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Thoongaa Vanam

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Thoongaa Vanam
Theatrical release poster in Tamil
Directed byRajesh M. Selva
Screenplay byKamal Haasan
Based onNuit Blanche by Frédéric Jardin
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySanu John Varghese
Edited byShan Mohammed
Music byM. Ghibran
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 10 November 2015 (2015-11-10) (Tamil)[1]
  • 20 November 2015 (2015-11-20) (Telugu)[2]
Running time
127 minutes
CountryIndia
Languages
  • Tamil
  • Telugu
Box officeest. ₹50 crore[5]

Thoongaa Vanam (transl. Sleepless forest) is a 2015 Indian action thriller film directed by Rajesh M. Selva. The film stars an ensemble cast including Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj, Trisha, Kishore, Sampath Raj, Guru Somasundaram, Yugi Sethu, Aman Abdullah, Asha Sharath, Madhu Shalini and Jagan. It was filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, the latter titled Cheekati Rajyam (transl. Kingdom of darkness).[6] Both versions were produced by Raaj Kamal Films International and Sree Gokulam Movies.[7][8] The film is a remake of the French film Sleepless Night (2011).[9][10]

Thoongaa Vanam was released on 10 November 2015 coinciding with Diwali while the Telugu version Cheekati Rajyam was released on 20 November 2015.[11][12]

Plot

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C.K. Diwakar is an IRS officer in the NCB, who along with his deputy Mani, busts a narcotics scam. In retaliation, Vittal Rao, a drug lord, who had masterminded the scam, kidnaps Diwakar's son Vasu. He is willing to release Vasu if Diwakar can return to him a bag of cocaine that he seized while thwarting the scam. With no other option at hand, Diwakar agrees and proceeds to Vittal's nightclub, with the bag of cocaine, where Vasu is held hostage. His act of hiding the bag in the men's toilet is noticed by his assistant Mallika, who becomes suspicious. Thinking that Diwakar is involved in drug smuggling, she informs her superior Dhiraviyam/Mohan.

Dhiraviyam/Mohan begin to pursue Diwakar, taking away the bag of cocaine from the toilet in the process. When Diwakar realises that the bag of cocaine has gone missing, he decides to return to Vittal a bag containing packets of milk powder instead, thinking that he and his cronies, including a gangster named Pedha Babu, will not realise the difference. Unfortunately, Vittal and Pedha soon find out that Diwakar had cheated them and decide to kill him. Caught between Vittal's gang on one side and Mallika and Dhiraviyam/Mohan on the other side, Diwakar confronts Mallika and tells her that contrary to her suspicions, he has been working undercover and had planned the entire operation to expose cops such as Dhiraviyam/Mohan and Mani, who are involved in drug smuggling.

Diwakar then rescues Vasu without Vittal's knowledge, and Vittal is also arrested by Mallika and Dhiraviyam/Mohan. While taking Vittal to prison, Mallika finds out that she has Mani's mobile phone, and on reading the messages in it, she finds out that Diwakar had been speaking the truth all along, realising that Dhiraviyam/Mohan and Mani are involved in drug smuggling and had tried to frame Diwakar. Though Dhiraviyam/Mohan tries to resist arrest, killing Vittal in the process, he is eventually brought to justice. Three months later, Mallika is now Diwakar's deputy, and the duo is shown thwarting the attempted murder of a police officer.

Cast

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Production

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Pre-production

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Kamal Haasan announced that his next project, a bilingual thriller titled Thoongaa Vanam in Tamil, would be directed by his former assistant Rajesh Selva[14] and produced by himself. The film was initially titled as Ore Iravu, before going through a change of title.[15] Kamal Haasan was very glad to be a part of the film and expressed his thanks to all who supported him in his career. He added that the film would be shot simultaneously and with the same cast and crew as Cheekati Rajyam in the Telugu language.[16] Sanu Varghese and Shan Mohammed were named as the cinematographer and editor, respectively,[17] while Ghibran was recruited as the film's composer, working on the fourth successive Kamal Haasan film.[18][19] Writer Suka was chosen to write the Tamil dialogues,[20] while Abburi Ravi was assigned to work on the dialogues for the Telugu version.[21]

