Vineeth Sreenivasan turns 38: A look at the director’s romantic dramas

We look at two of his romantic dramas – Thattathin Marayathu (2012) and Hridayam (2022) – that made a place for itself in the hearts of many.

Thattathin Marayathu revolves around Vinod (Nivin Pauly), a guy from a humble background, and Aisha (Isha Talwar) who comes from a politically influential family. Vinod falls in love with Aisha after he runs into her (quite literally) at a wedding. Aisha also starts to love him back but the fact that they are from different religions puts several obstacles in their way. Aisha is tortured by her conservative uncle. It is finally when Aisha’s father Abdul Rahman stands up to her uncle for his daughter’s rights that she reunites with Vinod.

10 years later, Vineeth Sreenivasan made Hridayam, the story of Arun Neelakandan (Pranav Mohanlal) who gets enrolled into a Chennai-based college. Arun finds a few good friends, gets into fights with a few others and also meets Darshana (Darshana Rajendran), a girl he falls in love with at first sight. However, his relationship with Darshana turns rocky, and they eventually part ways. He also becomes friends with his classmate Selva who changes him for the better.

Cut to the second half of the movie, we see Arun as a professional wedding photographer. He meets Nithya (Kalyani Priyadarshan) at one of the weddings. Arun’s marriage with Nithya ignites the pent-up feelings inside Darshana. However, she manages to find closure towards the end.

Both these Vineeth Sreenivasan movies have captured the imagination of youngsters. While the plots of these movies vary widely, some common threads endure.

Love at first sight

Love at first sight, though common in every romantic film, is made interesting in Thattathin Marayathu and Hridayam. In both the movies, the male protagonist is made to fall in love at first sight. While the former has Vinod accidentally pushing Aisha down a flight of stairs at the first instance, in the latter, Arun sees Darshana’s feet first (the camera then pans to her face, for the lack of a better word, in an inverted manner).

Both the male leads also seem smitten with certain aspects of their lady love. While Vinod is in love with Aisha’s ‘thattam’ (veil), one can see Arun being in love with his lady love’s untied hair.

By the sea

A sea setting is a common thread in these Vineeth Sreenivasan movies. Some of the most important scenes play out by the shores.

In Thattathin Marayathu, Vinod as a child prays that Aisha be his wife on a sea bridge. It is, again, on the sea bridge that the two unite at the end. Similarly, in Hridayam, the Palavakkam beach in Chennai plays matchmaker when Darshana confesses her love to Arun. Years later, Darshana finds closure in Arun’s relationship with Nithya at the same place.

The classical touch in songs

The romantic aspect of movies, naturally, spills into its songs. Both Thattathin Marayathu and Hridayam boast of songs with a classical, divine touch. Case in point, “Namosthuthe” in Thattathin Marayathu and “Nagumo” in Hridayam. Again, both these songs play out when the boy sees the girl for the first time – lending an aspect of divinity to the love.

Friendship and family

Vineeth Sreenivasan gives importance to friendship and family in his movies. Families in both these films play healer to the protagonists. For instance, Arun Neelakandan finds himself in a better place (his tryst with Selva) after a visit to his home.

Anthony Dhaadikaran (Aswath Lal) and Abdu (Aju Varghese) play the protagonist’s friend in Hridayam and Thattathin Marayathu, respectively. While the theme of friendship is carried evenly in a big way throughout Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Hridayam, in Thattathin Marayathu, several friends help Vinod and Aisha to get back together.