Loham (2015)

Interesting facts

Loham (transl. Metal) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Ranjith, and produced by Antony Perumbavoor for the production company Aashirvad Cinemas. The film, starring Mohanlal, Renji Panicker, Siddique, Andrea Jeremiah and Ajmal Ameer, is about an elusive smuggling operation and the mysterious disappearance of 100 kilograms (220 lb) of gold. Sreevalsan J. Menon and C. Rajamani composed the soundtrack and film score, respectively.

Production

In 2013, Ranjith announced plans to produce a film for Aashirvad Cinemas, starring Mohanlal and Manju Warrier, which was scheduled for a 2014 release coinciding with the annual Vishu festival held in Kerala, India. Production was slated to begin in December 2013. The announcement of Loham received considerable media attention as it was Manju Warrier's return to the screen after leaving the film industry to marry actor Dileep.

Later that year, the director planned another film with the same production company starring Mohanlal, which was titled G for Gold. Filming was scheduled to begin on 10 January 2014 in Kozhikode and Kasargode, but production did not begin on schedule due to Ranjith's dissatisfaction with the screenplay. The film was speculated to be titled as Loham in February 2015.

Loham is the fifth film directed by Ranjith in which Mohanlal was cast in the lead role. Mohanlal plays a cab driver in the film. Gowri Nandha received boxing lessons to help her prepare for her role. Niranjana Anoop, a daughter of one of Ranjith's family friends, made her acting debut in the film as Mythri, a badly behaved youngster. Loham is the second collaboration between Ameer and Mohanlal, following Madampi (2008).

Kunjunni S. Kumar, son of cinematographer S. Kumar, was hired as Loham's cinematographer. Kunjunni had first worked with Ranjith as an associate director during the production of Indian Rupee (2011) while his father worked behind the camera. Earlier, he was supposed to debut as a cinematographer on Ranjith's Leela in 2012, but the project was shelved ten days before production.

Principal photography began on 9 March 2015. The film was shot at various locations such as Kozhikode, Kochi, Delhi and Dubai. The first-look poster featuring Mohanlal was released on 29 June 2015. More detailed posters were released during the first week of August. The first poster showed an ensemble cast with Mohanlal in the centre; their facial expressions indicative of the film's thriller genre.

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