Thumbaa

Thumbaa is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language adventure film written and directed by Harish Ram L. H. on his directorial debut. The film stars Darshan, newcomer Keerthi Pandian, and Dheena in the lead roles. Produced by Surekha Nyapati, the film was distributed by KJR Studios. The film is set against the backdrop of Western Ghats, and mostly consists of VFX and computer graphics.[1] Principal photography began on 27 December 2018, and was completed on 11 April 2019.[2]

Thumbaa
Poster
Directed by	Harish Ram L. H.
Produced by	Surekha Nyapati
Written by	Harish Ram L. H. Ram Raghav Prabagaran AR
Starring	Darshan Keerthi Pandian Dheena
Music by	Anirudh Ravichander Vivek-Mervin Santhosh Dhayanidhi
Cinematography	Naren Elan
Edited by	R. Kalaivanan
Production company	Regal Reels Roll Time Studios
Distributed by	KJR Studios
Release date	21 June 2019
Running time	123 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

The soundtrack of the film features three songs composed by Anirudh Ravichander, Vivek-Mervin, and Santhosh Dhayanidhi, with the latter composing the background music.[3] The cinematography was handled by Naren Elan and edited by R. Kalaivanan. The film was dubbed in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi and released worldwide on 21 June 2019.[4]

Plot

Hari (Darshan) and Umapathy (Dheena) come to Top Slip to paint a tiger statue and colorfully design a well-located mountaintop. Then, there is an aspiring young wildlife photographer named Varsha (Keerthi Pandian), who gets special permission to click pictures inside the forest. Meanwhile, Thumbaa, a tiger from Kerala, enters into Top Slip along with its cub. A cunning forest officer denies that the tiger entered his range and sketches a plan to capture it and sell it to buyers. The reason why the forest officer planned to capture Thumbaa is because it does not have the tracker, whereas all other tigers in the forest are being monitored. The rest of the film is all about how Hari, Uma, and Varsha, with the help of local people, save Thumbaa and its cub from the forest officer and his gang.

Cast

• Darshan as Hari
• Keerthi Pandian as Varsha
• Dheena as Umapathy
• Dharani Vasudevan as District Forest Officer
• George Vijay Nelson as Singam
• Kalaiyarasan Kannusamy as Mani
• KPY Bala as Suresh
• Ravi Raghavendra as Varsha's father
• KPY Palani as Palani
• Kadhal Kannan as Dr. Jaikumar
• Jayam Ravi as John (guest appearance)

Production

Principal photography began on 27 December 2018. The film is set against the backdrop of Western Ghats and the film is covered with mostly VFX scenes.[1] The filmmakers roped in debutant Keerthi Pandian, who is the daughter of veteran actor and producer Arun Pandian on her acting debut as the female lead in the film opposite Kanaa fame Darshan and Dheena who are playing the male lead characters in the film.[5][6] The film's shooting was wrapped up on 11 April 2019.[2]

Soundtrack

Thumbaa
Soundtrack album by Anirudh Ravichander, Vivek-Mervin, and Santhosh Dhayanidhi
Released	22 April 2019
Recorded	2018-2019
Studio	Albuquerque Records, Chennai
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	11:41
Label	Sony Music
Producer	Surekha Nyapati
Anirudh Ravichander chronology
Jersey (2019) Thumbaa (2019) Gang Leader (2019)
Vivek-Mervin chronology
Vedigundu Pasangge (2019) Thumbaa (2019) Sanga Thamizhan (2019)
Santhosh Dhayanidhi chronology
Lisaa (2019) Thumbaa (2019) Danny (2019)
Singles from Thumbaa
"Pudhusattam" Released: 8 April 2019 "Jilebara" Released: 26 April 2019 "Humpty Dumpty" Released: 10 May 2019

The film's soundtrack album has three songs, with Anirudh Ravichander, Vivek–Mervin, and Santhosh Dhayanidhi composing one song each.[7] All the songs were released as singles. The first single track "Pudhusattam" composed and sung by Anirudh Ravichander and written by Madhan Karky was released on 8 April 2019. The second single track "Jilebara" sung by Vivek Siva, Mervin Solomon and Jonita Gandhi, written by Ku. Karthik was released on 26 April 2019. The third single track "Humpty Dumpty" which composed by Santhosh Dhayanidhi, penned by Ku. Karthik and sung by Sivakarthikeyan was released on 10 May 2019.

