Varisu ( ) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Vamshi Paidipally who co-wrote it with Hari and Ashishor Solomon. Produced jointly by Dil Raju and Sirish under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Creations and PVP Cinema. The film stars Vijay, R. Sarathkumar, Srikanth, Shaam, Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Rashmika Mandanna, Jayasudha, Sangeetha, Samyuktha Shanmughanadhan, Nandini Rai, Yogi Babu, Ganesh Venkatraman, S. J. Suryah and Suman play supporting roles. 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 and grossed around 290–310 crore at the box office, making it the ninth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023 and one of the highest-grossing Tamil films worldwide.
Plot
Vijay is the youngest son of an eminent billionaire entrepreneur Rajendran Palanisamy who is disowned and thrown out of the house as he refused to join the family business, instead deciding to launch a food delivery startup. 7 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 anoint one of his two elder sons Jai or Ajay as his successor, before his impending death.
With this in mind, Rajendran plans to celebrate his 65th birthday grandly, intending to announce both matters after the celebration. 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 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". 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, Aarthi's younger sister, who has had a crush on Vijay since she first met him at her sister's wedding. 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 finds out about his affair with Smitha, and Rajendran loses a business deal to JP due to Ajay's treason. Realizing 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 placed by them and neatly handles the family business. After Vijay rescues Ria from a human trafficking gang, Jai realizes 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 realize 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. The film ends with a message that no family is perfect, but everyone has only one family.