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Thiruchitrambalam
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Wikipedia article
'Thiruchitrambalam' is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language romantic family comedy-drama film written and directed by Mithran R Jawahar. Produced by Kalanithi Maran under the banner of Sun Pictures, it stars Dhanush in the titular role alongside Bharathiraja, Prakash Raj, Nithya Menen, Priya Bhavani Shankar and Raashii Khanna. The film's music and score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, with cinematography by Om Prakash and editing by Prasanna GK.
The films title was announced on 5 August 2021, along with principal photography for the film which began with a pooja ceremony in Chennai. The filming was wrapped on early-October 2021. Post-Production works of the film began on 14 February 2022. 'Thiruchitrambalam' was released theatrically on 18 August 2022, to positive reviews from the critics and audience. The film is a critical and commercial success at the box office.
Plot
Thiruchitrabalam "Pazham" is a food delivery driver who lives with his strict father Inspector Neelakandan and grandfather, who is also named Thiruchitrambalam. His mother and sister died in an accident, because of his fathers negligence and doesnt talk with him for 10 years. His only comfort is Shobana, his best friend since childhood with whom he always shares his feelings. As Jr. Pazham navigates through his life, he ends up falling for his childhood crush Anusha, but she rejects him because she always saw him as a good friend, although she flirted with him. Jr. Pazham reconciles with Neelakandan and leaves for his mothers village for a wedding, where he meets Ranjani.
Eventually, Ranjani rejects him indirectly, which leaves Jr. Pazham heartbroken. On his way back home, Jr. Pazham talks with Sr. Thiruchitrambalam how unlucky he is in love. Sr. Thiruchitrambalam tells him that he should love Shobana. Jr. Pazham looks Shobana in a different way, and starts admiring her. Jr. Pazham asks Shobana to marry him, but she tells him to forget this. Heartbroken, Jr. Pazham doesnt talk or meet her. Shobana decides to leave for Canada and tells Pazham to meet her at the airport. On his way to the airport, Jr. Pazhams vehicle is stopped by the police and Shobana gets in the flight.
Pazham gets depressed about how he missed his chance with Shobana. Shobanas brother throws all the love letters and gifts collected by Shobana for Jr. Pazham, where he tells that Shobana loved Pazham since 6th grade and he proposed to her because he had no other option. One month passes by, Pazham calls Shobana after her departure, where she tells him that she hates Canada and wants to return back to India while Pazham tells her to turn back, she is shocked to see him there. Jr. Pazham confesses how much he loves her. They reunite with each other, and get married.
Cast
* Dhanush as Thiruchitrambalam Jr alias "Pazham" Shobana's best friend
* Bharathiraja as Sr. Thiruchitrambalam Pazham's Paternal grandfather
* Prakash Raj as Inspector Neelakandan Pazham's father
* Nithya Menen as Shobana Pazham's best friend
* Priya Bhavani Shankar as Ranjani Pazham's second love interest in his native village
* Raashii Khanna as Anusha Pazham's first love interest and crush since his school days
* Munishkanth as Subbaraj Pazham's maternal uncle
* SriRanjini as Rajeswari, Shobana's mother
* Stunt Silva as a child kidnapper
* Aranthangi Nisha as Subbaraj's wife
* VJ Pappu as Aravind Shobana's younger brother
* A. Revathy as Pazham's maternal grandmother
* Mu Ramaswamy as Pazham's maternal grandfather
* Revathi as Pazham's mother (Cameo appearance)
Production
Development
In December 2019, the film production studio Sun Pictures, headed by Kalanithi Maran, announced a new project with Dhanush. The film marked Dhanush's first active project as a producer, as Sun Pictures had earlier distributed 'Padikkadavan' (2009), 'Aadukalam' and 'Mappillai' (2011). Mithran R Jawahar, who earlier directed 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini' (2008), 'Kutty' and 'Uthamaputhiran' (2010), with Dhanush in the lead was rumoured to direct the film, while his involvement was being undisclosed. Anirudh Ravichander was announced as the film's music composer in October 2020. The film's title 'Thiruchitrambalam' was announced on 5 August 2021.Casting
Nithya Menen was cast as the main female lead as Dhanush's friend character Shobhana. Later Raashii Khanna and Priya Bhavani Shankar was announced to play supporting roles along with Prakash Raj and Bharathiraja.Filming
Principal photography for the film began with a pooja ceremony in Chennai on 5 August 2021. On 10 August, Prakash Raj took a short break for surgery after he fractured his shoulder during the shooting. Raashii Khanna joined the film's sets in Chennai on 25 August. The crew went to film the song sequences in Pondicherry after the Chennai schedule being completed. In late-August, stills from the film, featuring Dhanush and Khanna, were leaked and went viral on internet. In September, a song shoot featuring Dhanush and Nithya Menen was choreographed by Jani Master and filmed in the outskirts of Pondicherry. Stills from the song shoot were leaked onto the internet. The film's shooting, which took place for 50 days, has been completed in early-October 2021. On 14 February 2022, it was announced that dubbing for the film has begun.Music
The music and original score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, reuniting with Dhanush after six years since their last film, 'Thanga Magan' (2015). It marks Anirudh's fifth collaboration with Dhanush and his first with Mithran Jawahar. On 4 March 2022, lyricist Vivek has announced that he will be writing lyrics for one of the songs in the film. The first single Thaai Kelavi released on 24 June 2022. The lyrics for the single was also written by Dhanush and also he himself along with Anthony Daasan sang the first single. The second single "Megham Karukkatha" was released on 15 July 2022 and Dhanush also sang himself for the second single. The third single "Life of Pazham" was released on 27 July 2022. And the fourth single titled "Thenmozhi" was released on 30 July 2022. The entire soundtrack album was released on 31 July 2022. Reviewing the soundtrack album, 'Moviecrow' rated 2.5 out of 5 and stated "Thiruchitrambalam lacks freshness and the weakest album from the duo that fails to live up to the expectations."
