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Thiruvarangar - The Deity Singers

Selected in 28h Social Justice Film Festival, Chennai 2025

Selected in Independent and Experimental Short Film Festival of Kerala 2025

Nominated to NanoCon International Film Festival (NIFF) USA 2025

Selected in The tenth edition of the International Festival of Socio-Environmental Cinema PLANET.Doc 2025 BRAZIL

Winner KOHINOOR Film Festival Mumbai 2025

Officially Selected in International Folklore Film Festival 2026 India

Officially 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 2026, organized by Root and Routes Collective,Thenmala Eco Tourism Zone, Kerala.

Officially Selected for ICJ International Film Award , Ukraine

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.

  • SHAJI A JOHN
    Director
  • SANOJ GOPALAKRISHNAN
    Producer
  • PRIYA KARTHIKEYAN
    Producer
  • SHAJI A JOHN
    Producer
  • VASU CHAMI
    Key Cast
  • SHAJI A JOHN
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 33 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 23, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Malayalam
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Selected in 27th Social Justice Film Festival, Chennai 2025
    Chennai
    India
    September 19, 2025
    Indian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Selected in Independent and Experimental Short Film Festival of Kerala 2025
    Calicut
    India
    November 8, 2025
    Kerala Premiere
    Selection
  • Nominated to NanoCon International Film Festival (NIFF) USA 2025
    Washington
    United States
    September 26, 2025
    North America Premiere
    Selection
  • Selected in The tenth edition of the International Festival of Socio-Environmental Cinema PLANET.Doc 2025 BRAZIL
    São Paulo
    Brazil
    October 8, 2025
    Latin American Premiere
    Selection
  • Winner KOHINOOR Film Festival Mumbai 2025
    Mumbai
    India
    December 21, 2025
    WINNER
  • Officially Selected in International Folklore Film Festival 2026 India
    Trichur , Kerala
    India
    January 16, 2026
    Selection
  • Officially Selected in Panchajanyam International Film Festival 2026 India
    Chittoor Palakkad
    India
    February 4, 2026
    Selection
  • Officially selected for the Competition Section of Drishyam Short Film & Documentary Festival. Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University 2026
    Malappuram
    India
    February 18, 2026
    Competition Section
  • Officially selected for screening at the Trends Film Festival Thenmala, organized by Root and Routes Collective,Thenmala Eco Tourism Zone, Kerala
    Kollam
    India
    February 28, 2026
    Selection
  • Officially selected for screening at the ICJ International Film Award, UKRAINE
    Lviv
    Ukraine
    September 10, 2026
    European Premiere
    Selection
Director Biography - SHAJI A JOHN

Kerala State Chalachithra Academy Winner for Digital Content Creation 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)

International Film Festival of Kerala 2011 - Best Digital Content Creator
Vayalar Award 2011 - Best Online Content Creator
Best Experimental Movie Director. - Nawada International Film Festival
Best Documentary Director - Kohinoor Film Festical Mumbai
Director of Documentary Thiruvarangar which got National and International Recognition

Add Director Biography
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.