Five years before Vineeth Sreenivasan first acted in a film, he sang for Priyadarshan’s Kiluchundan Mambazham, in which his father Sreenivasan and Mohanlal, both senior actors known for their comic films together, played men who were in love with the same woman. Vineeth was then a teenager, and the song, ‘Kasavinte Thattamittu’, the title track of the movie, barely got noticed. It was his second film song – ‘Karale’ – for another Mohanlal-Sreenivasan movie Udayananu Tharam that made Vineeth a household name. The song became hugely popular and many found it adorable that Vineeth sang for his dad.
These are the stories of the early 2000s. Today, Vineeth is a very versatile actor, surprising the Malayalam cinema audience with every new role he takes, a director whose movies are looked forward to, and a singer whose voice is recognised for its warm throatiness. But 20 years ago, Vineeth was making baby steps into the world his dad had made a life of in three decades, as an actor and writer specialising in comedy, especially satires.
Sreenivasan’s life in cinema began in the 70s when he became an actor who also ghost-wrote for others to make his living, as revealed through interviews later. He began collaborating with director Sathyan Anthikad in the 80s and the duo would make a number of hugely popular movies – comedies, family dramas, and village stories that mostly featured Mohanlal. When Vineeth’s turn came, it appeared to be a reluctant entry into acting. He seemed to enjoy singing, and Sreenivasan, in an interview, said that Vineeth always did sing. In fact Vineeth appeared in a music album (Malayalee, composed by Jakes Bejoy) before he began acting in movies. But acting did not initially appear to be his cup of tea.
Vineeth in music album Malayalee, in 2008
In Cycle, his first film that came out in 2008, he played one of the two young heroes who are on the run after getting involved with a huge sum of stolen money. Vineeth did not seem quite at ease in that film, his expressions clearly revealing how much of a novice he was. He fared better in the second film, playing son to his real-life dad in Makante Achan, echoing the dilemma of generations of students who were forced to choose professional courses against their wishes.
By then, he had a good collection of songs in his repertoire, including tracks for the two films he acted in. He took a break then and unexpectedly plunged into direction. Sreenivasan Senior had directed only two films, both hugely acclaimed and still referred to as classic satires. The first was Vadakkunokkiyanthram centred on a man with mental health issues, possessive of his beautiful wife, and forever paranoid about losing her. The next was Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala, about the hypocrisy of a man who claims to have become spiritual after many years of leading an irresponsible life, caring little for the family. In both, Sreenivasan played the self-deprecating male lead, while the women led the way.
Song from Makante Achan
But Vineeth had seemed to be of a different mold, proving his skills in music more than acting. He did write though, lyrics of the music album Coffee @mgroad he did with friend and composer Shaan Rahman in 2008. He did not wait long to write a script and direct it. His first directorial feature Malarvadi Arts Club came as early as 2010, with a bunch of new actors. If anyone went looking for a familiar flavour, reminiscent of his dad’s movies, they’d have found none. Vineeth’s filmmaking was of a different kind altogether, which would later be tagged under the now common ‘feel-good’ movies. Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese, two of the most popular actors today, made their debut in Vineeth’s film. It was about a bunch of young men and the music band they formed together, slightly reminiscent of the Hindi film Rock On that came two years earlier.
Song from Malarvadi Arts Club
Perhaps Vineeth first got recognised for his acting skills in Chappa Kurishu, where he and Fahadh Faasil played two young men on opposite ends of the social ladder, antagonists, challenging each other. Vineeth’s character turned from a poor labourer without the money to buy a biriyani, into someone so ruthless as to enjoy the agony he let a rich guy go through, sneering mercilessly as he slowly transformed, Breaking Bad style. It was also his first grey role, unexpected of the young man with a smooth voice and delicate expressions.
He didn’t become a prolific actor, sharing his time between his music and his film-writing. He directed four more, each doing well or else particularly taken note of. Of the four, Thira perhaps stood out as a work not of the same ilk as his harmless romantic comedies. In Thira, he brought in Shobana, the much-talented actor who was missed on screen for years, and his younger brother Dhyan. It was a serious film on the sex trafficking of minor girls. Thira did not do well commercially, but it received critical acclaim. This was the only film that Vineeth directed of someone else’s writing – Rakesh Mantodi was the scriptwriter.
Trailer of Thira
Of the other three, Thattathin Marayathu told a love story of a young inter-religious couple. Jacobinte Swargarajyam was based on a real-life story of his friend, a family drama that easily came under the “feel-good” genre Vineeth was known for. Hridyam in 2022 was another romantic comedy, which also paid homage to Chennai where Vineeth did his college and clearly holds precious memories of. It was also the union of a number of actor-children: Vineeth, the son of Sreenivasan, directing a film with Pranav, the son of Mohanlal, and Kalyani, the daughter of Priyadarshan. Incidentally, Priyadarshan was another director that paired Sreenivasan and Mohanlal together in a number of comedies of the 80s and 90s.
Every year, except for when he got busy with direction, Vineeth also acted in movies, comfortably playing supporting characters as a friend or foe or a weirdo making a scene. He began to gain appreciation when he veered off the soft-guy roles to play unusual characters like the unfortunate title role in Kunjiramayanam. He repeated grey shades rather comfortably in movies like Thanneer Mathan Dinangal and recently in Mukundan Unni Associates. Perhaps, it works all the more for him since it seems like an exact role reversal of his real-life, soft persona.
Vineeth is, in his interviews, always soft-spoken, sweet, and smiling. On Instagram, he maintains a profile of adorable family moments with his wife Divya and their two little kids, freely writing long notes about their relationship and gaining admirers just for being a guy who is unafraid to express himself. That such a ‘softie’ could go in front of the camera and shed all part of his personality to be the cunning advocate with no shred of mercy for anyone but himself (in Mukundan Unni) shows his tremendous growth as an actor.
In an interview with TNM last year Vineeth said he would never direct a film like Mukundan Unni. That had not stopped him from playing the horribly unlikable man, who stood out by always having his way, defying the movie tradition of letting the bad guy lose. If you hadn’t so far, you will certainly appreciate him for the performance in Mukundan Unni, arguably his best so far.
TNM's Interview for Mukundan Unni:
Then came Thankam, where he very easily merges into the strange setting of the film and its new wave character. Vineeth gives no clue of what is in store for the young man he plays, dealing with gold and apparently leading a peaceful life with his family and friends. Half the mystery that the film is about is built on the strength of Vineeth's character. And he proves once again, he can be depended upon.
The last to come on screens was Kurukkan, a film where he stretches himself to different levels, playing the cop who appears all too silly even as he bares it all before a court that bursts into laughter. Vineeth paired up with his dad once again in the film, and Sreenivasan too has little qualms to play the not-so-nice guy. He is famous for playing the annoying, cheating, lying, and betraying man in a number of movies in the past (coincidentally he played the villain in another ‘Mukundan’ movie – Mukundetta Sumithra Vilikunnu).
Vineeth seems to have inherited that flexible trait of his dad, though even in his hugely negative roles, you pause to appreciate the performer he has clearly grown to become.