Dhoomam (2023 film)

Dhoomam is an Indian Malayalam-language thriller film written and directed by Pawan Kumar. The film was produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films in their debut production in Malayalam cinema. It stars Fahadh Faasil and Aparna Balamurali, alongside Roshan Mathew, Vineeth, Anu Mohan, Achyuth Kumar, Joy Mathew and Nandhu. It was released on 23 June 2023 and opened to mixed reviews.

Synopsis
The film is a psychological thriller that explores the theme of nicotine and tobacco smoking and its harmful effects on the society, while also exploring the psychology of tobacco industrialists. It follows the story of Avinash, the marketing head of a top tobacco company, who gets trapped by an unknown man and is made to provide money to the man in order to save himself and his wife, Diya.

The film runs in parallel storyline, in present where Avinash and his wife are getting chased, and, in past, where he grows higher in jobplace with his friend, Siddhu, who owns the company.

Music
The music is composed by Poornachandra Tejaswi. The lyrics are penned by Vinayak Sasikumar.

Production
Dhoomam was produced by Hombale Films and directed by Pawan Kumar. The music was composed by Poornachandra Tejaswi. The film marks the debut of Pawan Kumar, Poornachandra Tejaswi, and Hombale Films in Malayalam cinema.

Theatrical
The film was released on 23 June 2023.

Home media
Amazon Prime Video acquired the post-theatrical streaming rights of the film. It was supposed to release on the platform on 4 August 2023, but was delayed due to the poor response for the film. Later, Amazon Prime Video dropped and reverted the streaming rights to Hombale Films after seeing a lack of interest from the audience.

On 29 November 2023, the film was released digitally on the Apple TV app and iTunes. On 31 May 2024, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, the film was made available on Hombale Films' YouTube channel, for free.

Critical response
Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Dhoomam serves as a reminder that merely having a significant message is insufficient to create a captivating film." Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Dhoomam's message is crucial and the plot includes some twists with promise, but the film takes too long to get to them. The script is bereft of depth, zest and soul, resulting in a narrative that has limited emotional impact and lacks the urgency one would expect from the life-and-death situation at its centre." S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote, "Dhoomam lives up to its title in the impact it has on the audience – a whiff of smoke, and hardly anything substantial."