Kamal Haasan was reported to be play CK Dhiwakar, an Indian Revenue Service officer in Narcotics Control Bureau.[22] Trisha and Prakash Raj were the first actors to be cast and reported to play the female lead and an important supporting role respectively.[23][24] While Prakash Raj was said to portray a drug dealer named Vital Rao, Trisha's role was Mallika, a police officer.[22] Initially, the makers were considering Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala to play Kamal's wife in the movie. But the crew later opted for Asha Sarath, after watching her films.[25][26] Uma Riyaz Khan was signed for an "important role" [27] and Kishore informed that had been selected for a "key role" in the film.[28] In June 2015, it was reported that Madhu Shalini was part of the film and had starting filming,[29] while Sampath Raj was also added to the cast.[30] Sampath's character was revealed to be that of a local gangster called Pedha Babu.[22]

Filming

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Following a photo shoot at the AVM Studios on 20 May 2015,[31] the film was officially unveiled on 25 May in Hyderabad with the release of the first look poster,[21] after which principal photography began with a schedule at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.[32][33] The filming was completed in 38 days by August 2015.

Soundtrack

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Thoonga Vanam
Soundtrack album by
Ghibran
Released7 October 2015 (2015-10-07) (Tamil)
3 November 2015 (2015-11-03) (Telugu)
Recorded2015
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length4:33
LanguageTamil
Telugu
LabelThink Music
ProducerGhibran
Ghibran chronology
Papanasam
(2015) 		Thoonga Vanam
(2015) 		Babu Bangaram
(2016)
External audio
audio icon Official Video Song (Tamil) on YouTube
audio icon Official Video Song (Telugu) on YouTube

The soundtrack album for Thoongaa Vanam composed by Ghibran, features only one song, "Neeye Unakku Raja" in the heavy metal genre, written by Vairamuthu and sung by Kamal Haasan, with backing vocals by Yazin Nizar and model-turned-singer Aishvarrya.[34] The song was released on 7 October 2015, along with its video song being simultaneously released on YouTube.

Behindwoods reviewing for the song stated that "Kamal’s textured voice and the glitch mode is on full throttle for this house-mix song, Ghibran’s toxic instrumentation takes us into a trance land of no hope and support. Be it the Veenai in the interlude or the numerous sound effects, the electronic influence in the composition, teamed up with some growling, bowls us over throughout. The female voice is no less, and particularly the metal-like singing is a whole new try." and gave a verdict, "Though it's just one, it's a gun!"[35]

Track listing (Tamil)
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Neeye Unakku Raja"VairamuthuKamal Haasan, Aishvarrya, Yazin Nizar4:33

The Telugu version of the song named "Dhairyam Veedi" written by Ramajogayya Sastry was released, on 3 November 2015.

Track listing (Telugu)
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Dhairyam Veedi"Ramajogayya SastryKamal Haasan, Aishvarrya, Yazin Nizar4:33

Reception

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Thoongaa Vanam

[edit]

Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times gave the film a rating of 4/5 stars, calling it "an absolute slick crime adventure".[36] Latha Srinivasan of Daily News and Analysis gave 3.5/5 stars mentioning Thoongaa Vanam as a slick, well-made film that takes you through the course of happening over one night to the police officer and appreciated the debutant Rajesh M. Selva for directing a film that broke from the regular Kollywood films. They also appreciated the performance of Kamal Haasan, Trisha and music director Gibran for the excellent background score.[37] Avinash Gopinath of Filmibeat gave 3.5/5 stars and concluded "Without any songs and romantic sequences, Thoongaavanam [sic] is not your regular Tamil film. After all, who else other than Kamal Haasan can make a Kollywood flick look truly international?"[38]

Rating it 3/5 stars, S. Saraswathi of Rediff appreciated the performances of the lead cast as well as the film's technical aspects but criticised the lack of pace in the film's screenplay before concluding "the intriguing plot, good performances, Ghibran's innovative background score and camera angles of Sanu Varghese make director Rajesh M. Selva's Thoonga Vanam [sic] worth a watch."[39] M. Suganth of The Times of India also rated the film 3/5 and wrote, "even though the film cleverly spreads the action across various areas in the club [...] it isn't enough to shake off the feeling of claustrophobia. By the time the film gets over, we feel exhausted."[40] Entertainment website Behindwoods rated it 2.75/5, mentioning it as "There are thrills and surprises worth experiencing in this Thoongavanam", but also wrote "If one has to complain, it must be about the slightly slower pace of the movie", a contradictory statement when compared with general opinion. They appreciated the technicians as well as actors of the film with special mention to Trisha, and Aman Abdullah.[41] Karthik Keramalu of IBNLive gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "Actors move in and out of rooms, run this way and that, plot and fail, hide and seek. Yet all the effort of the cast and crew is shaken and not stirred enough as the screenplay gets a few nods wrong."[42]

Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu stated that the film picks up in the post-interval portions "the kitchen-sink action choreography, the sounds of things breaking and clattering, the bursts of background score, the jittery camerawork", concluding the film as "an okay thriller", but criticised director Rajesh Selva for not giving the output to the dazzle of Brian De Palma films.[43] Sify described the film as a "classy thriller that gives an edge of the seat ride with world class action sequences and no-nonsense execution!". Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj, Sampath Raj, Kishore and Trisha were appreciated for their performances, while they concluded mentioning about the technical aspects like music, action, editing and camera work that gave an edge to the film.[44] Raisa Nasreen of Bookmyshow termed the film as "A solid action-thriller".[45]

Cheekati Rajyam

[edit]

The Telugu version was released a week later with similar positive reviews. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu stated, 'though the film isn't really exceptional, makes for an engaging watch', appreciating director on the promising debut. She also mentioned the performance of Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj and Trisha as good, concluding the film as a stylish cop drama as attention is paid even to little details of the film making.[46] Rating it 3/5 stars, Pravallika Anjuri of filmibeat stated that, even though the film is not up to the standard of an edgy or racy thriller, the performance of artistes, ideal run time and presentation makes it a must watch.[47] 123 Telugu gave the film a rating of 3.25/5 stars, calling it as a slick action thriller with interesting moments going on its way with a racy first half, concluding as the film is a must watch for those who like action thrillers and for the rest, the film is a decent watch.[48]

Box office

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The film grossed over ₹80 crore worldwide.[49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Thoongavanam Movie Database". tamilcinemainfo.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ^ Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (25 May 2015). "With Cheekati Raajyam, Kamal returns to Telugu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  3. ^ "GREAT ESCAPE FOR THOONGAVANAM". Behindwoods. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. ^ "I, BAAHUBALI AND NOW THOONGAVANAM". Behindwoods. 30 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Times of India ₹50 crore". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  6. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (3 November 2015). "My focus is to give quality films at great speed". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Kamal Haasan's 'Thoongaavanam', 'Cheekati Rajyam' Posters Released". Ibtimes.co.in. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
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  9. ^ Thoongavanam, remake of a French film? – The Times of India Archived 17 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. The Times of India. (14 June 2015). Retrieved 21 August 2015.
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  35. ^ Thoongavanam (aka) Thoonga Vanam songs review Archived 4 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Behindwoods.com (7 October 2015). Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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  37. ^ Srinivasan, Latha (10 November 2015). "'Thoongaavanam' review: This Kamal Haasan-Trisha starrer is more Hollywood than Kollywood". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  38. ^ Gopinath, Avinash (10 November 2015). "Thoongaavanam Movie Review & Rating: A No-Nonsense Action Thriller!". Filmibeat. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  39. ^ Saraswathi, S. (10 November 2015). "Review: Thoonga Vanam is worth a watch". Rediff. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
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  42. ^ Keramalu, Karthik (11 November 2015). "'Thoongaavanam' review: The movie is uninspiring and a tame thriller". IBNLive. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  43. ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (10 November 2015). "Thoongavanam: An okay thriller, with goodies for fans". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  44. ^ "Thoongavanam:Review". Sify. 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  45. ^ Nasreen, Raisa (10 November 2015). "Thoongavanam: Film Review – A Diwali Treat for Kamal Haasan fans". Bookmyshow. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  46. ^ "Cheekati Rajyam: The night is sinister". The Hindu. 20 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  47. ^ "Cheekati Rajyam Movie Review: Promising Thriller". filmibeat. 20 November 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  48. ^ "Review : Cheekati Rajyam – Slick action thriller". 123Telugu. 20 November 2015. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  49. ^ "Times of India ₹50 crore". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
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