Varshangalkku Shesham

At the end of the 1970s two young men meet in a village in Kerala. Murali understands music and Venu wants to be a film director. They go to Madras together, where the industry keeps them waiting at the door. Years pass, one stays and one leaves, and the friendship stops at the place it first broke. The second half of the film looks at what that break became decades later. Vineeth Sreenivasan's film looks at the past of Malayalam cinema itself: the sets of the 1970s and 1980s, studio conditions, and the difficulty of getting into the industry are shown in detail. The narrative uses nostalgia but does not soften the breaking of the friendship. Pranav Mohanlal and Dhyan Sreenivasan take the leads, with Nivin Pauly in a significant role. Kalyani Priyadarshan is also in the cast. Who it's for: Viewers who like Malayalam cinema, drama about friendship, and films about filmmaking. Who it's not for: It runs long and the second half is tonally cut off from the first. The emotional peaks are also constructed too openly.