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''Aranmanai 3'' () is a 2021 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language
comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...
film directed by
Sundar C Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
. Produced by
Avni Cinemax Avni Cinemax, also operating as Avni Movies and Avni Telemedia, is an Indian film production and film distribution company run by the married couple Khushbu Sundar and Sundar C. Established in 2004, the company's name is inspired by the fir ...
and Benzz Media (P) Ltd, and distributed by
Red Giant Movies Red Giant Movies is an Indian film production and film distribution company headed by Udhayanidhi Stalin. It has distributed nearly all major films in Tamil Nadu in the last few years, and is often accused of having a monopoly in Tamil cinema. ...
, it is the third instalment in the ''Aranmanai'' film series following ''Aranmanai 2'' (2016). The film stars an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
including Sundar,
Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
, Raashii Khanna,
Andrea Jeremiah Andrea Maria Jeremiah (born 21 December 1985), known professionally as Andrea Jeremiah, is an Indian actress and singer who works predominantly in Tamil and Malayalam films. She is a recipient of several awards including nominations for Film ...
, Sakshi Agarwal, Vivek, Myna Nandhini,
Yogi Babu Yogi Babu (born 22 July 1985) is an Indian actor and comedian, who appears in Tamil films. He has won Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for '' Aandavan Kattalai'' (2016), '' Kolamavu Kokila'' (2018), '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), '' Love Today'' ( ...
,
Nalini Nalini (Devanagari: नलिनी) is a female gender Indian people, Indian given name, which means "lotus", "goddess Gayatri","mother of Vedas", "sweet nectar", "Amrit", Feminine "lily" in Sanskrit.''Baby Names''"Nalini" Retrieved on 9 January ...
,
Manobala Balachandar (8 December 1953 – 3 May 2023), known by his stage name Manobala (), was an Indian actor, film producer, director, comedian, and YouTuber who predominantly played supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He worked predominantly i ...
,
Sampath Raj Sampath Raj (born 25 December 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to Kannada and Malayalam films. He is best known for his appearances in director Venkat Prabhu's trilogy, which includ ...
, Ovi Bhandarkar,
Vincent Asokan Vincent Asokan is an Indian actor who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. Personal life Vincent is the son of actor S. A. Ashokan. He is married and has two sons. Career Vincent Asokan made his debut in director A. Venkate ...
, Madhusudhan Rao and Vela Ramamoorthy. In the film, a women is threatened by a vengeful spirit, as she tries to discover the truth with her relative. ''Aranmanai 3'' was announced in January 2020 following the success of the first two films, with Sundar C returning as director.
Sun Pictures Sun Pictures is an Indian film production and film distribution based in Chennai, India. It is a division of Sun TV Network a part of the Sun Group. In 2010, it started producing films, the first film was '' Enthiran'' which was a huge blo ...
was initially set to produce, but Avni Cinemax and Benzz Media (P) Ltd later took over. Arya, Raashii Khanna and
Hansika Motwani Hansika Motwani (born 9 August 1991) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. Motwani began her career as a child actor in Hindi films, and later went on to appear in lead roles in Telugu films, including '' ...
were cast the following month, marking their first collaboration. Motwani exited due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Andrea Jeremiah.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
took place from February 2020, but was paused in March, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...
, resuming in November and concluded in January 2021. Post-production works were delayed by Sundar's illness. The has music composed by C. Sathya, cinematography handled by
U. K. Senthil Kumar U. K. Senthil Kumar is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in the Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam film industries. Career A native of Coimbatore, Senthil Kumar belongs to the 1989-92 batch of the Government Film Institute, Chennai, and ...
and editing by Fenny Oliver. It also marks the posthumous release of Vivek after his death on 17 April 2021. ''Aranmanai 3'' was released by theatrically on 14 October 2021, coinciding with Ayudha Pooja. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, but emerged as a commercial success. A sequel, ''Aranmanai 4'', was released on 3 May 2024.