Release
Theatrical
The film was released worldwide theatrically on 18 August 2022. It is Dhanush's first theatrical release since 'Karnan' (2021) as 'Jagame Thandhiram' (2021), 'Atrangi Re' (2021), 'Maaran' (2022) and 'The Gray Man' were assigned direct-to-streaming releases.Home media
The satellite rights of the film have been retained by Sun TV and the streaming rights were bagged by Sun NXT and Netflix.Reception
Box office
On the first day of its release, the film earned over 9 crore on its opening day, and grossed over 6 crore in Tamil Nadu. On the second day of its release the film crossed over 20 crores at the box office. On the third day of its release, the film has collected over 32.97 crore in its box office. On its opening weekend, the film grossed over50 crore. On the tenth day of its release, the film grossed over 64 crores. On the thirteenth day of its release the film crossed the 100 crore mark worldwide and became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of the year. On the other hand, 'Pinkvilla' stated that the film made 83 crore worldwide during the same period. According to them, the film grossed 94.25 crore in 18 days to become Dhanush's highest earning film worldwide, beating his previous best 'Raanjhanaa' (2013).
Critical response
Haricharan Pudipeddi of 'Hindustan Times' called 'Thiruchitrambalam' a "simple film with its heart at the right place", going on to add that the "simplistic storytelling along with the highly-relatable characters make the film endearing and wholesome", while praising Nithya Menen as "phenomenal".
Kirubhakar Purushothaman of 'The Indian Express' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "'Thiruchitramabalam' treats you to an extreme close-up of everyday people and their everyday problems. It is also a gentle reminder that you don't need a lot of guns to blow the audiences' minds." Srivatsan S of 'The Hindu' stated after reviewing the film that "'Thiruchitrabalam' is also that rom-com where you almost get an airport climax." Janani K of 'India Today' gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Thiruchitrambalam is a fun entertainer that makes you enjoy the everyday things that we usually miss out on." M Suganth of 'The Times of India' gave the film's rating 3.5 out of 5 and stated that "Even the airport climax gets a modern spin that makes it agreeable. But the detour to the protagonist's village doesn't really lend anything extra to the story. We get a few more characters who are also nice people, and that's just it. But the film's director Mithras Jawahar makes up for it with the heartwarming climax."
Ranjini Krishnakumar of 'News9' gave 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "This endearment for Pazham that the film evokes is not entirely written in. A good part of it is, in fact, Dhanush, who moves us with his boy-next-door charm." Bhavana Sharma of 'Pinkvilla' gave the film's rating 3 out of 5, stating that "Thiruchitrambalam is worth watching for all the right reasons, and especially for Dhanush and Nithya Menen." Sowmya Rajendran of 'The News Minute' gave 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "What a relief to see such a simple, well-told story in Tamil cinema after so long! Nourishing and no fuss, just like a pazham." Sudhir Srinivasan of 'Cinema Express' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated that "Its tragic really when a film, on the cusp of excellence, makes a dated choice that ends up leaving a sour aftertaste." Soundarya Athimuthu of 'The Quint' gave the films rating 4.5 out of 5, stating that "With impactful dialogues, the film eases out the unnecessary guilt that senior citizens and people with disabilities usually feel and treats them with dignity." 'Outlook India' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "In all, 'Thiruchitrambalam' is an entertainer and a full-fledged one at that!" Karthik Kelamalu of 'Firstpost' gave the films rating 3.5 out of 5 and stated that "For a director whos mostly made remakes ('Yaaradi Nee Mohini', 2008; 'Uthamaputhiran', 2010), the richness of Thiruchitrambalam will surely yield fresh fruits." 'Behindwoods' gave the films rating 3 out of 5 stars stating that "Dhanush, Nithya Menen & Bharathiraja's fantastic performances make Thiruchitrambalam, an enjoyable feel-good film, that's thoroughly engaging." Suhasini Srihari of 'Deccan Herald' gave the films rating 4 out of 5 and stated that "'Thiruchitrambalam' is a narrative that comes afresh with newer ways of telling an old story. Felix of 'Movie Herald' gave 4 out of 5 and stated "For its entertaining journey and some heartwarming connections that anyone would wish to be a part of, Thiruchitrambalam is a must-watch." 'Ananda Vikatan' rated the film 44 out of 100.
References
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