The album met with positive reviews. The Times of India reviewed that "Thumbaa songs play and frolic around you like a refreshing wave. The songs do what many of the new releases haven’t managed to — touch/change your mood. All the three songs are fun and playful, reminding one of childhood days spend running around catching butterflies."[8]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Pudhusattam"	Madhan Karky	Anirudh Ravichander	Anirudh Ravichander	4:28
2.	"Jilebara"	Ku. Karthik	Vivek–Mervin	Vivek Siva, Mervin Solomon, Jonita Gandhi	4:32
3.	"Humpty Dumpty"	Ku. Karthik	Santhosh Dhayanidhi	Sivakarthikeyan	2:41
Total length:					11:41

Marketing

A musical promo video of the film was released on 21 February 2019 in Tamil by actress Keerthy Suresh, Telugu by actor Sai Dharam Tej, Malayalam by Nivin Pauly and Hindi by rapper Badshah.[9] It features composer Anirudh Ravichander and a VFX generated tiger. The promo was unveiled on YouTube and crossed 1.5 million views within 24 hours and gained positive reviews among the audience in the social media.[10][9][11][12]

Release

The film initially slated to release on 17 May 2019, but its release date pushed to 21 June 2019. The film was dubbed in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi and released on the same day.[4]

Reception

Behindwoods.com rated the film 2.75 out of 5 stars and stated, "Thumbaa will entertain your kids and make sure they understand that man must co-exist with wildlife".[13] M. Suganth of The Times Of India gave 3 out of 5 and wrote, "The film might entertain kids, but for the adults who accompany them, it might engage only in parts because of the uneven narration".[14] S. Subhakeerthana of The Indian Express gave 3 out of 5 and said, "An enjoyable children's film that will leave you with a smile".[15] Sify stated, "Thumbaa is a film which will be surely enjoyed by kids but the makers failed to attract all age group audiences mainly because of the weak writing".[16]

References

1. "Thumbaa is a VFX extravaganza". Deccan Chronicle. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
2. "Thumbaa shoot wrapped up - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
3. "Music Review: Thumbaa". The Times of India. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
4. "Thumbaa to release on June 21". The Times of India. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
5. "Actor Arun Pandian's daughter Keerthi ventures into acting, will work with debutant director Harish Ram". in.com. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
6. Subramanian, Anupama (20 February 2019). "Keerthi Pandian debuts in fantasy adventure". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
7. "Anirudh Ravichander signed as a guest composer for Darshan's next!". in.com. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
8. "Music Review: Thumbaa - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
9. GANDHI, U. SUDHARSAN (21 February 2019). "அனிருத்தின் பியானோ இசைக்கு மயங்கும் புலி! #Thumbaa | a new promo video of anirudh with tiger released" (in Tamil). Retrieved 24 February 2019.
10. "Anirudh's Thumbaa promo video clocks 1.5 million views in 24 hours – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
11. "పులితో అనిరుద్.. బలే ఇరికించారు!". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
12. "புலிக்கு பயந்து இசையமைக்கும் அனிருத்". News18 Tamil. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
13. "Thumbaa (aka) Thumba review". behindwoods.com. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
14. M. Suganth (21 June 2019). "Thumbaa Movie Review {3/5}". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
15. S. Subhakeerthana (21 June 2019). "Thumbaa movie review: An enjoyable children's film that will leave you with a smile". The Indian Express. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
16. "Thumbaa review:A film which will be surely enjoyed by kids - Sify.com". Sify. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.