Plot

The film begins with a young Jyothi encounters a spirit in her home, terrifying her. Her father,
Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...
Rajasekhar, resents Jyothi as her mother died giving birth to her. Believing she is lying for attention, he angrily sends her to a boarding school. Many years later, a court ruling forces Rajasekhar to open a secret room at the village temple. Rajasekhar is terrified and angry at the court ruling and is relieved when they find nothing inside the room. Soon after, Rajasekhar's manservant and driver, Durai, dies by electrocution. Jyothi, now an adult, returns for Durai's funeral and falls in love with her childhood sweetheart, Saravanan. Jyothi realises that the spirit that haunted her is now haunting her young relative, Shalu. Jyothi is later lured to her late mother's room and nearly killed by a falling chandelier, but a portrait of her late mother, Eeshwari, saves her. She later has another encounter with both Eeshwari's spirit and the spirit haunting Shalu. One night, Shalu argues with the hostile spirit and is doused in paint thinner. She is chased by flames and rescued by her father, Ravi. Jyothi convinces Ravi to investigate the mysterious occurrences for Shalu's sake. Ravi investigates Eeshwari's room and discovers a photo of Jyothi’s parents with three servants, with the faces of two servants scratched out. He encounters Eeshwari's spirit, and the third servant in the photo gets murdered shortly after. Ravi and Jyothi bring priests to exorcise the palace. They trap one of the two ghosts, but the other appears and destroys the trap, revealing that it has possessed Saravanan. Ravi tells Jyothi that this spirit is Eeshwari, who was responsible for the murders and the attack on Shalu. The deaths spooks Rajasekhar and visits Saamiyaadi, a hermit priest. Saravanan attacks the pair. Ravi manages to rescue Rajasekhar, but Saamiyaadi is left behind, and Eeshwari confronts him. Rajasekhar reveals the truth to Ravi and Vallimalai Swamiji. Past: Rajasekhar had forcibly married Eeshwari after falling for her at her wedding to Saamiyaadi's son, Samikannu. When their child is born, the child resembles Samikannu, and Rajasekhar realises she had already been pregnant at the wedding. A furious Rajasekhar has the child secretly killed and buried in the palace, then stabs Eeshwari, killing her. He replaces the dead child with Durai's newborn daughter and claims her as his own. Samikannu steals Eeshwari's body and attempts to use black magic to revive her but is horrified when she returns as a ghoul and abandons her in the forest. Eeshwari later kills the midwife who poisoned her child and threatens Rajasekhar. Rajasekhar convinces Saamiyaadi to help him destroy the spirit his son revived. Saamiyaadi tricks Samikannu into luring out Eeshwari's spirit and traps her in the hidden room in the temple. During the attempt, Saamiyaadi accidentally kills Samikannu and withdraws to the forest to mourn. Present: Eeshwari reveals to Saamiyadi that he did not kill Samikannu, but Durai killed Samikannu on Rajasekhar's order. She wants to replace the soul in Jyothi’s body with that of her dead child, believing that Jyothi is living the life that her child should have had. She convinces Saamiyaadi to raise Samikannu's spirit and help her. Saamiyaadi dies raising the spirit of his son. Ravi and Jyothi trap and take the spirit of Eeshwari's child to the priests who had helped them. They initially try to lay her and Eeshwari to rest, but the arrival of Samikannu blindsided them. Eeshwari's spirit kills Rajasekhar, but Jyothi, Ravi, and the priests banish the three spirits during a holy festival, freeing Saravanan. Saravanan and Jyothi marry, hinting at a sequel.


Cast


Production


Development

After the release of ''
Action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...
'' (2019), In January 2020, sources claimed that director
Sundar C Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
will make his third instalment for the ''Aranmanai'' film series to following the success of two films '' Aranmanai'' (2014) and '' Aranmanai 2'' (2016), and same month it was reported that
Sun Pictures Sun Pictures is an Indian film production and film distribution based in Chennai, India. It is a division of Sun TV Network a part of the Sun Group. In 2010, it started producing films, the first film was '' Enthiran'' which was a huge blo ...
is set to produce the film. Later, Sundar announced that the film will be produced by
Avni Cinemax Avni Cinemax, also operating as Avni Movies and Avni Telemedia, is an Indian film production and film distribution company run by the married couple Khushbu Sundar and Sundar C. Established in 2004, the company's name is inspired by the fir ...
and
Khushbu Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian politician, actress, film producer and television personality. She is known for her work predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil language films and in a few Telugu cinema, Telugu ...
within their own production house. He started the casting work for the film in early January 2020.


