''Dhoomam'' () is an Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by Pawan Kumar. The film was produced by Vijay Kiragandur under

Hombale Films Hombale Films (pronunciation: Hom-Baa-Lay) is an Indian film production company mainly known for the ''K.G.F'' franchise and blockbuster film Kantara. It was founded by Vijay Kiragandur. History Hombale Films was founded by Vijay Kiragan ...

in their debut production in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

. It stars

Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Natio ...

and

Aparna Balamurali Aparna Balamurali (born 11 September 1995) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam films along with a few Tamil films. She is known for her roles in ''Maheshinte Prathikaaram'' (2016), ''Sunday Holiday'' (2017) and ''Soorarai Pot ...

, alongside

Roshan Mathew Roshan Mathew (born 22 March 1992) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Malayalam films and Hindi, Tamil & Telugu films. He began his career with numerous theatre productions based in Chennai and Mumbai. These include ''The Glass Mena ...

Vineeth Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...

Anu Mohan Anu Mohan (born 24 August 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. Career He made his debut in the 2011 film, ''Orkut oru Ormakut''. He also played the antagonist in Roopesh Peethambaran's '' Theevram''. Anu Mohan is the young ...

Achyuth Kumar Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. Born in the town of Belur, in the district of Hassan and brought up in Tiptur. He graduated in bachelor of commerce from the Kalpatharu First Grade College, which was t ...

Joy Mathew Joy Mathew (born 20 September 1961) is an Indian film and theatre actor.He is also a film director, playwright and screenwriter.He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Career Joy Mathew is best known for playing the lead role in John Abra ...

and

Nandhu Nandalal Krishnamoorthy better known by his stage name Nandu is an Indian actor primarily working in Malayalam films. Although he has been in the industry for more than 30 years, he is acclaimed for his performance in Mohanlal' s ''Spirit'', dir ...

. It was released on 23 June 2023 and opened to mixed reviews.

Synopsis

The film is a psychological thriller that explores the theme of nicotine and tobacco smoking and its harmful effects on the society, while also exploring the psychology of tobacco industrialists. It follows the story of Avinash, the marketing head of a top tobacco company, who gets trapped by an unknown man and is made to provide money to the man in order to save himself and his wife, Diya. The film runs in parallel storyline, in present where Avinash and his wife are getting chased, and, in past, where he grows higher in jobplace with his friend, Siddhu, who owns the company.

Cast

Music

The music is composed by

Poornachandra Tejaswi Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi (8 September 1938 – 5 April 2007) was a prominent Indian writer and novelist in Kannada. He also worked as a photographer, publisher, painter, naturalist, and environmentalist. He made a great impress ...

. The lyrics are penned by

Vinayak Sasikumar Vinayak Sasikumar (born 13 June 1994) is an Indian lyricist, who works in Malayalam cinema. Personal life He was born in Trivandrum, Kerala to S. Sasikumar and Asha Sasikumar. At the age of 12, he started writing poetry. Later, he moved to Ch ...

Production

''Dhoomam'' was produced by

and directed by Pawan Kumar. The music was composed by

. The film marks the debut of Pawan Kumar, Poornachandra Tejaswi, and Hombale Films in

Release

Theatrical

The film was released on 23 June 2023.

Home media

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

acquired the post-theatrical streaming rights of the film. It was supposed to release on the platform on 4 August 2023, but it was delayed due to the poor response for the film. On 29 November 2023, the film was released digitally on the

Apple TV app The Apple TV app (also known as Apple TV, TV, and the TV app) is a line of media player software programs developed by Apple Inc. for viewing television shows and films delivered by Apple to consumer electronic devices. It can stream content fr ...

and

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Reception

Critical response

Anandu Suresh of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "''Dhoomam'' serves as a reminder that merely having a significant message is insufficient to create a captivating film."

Anna M. M. Vetticad Anna Mercy Mathews Vetticad, commonly known as Anna M. M. Vetticad, is an Indian film critic and journalist. She has been in the field of journalism since 1994. Vetticad has also hosted her own interview show, ''Star Trek'', on Headlines Today ...

of ''

Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18. The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...

'' gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "''Dhoomam's'' message is crucial and the plot includes some twists with promise, but the film takes too long to get to them. The script is bereft of depth, zest and soul, resulting in a narrative that has limited emotional impact and lacks the urgency one would expect from the life-and-death situation at its centre." S. R. Praveen of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' wrote, "''Dhoomam'' lives up to its title in the impact it has on the audience – a whiff of smoke, and hardly anything substantial."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2023 films 2020s Malayalam-language films Indian action thriller films 2023 action thriller films