Thangalaan

Thangalaan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Pa. Ranjith
Screenplay by	Azhagiya Periyavan Tamil Prabha Pa. Ranjith
Story by	Tamil Prabha Pa. Ranjith
Based on	Kolar Gold Fields
Produced by	K. E. Gnanavel Raja
Starring	Vikram Parvathy Thiruvothu Malavika Mohanan Daniel Caltagirone
Cinematography	A. Kishor Kumar
Edited by	Selva R. K.
Music by	G. V. Prakash Kumar
Production companies	Studio Green Neelam Productions
Distributed by	see below
Release date	15 August 2024 (2024-08-15)
Running time	156 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	est. ₹100–150 crore[2][3]
Box office	est. ₹72-100 crore [a]

Thangalaan (transl. Son of Gold) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film^[b] directed by Pa. Ranjith, who co-wrote the script with Tamil Prabha and Azhagiya Periyavan. It is produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under Studio Green and Neelam Productions. The film stars Vikram in five roles alongside Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan, Daniel Caltagirone, Pasupathy and Hari Krishnan. During the British Raj era, a fierce tribal leader sets out to stop an apparent sorceress, after earning her wrath when assisting a British general in tracing gold in their village.

The film was officially announced in December 2021 under the tentative title Chiyaan 61, as it is Vikram's 61st film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced in October 2022. Principal photography commenced the same month. It was shot sporadically in several legs, and wrapped by early-July 2023. Filming locations included Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Madurai and Karnataka. The film has music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematography handled by A. Kishor Kumar, and editing by Selva RK.

Thangalaan was released worldwide on 15 August 2024 in standard, 3D and EPIQ formats, coinciding with India's Independence Day. The film received mixed reviews from critics who praised the lead cast's performances (especially Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, and Daniel Caltagirone), storyline, action and GV Prakash Kumar's background score but criticized the historical inaccuracies, visual effects and writing.^[9] The film grossed ₹72–100 crore against a budget of ₹100–150 crore and emerged as a box-office flop.^[10]

In 1850, in the village of Veppur, North Arcot, Thangalaan resides with his wife, Gengamma, and their children. As the village chief and a landowner, he is highly respected, unlike most of his fellow villagers who are bonded laborers on the Zamindar's land. Thangalaan often regales his children with bedtime stories, and one night, he narrates a chilling tale about Aarathi, a woman from the Nagar tribe, believed to be a sorceress and protector of the land in the deep forests.

Thangalaan's great-grandfather, Kaadaiyan, belonged to a tribe skilled in extracting gold from the Ponnar river sand. When a king, passing through the area, discovered the mountain's gold veins, he sought Kaadaiyan's expertise to retrieve the gold. However, Aarathi had set up obstacles, including snakes, to safeguard the territory. Kaadaiyan initially refused to help the king but was promised the land his forefathers had lost to the king's ancestors, which had been gifted to the Brahmanas. Kaadaiyan eventually agreed, but the king found the retrieved gold rocks to be fake, attributing it to Aarathi's sorcery. Enraged, the king beheaded a Buddha statue after being urged by a Brahmin priest, who cited Buddha as a sorcerer. A fierce battle ensued between Aarathi and Kaadaiyan's men, resulting in Kaadaiyan slitting Aarathi's abdomen, unleashing a torrent of blood that flowed over the land, transforming the sand into gold.

Gengamma interrupts Thangalaan's storytelling, as their children have already fallen asleep. In an attempt to seize Thangalaan's land, the zamindar's men set fire to the farm produce, rendering Thangalaan unable to pay the taxes. Consequently, his land is transferred to the zamindar, and Thangalaan and his family are forced into debt bondage. Meanwhile, British officer Lord Clement arrives in Veppur, seeking gold, and is aware of the villagers' ancestral expertise in tracing it. The villagers fear Aarathi, but Thangalaan, his son, Asokan, fellow villagers Varadhan, Gengupattar, and a few others embark on a journey northwest. Thangalaan begins hallucinating Aarathi's presence, warning him away from the forest, but he presses on, overcoming challenges like a river, black panther, sandstorm, and snakes.

