Taramani

Taramani is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama written and directed by Ram, who co-produced it with J. Satish Kumar under Catamaran Productions. It stars Andrea Jeremiah, Vasanth Ravi and Adrian Knight Jesly, with Anjali in a cameo. After production began in August 2013 and several delays followed, it was released on 11 August 2017 to positive reviews and became a sleeper hit.

Story

Althea Johnson, a young Anglo-Indian single mother working in the corporate sector in Chennai, takes shelter from the rain at an abandoned bus stop alongside Prabhunath, a rough young man. Wary at first, they start talking and become friends. Prabhu tells her about his hated call-centre job and his girlfriend Sowmya, and their unlikely relationship grows from there.

Production

Ram announced the film before Thanga Meengal (2013) was released. He called Andrea Jeremiah an underused actress and said the part would be a lifetime role for her. After a test shoot in September 2013, filming began that November. Because of the long delay, Ram updated the script, for instance working WhatsApp into the second half as it became common. He even considered shelving the film after seeing similar themes in O Kadhal Kanmani and Iraivi. He named Eyes Wide Shut, Y tu mamá también and Knife in the Water as inspirations.

Music

Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the score and songs, and the album was released on 30 December 2016. A separate song written, composed and sung by Andrea, “The Soul of Taramani”, was released in 2014 by Kamal Haasan and Bharathiraja.

Release

After a slow start, the film added screens in its second week and became a big success in Chennai’s multiplexes.

Reception and awards

Deccan Chronicle and The Indian Express praised the performances, especially Andrea’s, and Ram’s satirical touches. The Hindu felt it tried to do too much and found the voiceovers preachy, and Baradwaj Rangan called it flawed but fascinating. Vasanth Ravi won Best Debut Actor at the 10th Vijay Awards and the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South. The film was nominated for Best Tamil Film and Best Tamil Actress at the 65th Filmfare Awards South.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.