman and Suman. It focuses on an entrepreneur's youngest son being named the chairman of his father's business, much to the dismay of his two brothers.

The film was announced in September 2021 under the tentative title Thalapathy 66, as it is Vijay's 66th film in a leading role. Principal photography began in April 2022 and concluded in December. The film was shot mostly in Chennai and Hyderabad, with sporadic schedules in Visakhapatnam, Ballari and Ladakh. The music was composed by Thaman S, cinematography handled by Karthik Palani and editing was by Praveen K. L. The film was subject to numerous leaks during production, despite the efforts of the producers to contain them.

Varisu was released in theatres worldwide on 11 January 2023, in the week of Pongal. It received mixed reviews from critics with praise for Vijay's performance, music, action sequences and entertainment value but received criticism for the screenplay and melodramatic approach. It grossed around ₹290–293 crore at the box office.

A Kerala-based distributor, Roy Augustine, has claimed that Varisu grossed only around ₹ 6.8 crore in Kerala — notably lower than the widely circulated figure of ₹ 13 crore for the state. In a letter to Vijay, Augustine alleged that the film resulted in a loss for him, and requested the return of the “excess advance amount” he had paid. He also accused the actor of evading tax by not paying GST on the amount he received. This claim has sparked discussion in film industry circles and among fans, with some questioning whether the publicly reported box office numbers for Varisu were inflated.

Following its release, some theatre owners contested the reported box office figures for Varisu. Tirupur Subramaniam, President of the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association, publicly disputed the claim that the film had grossed ₹210 crore worldwide, suggesting that the figure was inflated.

Plot

Vijay is the youngest son of an eminent billionaire entrepreneur, Rajendran Palanisamy. Vijay is disowned and thrown out of the house as he refuses to join the family business, instead deciding to launch a food delivery startup. Seven years later, Rajendran is diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer with only 8 to 10 months to live. He decides to reveal his terminal condition and appoint one of his two elder sons, Jai or Ajay, as his successor before his impending death.

Rajendran plans to celebrate his 60th birthday and decides to announce both matters afterwards. Vijay gets invited at the behest of his mother, Sudha, who still considers him her son. Vijay arrives to find his house in disarray; Jai is cheating on his wife, Aarthi, and has an extramarital affair with another woman, Smita, while neglecting his spoilt daughter, Ria. Ajay is in a debt trap when he owes over ₹550 crore (US$65 million) to Mukesh, a financier. When Ajay could not repay the money to Mukesh, he offered to leak his company's secrets to his father's business rival, Jayaprakash "JP". Once Rajendran learns that his tender details were leaked to JP, he swears to give that traitor hell. The two elder brothers do not speak with each other and try to sabotage each other to be their father's successor.

Meanwhile, Vijay meets Divya. She is Aarthi’s younger sister, From the very first time she saw Vijay at her sister’s wedding—though he was younger than her—she had a crush on him. After a few incidents, the duo fall for each other. During Rajendran's birthday celebration, JP, through Smita and Mukesh, reveals the duplicity of Jai and Ajay, which devastates the entire family. Aarthi decides to file for divorce from Jai when she learns of his affair with Smitha, and Rajendran loses a business deal to JP due to Ajay's treason. Realising that he cannot rely on his elder sons to run 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 hands with JP and Mukesh to get rid of Vijay as the chairman, but Vijay manages to cross the hurdles and neatly handles the family business. After Vijay rescues Ria from a human trafficking gang, Jai realises his mistakes and reconciles with Vijay, Aarthi, and the rest of the family. Vijay and Jai then team up to stop Ajay from selling their company's shares to JP and make him realise his mistakes. The entire family, now reunited, have a hearty meal together, much to the happiness of Rajendran and Sudha. When Rajendran dies, the three brothers perform his funeral together and scatter his ashes in Varanasi.

Cast

Production

Development

On 26 September 2021, Vijay's 66th film as lead actor was announced with the working title Thalapathy 66. Directed by Vamshi Paidipally, it is the first Tamil film produced by Dil Raju and Sirish under Sri Venkateswara Creations, and Paidipally's second Tamil film after Thozha (2016). Paidipally said the makers initially intended to announce the project early that year, but had to postpone their plans due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Vijay was reported to receive a payment of ₹110 crore (US$13 million) for the film. He was also reported to be sporting two looks as the film would be set in two different time periods.

Paidipally wrote the story and screenplay along with Hari and Ashishor Solomon. Raju Murugan was signed as the dialogue writer but he opted out of the project due to other film commitments. Murugan was replaced by Vivek for additional screenplay and dialogues. Cinematographer Karthik Palani, editor Praveen K. L. and production designers Sunil Babu and Vaishnavi Reddy, were part of the film's technical crew. Dil Raju described the film as "family-centric" like most of Vijay's films from the 1990s. While 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, 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 the genre, as he felt necessary to include several elements that would cater to the target audience, especially while writing for a big star like Vijay. He did the same, keeping in mind with the star and his image, which he felt that every section of the audience — including children and seniors — would enjoy the film.

Casting

The story for the film was written keeping Mahesh Babu in mind and when the actor could not sign up for the film, the makers approached Allu Arjun, Prabhas and Ram Charan before finalising Vijay. In October 2021, Prakash Raj was reported to play a key role in the film, collaborating with Vijay after over a decade since Villu (2009). On 5 April 2022, the birthday of Rashmika Mandanna, it was announced that she would be the lead actress. It is her second Tamil film after Sulthan (2021). The makers initially wanted Pooja Hegde as the lead actress, but ultimately desisted since she was doing consecutive films with stars; Hegde had previously starred with Vijay in Beast (2022). R. Sarathkumar joined the cast the day after Mandanna's announcement.

On 26 April 2022, Shaam confirmed being a part of the film, collaborating with Vijay after Kushi (2000), in which film he acted in a minor role, and the following week, Yogi Babu also confirmed his presence in the film. Five days later, the production house confirmed Prabhu and Jayasudha as part of the cast, and two days later, Telugu actor Srikanth, Sangeetha Krish and Samyuktha Shanmughanathan. In early June, a photograph of Khushbu Sundar on the sets was leaked. Though she initially denied being part of the cast, her presence was confirmed on 26 October. According to Vijay, her role was minor. Khushbu's scenes were excluded from the theatrical cut due to length issues. On 23 August, Ganesh Venkatraman confirmed his presence in the film. In September, Sriman was confirmed to be a part of the film. At the film's audio launch on 24 December, Vijay announced that S. J. Suryah would play a cameo role.