Upon reaching a trench created by a lightning strike, Asokan discovers the beheaded Buddha statue, and Aarathi frightens him from underwater. Undeterred, they proceed to find the remaining remnants of the statue with gold traces at the bottom. However, during the gold extraction, lightning strikes Clement's son. Clement vows to find the gold ore at any cost, thanking Thangalaan for leading them to the site and gifting him his son's clothes. Clement also provides daily wages, while Thangalaan returns to the village, boasting of better pay and respect. He gifts the village women blouses, tempting them to join the gold mining effort. The entire village, including the women, set off to the barren forest, only to meet their fellow villagers lamenting for being exploited by both British and Indian middlemen, who had deprived them of necessities, as they had only found a few iron and silver ores so far. Thangalaan remains resolute in his pursuit of gold at the same site, despite Asokan getting possessed with Aarathi and warning the group to abandon the mining work and return to their village. Thangalaan, however, recalls his dream and finds a small rock matching the one in his dream, insisting on digging the lode deposits nearby.

But, he is attacked by snakes, one of which fatally bites his younger daughter. Aarathi's intervention prevents Thangalaan from saving her. Despite the lack of food, wages, and amenities, Clement, with Thangalaan's help, continues the work, and they discover a deep, abandoned mine. As they enter it, Thangalaan recognizes a place similar to his dream and finds streaks of gold. In the chaos that follows, the British claim the gold as their own, leading to a fight in which Arasani is shot. However, the gold stones turn out to be mere clay, courtesy of Aarathi's sorcery. Their settlements are destroyed in a fire, but they are given hope to continue mining. The starving population spots a buffalo, which Thangalaan, reminisces of Aarathi, and kills it, after which, they all consume it. Later, he motivates the group to dig deeper, where Aarathi, in her present birth, appears with her men, attacking them ruthlessly. Aarathi subdues Thangalaan, using her sorcery to reveal his past lives. Thangalaan recalls being Arasan "Aaran", a tribal king, and his wife, Aarathi, in the 5th century, together protecting the land's resources, mainly gold. Aarathi safeguarded the land while Aaran set off to fight trespassers, but was defeated and, in his subsequent births as Adhi Muni, Kaadaiyan, and Naga Muni, he became a slave to dominant communities, facing discrimination and ostracism.

He and his men were forced to labor and extract gold for their oppressors. Thangalaan pleads with Aarathi, acknowledging their duty to protect the land but also prioritizing the community's welfare, which had been neglected. The dying Aarathi grants permission for Thangalaan to fetch the gold, but only for his community's benefit. Enraged by Clement's attack on Aarathi, which fatally slit her abdomen, Thangalaan kills him and the other officers, declaring that the land and its resources are hereby their own, not to be exploited by foreigners. With newfound determination, Thangalaan single-handedly ventures deep into the mine and finally discovers an abundance of native gold, finally bringing joy to his community.

While working on Madras (2014), Pa. Ranjith had narrated a script to Vikram and planned to team up for the film, but was delayed. Until it was reportedly picked up again in September 2021 and would be produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under Studio Green.^[11] It was reported that Anirudh Ravichander would compose songs for the film, but was later on announced G. V. Prakash Kumar is composing the songs.^[12][13] On 2 December, the project was officially announced by Studio Green, tentatively titled Chiyaan 61.^[14] Rashmika Mandanna had signed to play the female lead role, but was replaced by Malavika Mohanan, due to scheduling conflicts.^[15][16] The latter learned Silambam for her role in the film.^[17] Ranjith, during a media interaction in May 2022, revealed that the Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka was the backdrop for the film and that it was a historical drama about working-class miners who discovered gold in the 19th century.^[18] On 23 October, coinciding with Ayudha Puja, the title Thangalaan was announced with a teaser.^[19] Ranjith said he originally dropped work on the film after finding it too similar to the KGF series, and resumed only after rewriting the script to avoid similarities.^[20]

