PA RANJITH’s Thangalaan (Son of Gold, Tamil) has been selected by the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, IFFR. This is a significant achievement for the filmmaker, who prefers to make “massy” films, usually highlighting Dalit issues as part of a larger narrative, in a mainstream package with stars, action and songs. The festival will showcase a Director’s Cut version of 163 mins in the Limelight section. The fact that IFFR (Jan 30-Feb 9), is showcasing it, months after its theatrical release in August 2024 and streaming on Netflix, is a testimony to its enduring value. 

Thangalaan is the seventh feature of Pa Ranjith, that includes Kabali, Kaala, Sarpatta Parambarai and Natchathiram Nagargirathu, that have toplined stars like Rajinikanth and Arya. Thangalaan features Chiyaan Vikram and Parvathy Thiruvothu, among others. Kabali, set in Malaysia, had already expanded his canvas, as Rajinikanth played a triumphant Malaysian Tamil gangster, rising from an oppressed community that migrated there as labourers, while Kaala explored the rights to land and housing of the