The much-awaited Gautham Menon short film starring Silambarasan and Trisha dropped unannounced on Wednesday, late at night. Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn, a spin-off of their 2010 hit Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, has been shot entirely in the lead actors’ respective homes with Gautham directing them virtually. The short has been presented by the director’s Ondraga Entertainment and Vels International‘s Ishari K Ganesh.
Karthik, a filmmaker now, is typing out the story of his next film ‘Un Kaaladi Thadathil‘ but isn’t able to progress beyond the slug line. As expected he calls up Jessie, the ‘j’ on his phone (what’s with the lowercase?), and talks about his state of mind, feeling relieved and refreshed with his film’s first draft in hand at the end.
Without dwelling into any details, the reality of all filmmakers, new and established, and their struggle in this lockdown is reflected well in Simbu’s character. Along with it comes his anger, hope, disappointment, about his unrequited love for Jessie. The duo that has been communicating through letters, emails, and calls, has that natural ease while talking. Although, I don’t see the magic that once lingered around their relationship.
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Karthik’s stalking skills aren’t new to us. He’s trailed Jessie from state to state and even abroad. Despite that, it felt acceptable because back then he was only shooting his film. But here, he takes it to a whole new level with Jessie who is married to Roy, and has twins. He tells Jessie he’s aware of her presence in Kerala because he spotted her in a picture posted by her sister. And that’s not all. He asks for the Menon-quintessential, her love, her hand, her lap to lie on, the permission to touch her, and most importantly, her feet where he can live. While this evokes no reaction from her, thankfully, he goes on to ask her to say ‘I love you’. Their ease begins to make me certainly uneasy by this point.
But as any Gautham Menon heroine would, she stands her ground and makes it clear that that special place has been taken over by her husband Roy quoting Mani Ratnam‘s Mouna Raagam (where Mohan and Revathi fall in love after marriage). She has also become acceptant of the effect she has on him.
Karthik is son-zoned by Jessie eventually. His ‘Kaal Adithalathil’ draft transforms into ‘Kamal and Kadambari – A Love Story’.
கார்த்திக் டயல் செய்த எண்..
Karthik dial seytha yenn…https://t.co/ghbjdS9n3g
So very thankful to the names involved in this effort and especially amidst these testing times.
There’s hope, there is love and there’s a beautiful future. Love to all!— Gauthamvasudevmenon (@menongautham) May 20, 2020
AR Rahman scores exactly when required instead of dumping on sounds, recreating the magic Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa had. While everyone, or at least I, assumed Chinmayi had lent her voice for Trisha, Smruthi has taken over, doing a wonderful job in keeping with Jessie’s ways. The second director, editor Anthony‘s concise snipping has helped majorly.
Watch Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn here.
It is still unknown if Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa will be getting a sequel to. The tagline ‘A Short Film… For Now…’ that accompanied the short has created curiosity among fans and audiences.
