Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn

{{short description|2020 Indian Tamil-language short film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon}}

{{Infobox film

| image = Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn.jpg

| caption = Title card

| director = Gautham Vasudev Menon

| producer = Gautham Vasudev Menon

| writer = Gautham Vasudev Menon

| starring = {{ubl|Silambarasan|Trisha Krishnan}}

| editing = Anthony

| music = A. R. Rahman

| cinematography = Gautham Vasudev Menon
Silambarasan

| studio = Ondraga Entertainment

| released = {{film date|2020|5|21|df=yes|YouTube}}

| runtime = 12 minutes

| country = India

| language = Tamil

}}

Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn ({{translation|The number Karthik dialed}}) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language short film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. A sequel to his feature film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010), it stars Silambarasan and Trisha Krishnan reprising their roles from that film. The short was released on 21 May 2020 on YouTube.{{Cite web |last=K |first=Janani |date=22 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn out: Trisha and Simbu bring back Vinnaithandi Varuvaya memories |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-out-trisha-and-simbu-bring-back-vinnaithandi-varuvaya-memories-1680287-2020-05-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607125210/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-out-trisha-and-simbu-bring-back-vinnaithandi-varuvaya-memories-1680287-2020-05-21 |archive-date=7 June 2020 |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=India Today}}{{Cite news |date=8 May 2020 |title=Trisha stars in Gautham Menon's short film, 'Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn' |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/trisha-stars-in-gautham-menons-short-film-karthik-dial-seytha-yenn/article31555659.ece |url-status=live |access-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520092947/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/trisha-stars-in-gautham-menons-short-film-karthik-dial-seytha-yenn/article31555659.ece |archive-date=20 May 2020}}

Plot

Filmmaker Karthik is at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu without work as theatres are shut down, affecting his career as a screenwriter, While experiencing writer's block, he hesitantly calls his ex-girlfriend Jessie, who fled the effects of the pandemic in New York City and is under lockdown in Kerala. Jessie, who is now married to Roy with two children, answers Karthik's call and tells him about their lives during the lockdown situation. In the conversation, Karthik again confesses his love for Jessie and says he still needs her, despite knowing that she is married with children. But Jessie refuses his proposal as she has moved on with her husband and refers to him as her "third child". Jessie supports Karthik emotionally and says that he is a great artist. After the phone call, Karthik resumes his writing and composes Kamal & Kadambari: A Love Story.

Cast

Silambarasan as Karthik Sivakumar
Trisha Krishnan as Jessie Thekekuthu

Production

Gautham Vasudev Menon was working on the sequel of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa which was titled Ondraga, a road movie which would focus on Karthik and his best friends from college travelling to the United States to attend a wedding ten years after the events of the first film.{{Cite web |date=21 February 2018 |title=Gautham Menon and R Madhavan team up for 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa' sequel |url=https://scroll.in/reel/869484/gautham-menon-and-r-madhavan-team-up-for-vinnaithaandi-varuvaayaa-sequel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427210536/https://scroll.in/reel/869484/gautham-menon-and-r-madhavan-team-up-for-vinnaithaandi-varuvaayaa-sequel |archive-date=27 April 2021 |access-date=19 May 2021 |website=Scroll.in}} With Silambarasan reprising his role from the earlier film, and pulling out prominent names from South Indian film fraternity, the film entered production in February 2018.{{Cite web |last=Pattikonda |first=Gautham |date=3 November 2017 |title=Gautham Menon's multi-lingual film to feature Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah and Puneeth Rajkumar |url=https://regional.pinkvilla.com/tamil/news/gautham-menons-multi-lingual-film-feature-anushka-shetty-tamannah-puneeth-rajkumar/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923155217/https://regional.pinkvilla.com/tamil/news/gautham-menons-multi-lingual-film-feature-anushka-shetty-tamannah-puneeth-rajkumar/ |archive-date=23 September 2020 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=Pinkvilla}} However, the project did not materialise due to various reasons.{{Cite web |last=Hooli |first=Shekhar H. |date=21 February 2018 |title=Madhavan replaces Simbu in Gautham Menon's Ondraga |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/madhavan-replaces-simbu-gautham-menons-ondraga-761404 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518165525/https://www.ibtimes.co.in/madhavan-replaces-simbu-gautham-menons-ondraga-761404 |archive-date=18 May 2021 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=International Business Times}} In April 2020, Silambarasan and Gautham Menon started shooting for the short film based on the characters from Vinnaithaandi Varuvayaa, eventually titled as Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn.{{Cite web |date=16 May 2020 |title=Simbu to join Gautham Menon for VTV 2? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/simbu-to-join-gautham-menon-for-vtv-2/articleshow/75773440.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518233750/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/simbu-to-join-gautham-menon-for-vtv-2/articleshow/75773440.cms |archive-date=18 May 2020 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=The Times of India}}{{Cite web |date=13 May 2020 |title=Kathik Dial Seytha Yenn: Simbu shoots for Trisha and Gautham Menon's short film from home |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/kathik-dial-seytha-yenn-simbu-shoots-for-trisha-and-gautham-menon-s-short-film-from-home-1677465-2020-05-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029134805/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/kathik-dial-seytha-yenn-simbu-shoots-for-trisha-and-gautham-menon-s-short-film-from-home-1677465-2020-05-13 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=India Today}} The film was primarily shot using an iPhone and filmed indoors due to the restrictions in order to curb COVID-19.{{Cite news |last=Sunder |first=Gautam |date=22 May 2020 |title='Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn': A letter to unrequited love, and then some |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-a-letter-to-unrequited-love-and-then-some/article31636643.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200521051003/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-a-letter-to-unrequited-love-and-then-some/article31636643.ece |archive-date=21 May 2020 |access-date=22 May 2020 |work=The Hindu}}{{Cite web |date=23 May 2020 |title=Gautham Menon posts a BTS video from Simbu-Trisha's short |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/gautham-menon-posts-a-bts-video-from-simbu-trishas-short/articleshow/75917395.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527060252/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/gautham-menon-posts-a-bts-video-from-simbu-trishas-short/articleshow/75917395.cms |archive-date=27 May 2020 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=The Times of India}}{{Cite web |last=K. |first=Janani |date=23 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn: Gautham Menon shares BTS video of Simbu |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-gautham-menon-shares-bts-video-of-simbu-1681099-2020-05-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204025149/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-gautham-menon-shares-bts-video-of-simbu-1681099-2020-05-23 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=India Today}} A. R. Rahman composed background music for the short film.{{Cite web |date=17 May 2020 |title=AR Rahman joins Gautham Menon for Karthi Dial Seytha Yenn |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/ar-rahman-joins-gautham-menon-for-karthi-dial-seytha-yenn/articleshow/75789693.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518170707/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/ar-rahman-joins-gautham-menon-for-karthi-dial-seytha-yenn/articleshow/75789693.cms |archive-date=18 May 2021 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=The Times of India}}{{Cite web |last=K. |first=Janani |date=16 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn: AR Rahman to compose for Trisha-Simbu's lockdown short film |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-ar-rahman-to-compose-for-trisha-simbu-s-lockdown-short-film-1678631-2020-05-16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506011807/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-ar-rahman-to-compose-for-trisha-simbu-s-lockdown-short-film-1678631-2020-05-16 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=India Today}}

