''Rum'' ( en, Verdict) is a 2017

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of P ...

horror

comedy thriller Comedy thrillers are a hybrid genre that draw subject matter generally from comedy and thrillers. Criteria They often include a darker tone, relative to other genres, of humor. List of comedy thriller films * '' The Big Fix'' (1978) * ''Chara ...

film written and directed by Sai Bharath. Featuring

Hrishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints medita ...

Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...

Narain Narayana (Also rendered Narayane, Narayanan, Narain, Narayankar or Narine) (from Sanskrit नारायण, ''nārāyaṇá'', literally "eternal man") is an Indian name. It is identical in form to the name of the deity Narayana, another name ...

Sanchita Shetty Sanchita Shetty is an Indian actress, who has appeared predominately in Tamil and Kannada films. She appeared in supporting roles at the beginning of her career. She got her first breakthrough after starring in female lead role in ''Soodhu Kavv ...

and Miya in the lead roles, the film's score and soundtrack is composed by Anirudh Ravichander. The film began production during early 2016 and was released on 17 February 2017.

Plot

Film starts with Shiva and his gang visits a bungalow. They experience spooky incidents in the haunted bungalow.

Cast

as Shiva *

as Raj *

as Inspector Praveen Thomas *

as Riya * Miya as Thulasi *

Amzath Khan Amzath Khan is an Indian actor, who is known and famous for acting in ''Maya'' (2015) and ''Kaithi'' (2019). Career Seeking a career in media, Amzath pursued an MBA in film marketing and finance and briefly worked at Sony Pictures and then as ...

as Suresh (Nepali) *

Arjun Chidambaram Arjun Chidambaram is an Indian actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films. He made his debut as an actor in '' Moone Moonu Varthai'' (2015). He made a breakthrough appearing in ''Nerkonda Paarvai'' (2019). He has since appeared in leading ...

as Kural *

Andreanne Nouyrigat Andreanne Nouyrigat is a French actress, who lives and works primarily in India. She has appeared in supporting and leading roles in Tamil cinema.contestant of Cooku with comali Season 4 Career Andreane Nouyrigat was born in France, but settle ...

as a Russian lady *

Venkat Subha Venkat Subha (died 29 May 2021) was an Indian actor, producer and writer. Career He was known for his roles in films such as ''Azhagiya Theeye'' (2004), '' Kanda Naal Mudhal'' (2005) and '' Mozhi'' (2007). He also acted in few television soap ...

Production

The film began pre-production works during October 2015, with composer Anirudh Ravichander revealing that he would work on a film titled ''Rum'' directed by Sai Bharath and starring his cousin, Hrishikesh, in the lead role. The project was announced to be funded by All in Pictures, while the director stated that it would be a "horror-heist film". After completing a course in filmmaking in Canada, Sai Bharath had finished the script three years prior to the beginning of the shoot. He had approached Hrishikesh, who was looking to appear in his first lead role, after playing a supporting role in ''

Velaiilla Pattadhari ''Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (), popularly referred to as ''VIP'', is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Velraj, in his directorial debut. The film stars Dhanush and Amala Paul, while Vivek, Saranya Ponvannan ...

'' (2014). In February 2016, the film's first look poster was unveiled, with

and Miya revealed as the film's lead actresses.

and

were also announced to be playing supporting roles in the film. The title ''Rum'' was revealed by the makers to be an ancient Tamil word meaning "verdict", rather than the alcohol as widely presumed. The shoot of the film began in February 2016 in Chennai and was finished by June 2016. During May 2016, the team shot for a fast-paced

gaana Gaana (or Gānā) is a genre of Tamil music, which is sung in the Madras Bashai dialect of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is rap-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the Chennai people." It evolved over the past two ...

song titled "Peiyo Phobilia" in a dense forest in Padappai and set up a campsite on location. The final schedule for the film began on 1 June 2016 and carried on for fifteen days until completion.

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by Anirudh Ravichander, while the audio rights of the film was acquired by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

. The album released on 2 November 2016 at an event held at Park Hyatt, Chennai with the lead cast and crew in attendance. Prior to the release of the album, a single track titled "Hola Amigo" was released in April 2016. Anirudh collaborated with Malaysian rapper Balan Kashmir for the song which carried the theme of intolerance, and the song subsequently went viral on social media after it was promoted by American DJ Diplo. A second single, "Peiyophobilia", was also released in September 2016 and featured vocals by actor

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...

, who collaborated on a film soundtrack with Anirudh for the first time. Behindwoods.com stated "''Rum'' is an EDM intoxicant from Anirudh, which is addictive".

Release

Originally produced by Vijay Raghavendra, the film’s Tamil Nadu theatrical rights were sold to Shri Sai Circuit 6000, with the makers releasing the film in 150 screens across Tamil Nadu. Upon release, the film received a positive review from

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

, with the critic stating "in the first half, both horror and humour have worked out well", "in the second half that the plot loses steam" but "it peps up again towards the end". In contrast, Baradwaj Rangan 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 "''Rum'' feels incoherent, and you wonder if it’s because the director was trying to be avant-garde, or whether he just ran out of film", stating that "the film has no spirit". A reviewer from Sify.com stated "''Rum'' is an average horror comedy" and that the "major problem with ''Rum'' is that technically the film is amateurish and delivers very little in terms of novelty". The reviewer added the film "has more laugh-out-loud moments than jump-in-your-seat jolts" and that "it is just dull, lazy film making from debutant director Sai Bharath". Behindwoods.com states it was "a horror comedy that has nothing new to offer", concluding that "the film lacks clarity and moves cluelessly in its initial moments".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt6544384 2017 films 2017 horror films 2010s heist films 2017 horror thriller films 2010s Tamil-language films Films shot in Chennai Indian heist films Indian horror thriller films Films scored by Anirudh (composer) 2017 directorial debut films