The trailer of Varsha Vasudev’s long-awaited directorial debut, Chinna Chinna Aasai, was released on Sunday ahead of the film’s release on June 19, 2026. The Tamil-Malayalam bilingual romantic drama stars Madhoo and Indrans in the lead roles.
Introduced in the trailer as Madhubala, the trailer starts with Madhoo, a middle-aged woman seemingly on a spiritual endeavour, as a lost woman in Varanasi. She runs into Indran’s character on the street, who asks her if she’s a Tamilian. Later, another character poses the same question, asking if she’s a Malayali, but Madhoo retains that identity to herself, as she inquires with Indrans of the whereabouts of a temple she remembers visiting, revealing that this is not her first visit to the holy city.
It is revealed later through a phone call by Indrans that Madhoo’s character visited Varanasi accompanied by a group, only to lose her way. But she’s unsure if her fellow travel companions would come searching for her. So, she spends her time in the grand city, dipping her toes in the Ganges, sharing boat rides with Indrans, riding the ferris wheel and getting back in touch with Kathak.
“Naa unggala nambalama?” (Can I trust you?) is a question she frequently poses to Indrans throughout the trailer as she’s warned that those who lose their way in Varanasi never go back, and just end up as ashes in the Ganges. The trailer ends with a cute moment between Madhoo and Indrans’ characters in which she asks him to say “sorry”, and he does readily, continuing walking together on the street.
The film, written and directed by Varsha Vasudev, also introduces characters played by Aparna Balamurali, Jaafar Sadiq and Vishnu Agasthya.
The significance of the title, ‘Chinna Chinna Aasai’ goes back 34 years for Madhoo, a popular song from her breakthrough film, Mani Ratnam’s Tamil romantic thriller, Roja. Composed by A.R. Rahman in his first film composition, “Chinna Chinna Aasai” has become synonymous with Madhoo’s legacy in cinema throughout the years.
Source: Cinema Express
