Tharangam (2017 film)

Tharangam
Tharangam
	Official Poster
Directed by	Dominic Arun
Written by	Dominic Arun; Anil Narayanan
Produced by	Dhanush; Mini studio
Starring	Tovino Thomas; Saiju Kurup; Balu Varghese; Unni Mukundan; Santhy Balachandran; Dileesh Pothan; Vijaya Raghavan; Manoj K Jayan
Cinematography	Deepak D. Menon
Edited by	Sreenath S
Music by	Ashwin Renju
Production; companies	Wunderbar Films; Mini studio
Distributed by	Wunderbar Films;
Release date	29 September 2017;
Running time	153 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Tharangam (transl. Wave) is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy black comedy film directed by Dominic Arun in his directorial debut. It was the first Malayalam film produced by Dhanush under his banner Wunderbar Films, and starring Tovino Thomas, Balu Varghese, Santhy Balachandran in the lead roles. Ashwin Renju is the music director. The film was released in India on 29 September 2017.

Plot

The movie tells about Pappan, a cop along with the struggles led with Joy.C. They land in trouble while investigating Ommana, who is the wife of a dreaded don named Raghu. They cross paths with a smuggler Siju, and Raghu, which leads to a chaotic situation.

Cast

Tovino Thomas as Padmanabhan "Pappan"
Unni Mukundan as Reghu (Cameo appearance)
Balu Varghese as Joy. C
Santhy Balachandran as Malini (Malu)
Neha Iyer as Omana
Dileesh Pothan as God
Sijoy Varghese as Christopher Luke
Vijaya Raghavan as Menon
Manoj K Jayan as Antony Gonsalvez
Shammi Thilakan as Tharian
Saiju Kurup as Siju
Alencier Ley Lopez as Ittymani
Abin Paul as Jimmy
Unni Lalu as Deepu
Sarath Sabha as Appukuttan

Production

Tharangam is the first Malayalam film produced by Tamil actor Dhanush.Sukumar Thekkepat was the executive producer of the film. It is the directorial debut of Dominic Arun, who has previously directed short films. The film is made as a black comedy.^[1]

Release

Tharangam was released in 106 screens across Kerala on 29 September 2017.

Critical response

Critic Veeyen writes: "Tharangam' is a wickedly dark movie and one crazy ride, a work of comic insanity that asks you to buckle your seat belts on, simply feel the air rush against your face and let things be." He later on adds, "It could only be a real zany mind that would have the nerve to start off his film as this, and Dominic Arun within minutes has the audience dropping their jaws – either in amazement or in morbid fear of what’s in store for the next couple of hours."^[2]

Anagha Jayan E from Malayala Manorama wrote: Dominic Arun's Tharangam unfurls its suspense-thriller plot in a very unconventional black-comedy mood. A normal action-thriller movie by all other means, Tharangam wangles an offbeat stamp through an avant-garde style of narration that fiddles with fantasy and magic realism.^[3]

Anjana George for The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote : Dominic Arun has successfully tried to serve a fantasy thriller which is a blend of Priyadarshan and Quentin Tarantino movies. It has well-narrated romance, suspense, action and emotions. If you are in the mood for a thrilling, fantasy movie, Tharangam is your best bet this season.^[4]

Soumya Rajendran for The News Minute rated Tharangam as 'A smart black comedy with a superb screen play'and wrote Debut director Dominic Arun's Tharangam is a smart black comedy with a racy screenplay and intricate plot.^[5]

Deepthi Sreenivasan for Deccan Chronicle rated Tharangam as 'Tovino's comic timing is spot on, complemented by Balu's performance'. Full of twists that would keep one on their toes, Tharangam is an unconventional black comedy, that visits Malayali screens rarely. ^[6]

Meena Suresh for The New Indian Express said 'What makes Tharangam very unique is its narrative style. It manages to blend in fantasy and realism'^[7]