Son of Gold) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film[b] directed by Pa. Ranjith, who co-wrote the script with Tamil Prabha and Azhagiya Periyavan.

Thangalaan often regales his children with bedtime stories, and one night, he narrates a chilling tale about Aarathi, a woman from the Nagar tribe, believed to be a sorceress and protector of the land in the deep forests.

Kaadaiyan eventually agreed, but the king found the retrieved gold rocks to be fake, attributing it to Aarathi's sorcery.

Meanwhile, British officer Lord Clement arrives in Veppur, seeking gold, and is aware of the villagers' ancestral expertise in tracing it.

Thangalaan begins hallucinating Aarathi's presence, warning him away from the forest, but he presses on, overcoming challenges like a river, black panther, sandstorm, and snakes.

Upon reaching a trench created by a lightning strike, Asokan discovers the beheaded Buddha statue, and Aarathi frightens him from underwater.

Clement vows to find the gold ore at any cost, thanking Thangalaan for leading them to the site and gifting him his son's clothes.

Thangalaan remains resolute in his pursuit of gold at the same site, despite Asokan getting possessed with Aarathi and warning the group to abandon the mining work and return to their village.

Despite the lack of food, wages, and amenities, Clement, with Thangalaan's help, continues the work, and they discover a deep, abandoned mine.

Thangalaan recalls being Arasan "Aaran", a tribal king, and his wife, Aarathi, in the 5th century, together protecting the land's resources, mainly gold.

Enraged by Clement's attack on Aarathi, which fatally slit her abdomen, Thangalaan kills him and the other officers, declaring that the land and its resources are hereby their own, not to be exploited by foreigners.

Prabha then acquainted various resources to familiarize on the script, which included the documentary novel Living Dangerously by Fanny Emily Penny, and numerous fictional books on Tamil folklore.

[20] A. Kishor Kumar handled the cinematography, after previously working with Ranjith on Natchathiram Nagargiradhu (2022) and planned to shoot the film in 3D formats, instead of traditional 2D to 3D conversion.

[22] In July 2022, Radhika Apte and Rashmika Mandanna were signed in to play the female lead roles,[23] but was replaced by Parvathy Thiruvothu and Malavika Mohanan respectively, due to scheduling conflicts.

"[26] In October 2022, Pasupathy was cast in a supporting role collaborating with Vikram after Dhool (2003), Arul (2004), Majaa (2005) and 10 Endrathukulla (2015) and Ranjith after Sarpatta Parambarai (2021).

[30] He added "I spoke to Ranjith, and he explained how these stories are India-centric and the idea was to bring in an English actor to portray a British colonialist.

"[31] Principal photography commenced for the film on 12 October 2022 in Chennai, with test shoots being conducted and preliminary portions being shot there for three days.

[36] A week later, Vikram and Ranjith began commencing few portions at the Kolar Gold Fields where he interacted with his fans; a video of the same surfaced on social media.

[43] The third schedule was completed on 7 April,[44] with the team taking a month-long break as Vikram was attending the promotions of Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023).

[59] The music and background score is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, in his maiden collaboration with Ranjith; third with Vikram after Deiva Thirumagal (2011) and Thaandavam (2012).

[63] The film's official teaser was launched on 1 November at a special event held at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai, with the cast and crew in attendance.

[67] Promotional events for the film was initially intended to commence in Kochi on 1 August,[68] but was cancelled out of respect for the victims of the 2024 Wayanad landslides.

[9] M Suganth of The Times of India gave 4/5 stars and wrote "The film is a true-blue big-screen experience that immerses us into its world and keeps us glued with arresting visuals and intense drama.

"[83] Rohit Panikker of Times Now gave 4/5 and wrote "Thangalaan is a well-thought-of and well-produced experience in both visual and cerebral storytelling.

What this film has managed to do is prove that magical realism and period dramas can work as well as any mass masala flick as long as the story is delivered with conviction.

"[84] Avinash Ravichandran of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Some of his [Ranjith] audacious attempts at storytelling in Thangalaan get overburdened by the novelty factor.

"[85] Gopinath Rajendran of The Hindu wrote "The impressive performances and memorable sequences stand apart like gold nuggets in a muddled sieve in Vikram and Pa Ranjith's intriguing yet incoherent Thangalaan.

"[86] Sudhir Srinivasan of The New Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote that although "not sparkly", Thangalaan was gold for its experimental story, clever craft and striking climax.

[87] Janani K of India Today gave 2/5 stars and wrote "However, Thangalaan seems to be the weakest work in director Pa Ranjith's filmography.