Release

The teaser of the short was unveiled by actress Trisha through social media handles on 7 May 2020.{{Cite web |date=7 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn: Trisha releases teaser of lockdown short film |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-trisha-releases-teaser-of-lockdown-short-film-1676462-2020-05-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518225643/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-trisha-releases-teaser-of-lockdown-short-film-1676462-2020-05-10 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=India Today}} The short film was released through the YouTube channel of Ondraga Entertainment on 21 May 2020.{{Cite web |date=21 May 2020 |title=Gautham Menon's Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn is out |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-is-out/articleshow/75861361.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518170708/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-is-out/articleshow/75861361.cms |archive-date=18 May 2021 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=The Times of India}}

Critical reception

The short received mixed reviews.{{Cite web |date=26 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn is Karthik and Jessie's Story And Should Be Seen Like That: Gautham Vasudev Menon |url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/interviews/tamil-interview/tamil-movies-karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-is-karthik-and-jessies-story-and-should-be-seen-like-that-gautham-vasudev-menon-baradwaj-rangan-str-trisha/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629223810/https://www.filmcompanion.in/interviews/tamil-interview/tamil-movies-karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-is-karthik-and-jessies-story-and-should-be-seen-like-that-gautham-vasudev-menon-baradwaj-rangan-str-trisha/ |archive-date=29 June 2021 |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=Film Companion}} Kirubhakar Purushothaman of Cinema Express said, "The filmmaking is minimalistic with not-so-seamless cuts. Of course, one is expected to cut slack for the film given the immense constraints the team has made this under. But it's a paradox when you realise there would have been no Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn without the coronavirus or the constraints."{{Cite web |last=Purushothaman |first=Kirubhakar |date=21 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn short film review: Gautam Menon's 96 in a phone call |url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/tamil/2020/may/21/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-short-film-review-gautam-menons-96-in-a-phone-call-18533.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200521182313/https://www.cinemaexpress.com/reviews/tamil/2020/may/21/karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-short-film-review-gautam-menons-96-in-a-phone-call-18533.html |archive-date=21 May 2020 |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=Cinema Express}} Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion wrote "A reflection on the 12-odd minutes spent with the characters that continue to haunt us, even after 10 years."{{Cite web |last=Rangan |first=Baradwaj |author-link=Baradwaj Rangan |date=7 May 2020 |title=Karthik Dial Seydha Yenn: Gautham Vasudev Menon, STR And Trisha Give Us A Lovely Reunion, With A Pinch Of Pain |url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/tamil-features/karthik-dial-seydha-yenn-gautham-vasudev-menon-str-and-trisha-give-us-a-lovely-reunion-with-a-pinch-of-pain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504201454/https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/tamil-features/karthik-dial-seydha-yenn-gautham-vasudev-menon-str-and-trisha-give-us-a-lovely-reunion-with-a-pinch-of-pain/ |archive-date=4 May 2021 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=Film Companion}} Manoj Kumar R. of The Indian Express stated "Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn is nothing but Gautham Menon giving himself a much-needed pep-talk in front of the mirror before he begins to write his next big film."{{Cite web |date=23 May 2020 |title=Deconstructing Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn: Gautham calling Gautham |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/review-karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-simbu-trisha-gautham-menon-6421484/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610092546/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/review-karthik-dial-seytha-yenn-simbu-trisha-gautham-menon-6421484/ |archive-date=10 June 2020 |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=The Indian Express}} Srivatsan S. of The Hindu wrote the film as "a letter of unrequited love" and called that "even after ten years of the first film, the characters linger in the mind and with a simple storyline being minimal and realistic".