Principal photography commenced in October 2022 with a short schedule in Chennai, for some initial portion, later on moved to Kadapa, and was later moved to Madurai, where an action sequence with Malavika and Vikram was shot.^[21][22] The team moved to Hogenakkal Falls in December.^[23] The same month, a shoot was done in Maldives.^[24] The second schedule shooting happened in a film city in Chennai in January 2023, with Malavika joining in February.^[25][26] With the second schedule ending in February, the team started shooting the third schedule in Kolar Gold Fields in the same month for close to six weeks.^[27] English actor Daniel Caltagirone started shooting for his portions the same month.^[28] The final schedule started in April, and was shot in Madurai and Chennai,^[29] with the shoot halted temporarily in May, due to a rib injury that Vikram suffered on the sets,^[30] before resuming in June and then filming wrapping on 4 July.^[31]

The music and background score is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, in his maiden collaboration with Ranjith; third with Vikram after Deiva Thirumagal (2011) and Thaandavam (2012).^[32] The audio rights for the film were acquired by Times Music for ₹5 crore (US$600,000).^{[citation needed]} The track "Thangalaan Exclusive Making Theme" that was featured in the behind-the-scenes video, which released on Vikram's birthday (17 April 2023), released on 19 April.^[33] The first single titled "Minikki Minikki" was released on 17 July 2024.^[34] The second single titled "Thangalaan War Song" was released on 2 August 2024.^[35] The last single titled "Aruvadai" was released on 12 August 2024.^[36] The entire soundtrack album was released on 15 August 2024, after the film's release.

Thangalaan was released in theatres on 15 August 2024 in standard, 3D and EPIQ format, coinciding with India's Independence Day.^[37][38] It was initially scheduled to theatrically release on 26 January 2024 coinciding with Republic Day.^[39] In mid-December 2023, it was reported that the release was postponed from that date, as the makers wanted to first screen it in film festivals and release worldwide later.^[40] On 15 January 2024, the occasion of Pongal, the producers released a poster announcing a tentative release during April 2024. However, the film's release was postponed again.^[41] The film was cleared by the censor board with a U/A certificate without any major cuts.^[1] The Hindi version of the film was released on 6 September 2024.^[42]

The Malayalam theatrical rights were sold to Sree Gokulam Movies through Dream Big Films.^[43] The Telugu theatrical rights in Telangana were acquired by Mythri Movie Makers.^{[citation needed]}

The digital streaming rights for the film were purchased by Netflix for ₹35 crore.^[44] The film was scheduled to premiere on Netflix from 20 September 2024, but was delayed.^[45] The film will be premiered on Netflix on 8 November.^[46][47]

Thangalaan received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the lead cast's performance (especially Vikram, Parvathy Thiruvothu, and Daniel Caltagirone), and GV Prakash Kumar's background score, but criticized the historical inaccuracies, visual effects, screenplay and writing.^[9]

M Suganth of The Times of India gave 4/5 stars and wrote "The film is a true-blue big-screen experience that immerses us into its world and keeps us glued with arresting visuals and intense drama."^[48] Rohit Panikker of Times Now gave 4/5 and wrote "Thangalaan is a well-thought-of and well-produced experience in both visual and cerebral storytelling. What this film has managed to do is prove that magical realism and period dramas can work as well as any mass masala flick as long as the story is delivered with conviction. All in all, a definite theatre watch to feel the full effect of what the film's team has put together."^[49] Avinash Ravichandran of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Some of his [Ranjith] audacious attempts at storytelling in Thangalaan get overburdened by the novelty factor. He isn’t always ably supported by the technicalities of the film that keep us at an arm’s length at times."^[50]

Sudhir Srinivasan of The New Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote that although "not sparkly", Thangalaan was gold for its experimental story, clever craft and striking climax.^[51] Janani K of India Today gave 2/5 stars and wrote "However, Thangalaan seems to be the weakest work in director Pa Ranjith's filmography. The film's screenplay is too abstract, which might not be everyone's cup of tea.^[52] Latha Srinivasan of Hindustan Times wrote "Vikram has outdone himself in this film as Thangalaan and shows us how talented and committed he is, yet again. Whether it the emotional scenes or the action ones, Vikram makes you feel every emotion he goes through."^[53]

A sequel was announced on 17 August 2024, which was tentatively titled as Thangalaan 2 with Ranjith returning to the direction and Vikram reprising his role as Thangalaan Muni.^[54]

• Thangalaan at IMDb