Tourist Family turns one, Abishan Jeevinth posts the film that changed his life

Tourist Family is a year old today. The Sasikumar and Simran-led family comedy released on May 1, 2025, and Abishan Jeevinth, the actor-turned-director who made it, marked the anniversary with a making video on his timeline and a single line: “the film that changed my life.”

The clip, a behind-the-scenes cut from the shoot, is doing the rounds online through the day.

Tourist Family was Abishan’s directorial debut and his real breakout. The film follows a Tamil family fleeing Sri Lanka and trying to start over in Tamil Nadu, told as a comedy that keeps drifting into something more tender. It was first announced as a Sasikumar-Simran reunion in late 2024 and went on to become one of the unexpected commercial successes of the summer, with the makers reporting a theatrical haul of over ₹20 crore and the film later landing on JioHotstar.

For Abishan, the runway since has been steep. His follow-up With Love, released earlier this year, was the film Rajinikanth picked out by name on its way to a clean theatrical hit. He has spent the last twelve months riding the goodwill Tourist Family generated, and today’s note is the first public acknowledgement from him of just how big a turn the May 1 release was.