Casting

Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
and Raashii Khanna confirmed in February 2020 that they had signed the film. The film marks the first collaboration between Arya and Khanna. A source revealed that Khanna's role would have a huge importance in the film. Khanna allotted 30 days to shoot , and a remuneration of ₹1.5 crore was offered to her. The source claimed that Arya would be playing the role of a man possessed by a spirit. Sundar initially planned to have
Hansika Motwani Hansika Motwani (born 9 August 1991) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. Motwani began her career as a child actor in Hindi films, and later went on to appear in lead roles in Telugu films, including '' ...
to play the second female lead. However, due to scheduling conflicts, she did not sign with the film. Instead, in the same month,
Andrea Jeremiah Andrea Maria Jeremiah (born 21 December 1985), known professionally as Andrea Jeremiah, is an Indian actress and singer who works predominantly in Tamil and Malayalam films. She is a recipient of several awards including nominations for Film ...
, who had also appeared in the first instalment of the ''Aranmanai'' series, signed on as the second female lead. At the time, Sakshi Agarwal was also in talks for to play an important role, which was later finalised. Later,
Yogi Babu Yogi Babu (born 22 July 1985) is an Indian actor and comedian, who appears in Tamil films. He has won Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for '' Aandavan Kattalai'' (2016), '' Kolamavu Kokila'' (2018), '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), '' Love Today'' ( ...
, Vivek,
Manobala Balachandar (8 December 1953 – 3 May 2023), known by his stage name Manobala (), was an Indian actor, film producer, director, comedian, and YouTuber who predominantly played supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He worked predominantly i ...
, and several others joined the film.
Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...
and Hariharan made cameos in the film. Andrea later reported that she was playing the role of a ghost, and that the story revolves around her character.


Filming

The filming started at the
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
Wankaner palace in February 2020. In March 2020, shooting was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and scheduled to resume in November 2020 in
Pollachi Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Gha ...
. It was rescheduled to begin on 20 November 2020. More than Rs. 2 crore had been spent to construct the set used for the climax sequence. In January 2021, shooting was completed. However, the film post-production was delayed as Sundar tested positive for COVID-19, and post production work began in February, ending early in March. The climax portions were filmed in 16 days, with 200 background workers, and computer graphics work was conducted for 6 months.


Music

The film's soundtrack was composed by C. Sathya, who was collaborating for second time with
Sundar C Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
after ''
Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film co-produced and directed by Sundar C. and produced by his wife Khushbu. The film stars Siddharth, Santhanam, and Hansika Motwani. It was simultaneously partially reshot in Telugu as ...
'' (2013). The audio rights were acquired by
Saregama Saregama India Ltd is an Indian music record label and content company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is the oldest music label in India, established in 1901 as the Indian branch of the British Gramophone Company. It later became ...
. The first single "Ratapatata", sung by Arivu, was released on 30 August 2021. The second single "Rasavaachiye", sung by
Sid Sriram Sidharth Sriram (born 19 May 1990) is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer. He is an R&B songwriter and has been working in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and English music industry. He regul ...
, was released on 13 September 2021. The third single "Lojakku Mojakku" was sung by Mukesh and released on 22 September 2021. The fourth single "Sengaandhale", sung by Reema, released on 6 October 2021. The fifth and final single, "Theeyaga Thondri", sung by
Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...
and Hariharan, was released on 12 October 2021.


Marketing

The first look and motion poster were released on 22 April 2021. Exclusive stills of the film were leaked online two months later, and went viral. The official trailer of the film was released on 30 September, and received two million views in less than 24 hours.


