THIRUVARANGAR - The Deity Singers l A Musical Documentary
Documentary Name. : Thiruvarangar - The Deity Singers
Duration. : 29 Minutes 33 Seconds
Vimeo Link : https://vimeo.com/1136847846
Synopsis
Thiruvarangar – The Deity Singers explores the lived tradition of Vasu Chami and his brothers, hereditary folk singers who announce temple and kaavu festivals across the villages of Ottapalam through ritual ballads sung from house to house. Performed during the temple festival season, their songs are not staged concerts but devotional proclamations—carrying the presence of the deity, the rhythm of the land, and the memory of generations. Rooted in an oral folk music tradition, these ballads function as both spiritual summons and social record,
weaving together faith, labour, caste, and everyday life. As the singers move through streets and domestic thresholds, the film observes how the local community responds to this inherited practice, and how contemporary Kerala society perceives, preserves, or distances itself from such traditions.
Set in Ottapalam, Kerala, the documentary reflects on the folk music performances of Vasu Chami and his brothers as a living cultural act—caught between continuity, neglect, and transformation.
Awards & Festivals
Selected in 28h Social Justice Film Festival, Chennai 2025
Selected in Independent and Experimental Short Film Festival of Kerala Calicut 2025
Nominated to NanoCon International Film Festival (NIFF) USA , Washington,2025
Selected in The tenth edition of the International Festival of Socio-Environmental Cinema PLANET.Doc 2025 BRAZIL
Winner KOHINOOR Film Festival Mumbai 2025
Selected in International Folklore Film Festival 2026 India
Selected in Panchajanyam International Film Festival 2026 India
Officially selected for the Competition Section of Drishyam Short Film & Documentary Festival. Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University 2026
Officially selected for screening at the Trends Film Festival Thenmala, organized by Root and Routes Collective,Thenmala Eco Tourism Zone, Kerala.
Crew
Banner. :Anuna Consulting
Producers. : Sanoj Gopalakrishnan , Priya Kartikeyan
Director : KJ SHAJI
DOP : Jayandas
Editor : AU Sreejith Krishna, Prasanth
Sound : Shaji Madhavan Sound Studio : SS Studio Trivandrum
DI : AU Sreejith Krishna Studio : SubhaSree Studio ( Edit & DI )
Asst Director : Rajesh Bie
Director Profile. :
Kerala State Chalachithra Academy Winner for Digital Content Creation 2011 , Currently Working as Film Maker and Project Designer for several National Award & State acclaimed Malayalam films, Like the National And State award-winning Movies Aalorukkam and Vettapattikal Ottakaarum ( IFFK 2022)
Former Founder of metrmatinee.com
Founder of MoreSports & MoreStories
Worked As Digital Marketing Consultant for Kerala Strikers ( CCL ) , Miss Kerala Pageant
Worked for more than 150 Movies as Digital Marketing Consultant
Working as High Performance Manager -Digital Contents for ABC Originals , Robin
Awards :
IFFK 2011 - Best Digital Content Creator Vayalar Award
2011 - Best Online Content Creator
Director Statement :
Thiruvarangar – The Deity Singers is conceived as a sound-led, observational work where music is not background but narrative itself. The ballads sung by Vasu Chami and his brothers are treated as ritual acts that activate space—temple courtyards, village paths, thresholds of homes—transforming everyday locations into transient sacred sites. The film privileges live sound, breath, footsteps, and pauses, allowing the rhythm of walking and singing to determine its cinematic structure. Rather than explaining the tradition through interviews, the intent is to experience it through duration, repetition, and spatial movement. By situating the camera within the procession of voices, the film observes how ritual travels across social boundaries and how sound negotiates belonging, memory, and visibility. The work seeks to document folk music not as folklore, but as a living presence shaped by space, ritual, and collective listening
News & Articles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ83UfhizSY
Comments
Post a Comment