Thangalaan (Hindi)
Thangalaan (transl. Son of Gold) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film 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. The film stars Vikram in the title role, along with Daniel Caltagirone, Pasupathy, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Malavika Mohanan and Hari Krishnan in the supporting role. 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.
Plot
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 labourers 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[disambiguation needed], 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.