Dhoomam

Story:

Pawan Kumar is the writer and director of the 2023 Indian thriller film Dhoomam in Malayalam. Vijay Kiragandur produced the movie under Hombale Films, which made its Malayalam film debut. Along with Roshan Mathew, Vineeth, Anu Mohan, Achyuth Kumar, Joy Mathew, and Nandhu, it stars Fahadh Faasil and Aparna Balamurali. Reviews were mixed when it was released on June 23, 2023.

Married couple Avinash (played by Fahadh Faasil) and Diya (played by Aparna Balamurali) are abducted and left stranded in a hill when Avinash calls from his phone while Diya is unconscious, leads Diya to an abandoned shed, and leaves a voicemail for Sid. Shortly after the car blast, he receives a call on his phone requesting that he deliver money to locations he will specify later. The anonymous caller threatens that if he doesn’t comply, a bomb will be implanted in his throat, which he illustrates with a shared video on the phone.

Avi phones his boss Sid in a panic and requests that he arrange for the money to be sent to his address. The film alternates between Avi’s flashback and the present after Diya regains consciousness. It depicts how an ambitious Avi travels from Kerala to Bangalore, how he meets Diya by happenstance at a wayside restaurant that turns into a romantic connection, and how his boss, Sid, hires him after they meet at the same restaurant owned by Avi’s friend, who is pleased by Avi’s marketing expertise. He is employed as the marketing head of Sid’s Cigarette company following an interview.

After being employed, Avi rapidly becomes Sid’s valued assistant and uses his techniques to enhance the company’s sales. Sid’s brother Praveen is very upset when his father, the business’s owner, chooses to retire and names Sid as the new CEO.Returning to the present, Avi begins looking for cash when he sees a car approaching from outside the shed they are in. All of a sudden, he is being shot. After a narrow escape, Avi discovers a revolver in the car’s trunk. In the middle of their battles, he shoots and kills the unidentified murderer before he tumbles down a precipice. Back at the shed, he and Diya make preparations to get out. Because of their disagreements with Avi, Avi believes that Sid or Praveen set up the murderer.

According to the anonymous caller, if Diya continues to smoke cigarettes, she will gain one hour for each cigarette, which will be reflected in the watch he left with them (which has a ticking timer for the bomb). Avi reveals the truth when Diya begins to feel uneasy: the bomb is actually planted in her throat, not his. As she asks why this is happening, Diya has no choice but to start smoking and continue.

Returning to the flashback, Sid’s partner, a dishonest minister, requests that they launch a new, less expensive cigarette brand since his government plans to increase taxes on the current brands and they stand to collect more revenue if they sell the new ones directly. When Avi discovers that many kids have begun using his cigarette brand due to the aggressive marketing, he feels ethically obligated to stop the relationship with Sid.

Back in the present, they kidnap Sid at gunpoint at the airport after learning from his driver that he is returning to Bangalore. To obtain the money, they force him to call Praveen back at the shed. After tying up Sid and Praveen, they took the money from Praveen and delivered it to the two individuals at the address provided by the caller. When the cops get to the shed, they discover Sid hurt and Praveen dead. The minister’s henchmen and the police begin searching for Avi and Diya. They are able to transfer the funds to both of the caller’s receivers.

They begin pursuing the caller in an attempt to learn more about the recipient’s family history and eventually discover that he is an unidentified man with army experience. Avi’s marketing causes his daughter to develop into an addict and chain smoker, and it even causes her baby to die from passive smoking. That individual planted the bomb in Diya’s neck as retaliation for Avi’s faults, letting her suffer in the same way that innocent people die from passive smoking.

When they understand this, Diya sobs at the killer’s family cemetery, while Avi returns to the original shed to confront him. At the cemetery, the minister’s goon tries to kill her, but a sniper shoots him, sparing her. The film ends on a cliffhanger regarding the identity of the murderer and the destiny of Diya, who still has the bomb in her throat, when Avi, who goes to see the unknown guy, is also shot dead by him.