Release


Theatrical

The film release was initially planned for a theatrical release in summer of 2021. However, due to the second wave of COVID-19, the film release and post-production were postponed. It was then scheduled to release in September 2021, and later pushed to October. The film was cleared by the censor board in mid-September. The distribution rights for the film were acquired by
Red Giant Movies Red Giant Movies is an Indian film production and film distribution company headed by Udhayanidhi Stalin. It has distributed nearly all major films in Tamil Nadu in the last few years, and is often accused of having a monopoly in Tamil cinema. ...
. The film released on 14 October 2021 coinciding with
Ayudha Puja Ayudha Puja () is a Hindu observance that falls on the ninth day of the bright half of the moon's cycle of 15 days (as per the Hindu calendar) in the month of September/October, popularly a part of the Navaratri festival. While the Navaratri fest ...
.


Home media

Red Giant Movies Red Giant Movies is an Indian film production and film distribution company headed by Udhayanidhi Stalin. It has distributed nearly all major films in Tamil Nadu in the last few years, and is often accused of having a monopoly in Tamil cinema. ...
withheld the satellite rights of this film, and sold it to their own channel
Kalaignar TV Kalaignar TV is a Tamil-language general entertainment pay television channel based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The channel was launched on 15 September 2007 as Kalaignar, and is named after former Chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidh ...
. The streaming rights were sold to
ZEE5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...
, where it began streaming on 12 November 2021.


Reception


Critical response

''Aranmanai 3'' received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Manoj Kumar R. of ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' gave 0.5 out of 5 stars and called it, "The dumbest film of the year yet". Bharathy Singaravel of ''
The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Vignesh Vellore who is also the current CEO in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, ...
'' gave the movie 1.5 stars and said, "No ghost, spirit or spectre doomed to haunt the same house for eternity has felt more trapped than I did in the theatre today. Even an end credit song by Arivu couldn’t keep me from fleeing for the exit the second the lights came on. Avoid Aranmanai 3 with the same dedication that Sundar C shows in evading at arriving at a conclusion in this film." Praveen Sudevan of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' said Sundar C's third instalment in the ‘Aranmanai’ franchise succeeds neither in scaring the audience nor making them laugh. ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' gave 3 stars to the film and said, "It all happens in predictable fashion, and by the time the film ends, we neither feel overwhelmed nor underwhelmed. That, in a way, is the director's success – making us feel contended icwith a passable and instantly forgettable entertainer." Karthikeyan S of ''
Dinamani ''Dinamani'' is a Tamil daily newspaper. The newspaper was established in 1933 and is owned by The New Indian Express Group. The first edition was published on 11 September. The printed circulation was 12,44,568 as on Aug 2022 and 11,52,546 onl ...
'' said that overall it is doubtful whether even those who liked the first and second parts of Aranmanai will like this film. Sudhir Srinivasan of ''
Cinema Express ''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Mal ...
'' wrote, "We have seen in multiple carbon copy films in this genre. Even still, it’s astonishing how little ''Aranmanai 3'' seems to care about being novel". Subha J. Rao of ''Film Companion'' wrote, "What is the point of taking forward a franchise when there’s little to redeem it? It’s just a waste of everyone’s time."


Box office

Despite receiving mixed to negative reviews, ''Aranmanai 3'' had a good opening on the first day of its theatrical release. It grossed around ₹4 crore on the opening day, and became a hit at the box-office, collecting over ₹15 crore in the first four days of its release.


Controversy

There were complaints among critics and audience about Arya's screentime in the film. The entire team promoted the film with him, and conveyed that he had been playing a lead role as a spirit. However, his total screen space in the film was only 30 minutes.


Sequel

The fourth installment, titled '' Aranmanai 4'', starring
Sundar C Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
,
Tamannaah Bhatia Tamanna Bhatia (born 21 December 1989), known professionally as Tamannaah Bhatia, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Having appeared in 88 films, she has received several awards, including two Sa ...
, Raashii Khanna and Santhosh Prathap, was released on 3 May 2024. The film grossed ₹100 crore worldwide, making it the most successful entry in the ''Aranmanai franchise''.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2020s Indian films 2020s Tamil-language films 2021 comedy horror films 2021 films Films directed by Sundar C Films scored by C. Sathya Indian comedy horror films Tamil-language Indian films