Aadhi is a Malayali, who worked earlier for a Sri Lankan Tamilian drug lord, Damodar Ratnam. The story is narrated as a flashback by the hero, who is lying fatally wounded but is not dead yet. He gives you some idea about how Detroit, the city that is situated in the US-Canada border lost its charm some decades back and makes some curious comparisons to the plight of some of the upper caste households losing their might in Kerala. He also describes how much everyone suffers to escape to Toronto Aadhi who was formerly working for Damodar as a getaway driver, is now a mechanic in a garage owned by his uncle Bhaskaran. Bhaskaran's son Aju has a crush on his classmate Deepika, the daughter of Seema, who gave birth and got married at a Young age. The drug addict Deepika has no respect for her mother. Moreover, Rajan, who is Seema's husband currently has no regard for her as a wife. Being a tycoon, he is flirty and has extramarital affairs with his female colleagues and secretary. Ahmed, an investigation officer is an ex-boyfriend of Seema, and knows about her bad condition very well. Damodar who wants Adhi to work under him again, decides negotiating. Later, he entrusts Aju to transport the latest party drug Redex via Aju's friend who is Damodar's aide. Ajit is saved by Adhi before he gets caught by the police. Bhaskar sends Aju to live with his relative. Deepika who had fallen for Adhi leaves her house to meet Adhi. Adhi asks her to go back. But she refuses, and later leaves after forcefully buying a packet of Redex from him. That night, Deepika overdoses on Redex and is taken to the hospital in vain while Adhi sits outside, remorsefully thinking that he is the one responsible for it. Seema who is shattered at the death of her daughter, leaves her home after finding out that the rogue Rajan is cheating her and continuing his affairs despite his daughter's death. While travelling to Ahmed's house, a group of eve-teasers try to molest her but Adhi, who was with Seema all through the journey saves her from them. He safely drops Seema at Ahmed's home. Ahmed's wife is disturbed at Seema's presence which causes Seema to voluntarily leave the house. Adhi takes Seema to his own house and the two of them fall in love later. But she is shattered to know from Ahmed that Adhi is the part of the gang which lead to her daughter's death. Consequently, she slaps him and leaves his house. Damodar plans to trigger a major attack during an important festivity in the city, by killing three important aides of Antoni, the leader of the rival Polish gang. He appoints his brother Selvam, Adhi and Bhaskaran to carry out his operation. Adhi is directed to park a car at the lot of a building in the heart of the city where the Polish gang is to have an emergency meeting. However, after parking, he finds a bomb at the rear end that will blast in one day's time. Bhaskar fails to carry out a killing commissioned by Damodar. He begs Damodar to leave him and his family alone, and gets killed by Damodar. Adhi in anger finishes Selvam and confronts Damodar at the same building in which he parked the car. A fight ensues, in which Adhi is shot dangerously near his chest, but overpowers Damodar and stabs him. It is shown that Adhi had informed Antoni and his friends about Damodar's location. Antoni and his thugs arrive and kill Damodar by opening fire at him. Adhi walks away locking the door. As he walks away injured, the bomb blasts killing everyone inside. The dangerously injured Adhi walks to Ahmed's office and collapses, unconscious. It is shown that Adhi had informed Seema to visit Adhi's house and check his car. He had kept an amount of money in it, and says that half of it should be given to Bhaskaran's wife, and the other half is for herself. He also asks to take the car and go to a far off place for a new start. The final shot shows a still alive Adhi suddenly coming to his senses.
Cast
Prithviraj Sukumaran as Aadhi, an orphan mechanic raised in Detroit, who also works under Damodar as a getaway driver.
Rahman as Damodar Ratnam, a Sri Lankan Tamilian drug lord, who dreams to own Detroit.
Isha Talwar as Seema, a dance teacher in Detroit, who married and gave birth to her daughter at a very young age.
Nandhu as Bhaskar, a middle-aged mechanic in Detroit; Aadhi's uncle.
Mathew Arun as Aju, a high-school student; son of Bhasker.
Celine Joseph as Deepika, a high-school student; daughter of Seema.
Ashwin Kumar as Selvan, brother of Damodar who is often seen as his sidekick during drug dealings.
Giju John as Detective Ahmed Siddique, a detective specialized for drug dealers in Detroit; known for being a polyglot.
Shyamaprasad as Chandran, a mediator among drug dealers; who owns a restaurant in Detroit.
The film was first announced by Prithviraj Sukumaran in July 2016 through his Facebook page. He has mentioned that 'Ivide' was his first honest attempt at a cross over film from Malayalam and his second one will be 'Ranam/Detroit Crossing'. Ranam is produced by Anand Payannur and Lawson Biju under the banner Yes Cinema Productions and Lawson Entertainment.
Casting
Initially, Mamta Mohandas was cast as the female lead paired opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran, but was replaced by Isha Talwar as the former was unable to allocate dates due to her prior commitment for Carbon. The film's schedule was postponed following certain technical issues. Tamil Actors Sampath Raj and Ashwin K. Kumar was confirmed by director in March 2017. Malayalam actor Rahman replaced actor Sampath in the role and had joined the cast in October 2017.
Filming
The filming began in Augusta, Georgia on 22 August 2017. Later the crew shifted to Atlanta, Georgia and Detroit, Michigan to shoot the remaining portions. Over 95 per cent of the film was shot in the United States, and remaining portions in Kerala. Filming was completed in 45 days.
Soundtrack
The original soundtrack and background score were composed by Jakes Bejoy. The title track of the film was released on YouTube in March 2018, as a part lf promotion.
Release
Ranam was released on 6 September 2018 across 150 theaters in Kerala. Rest of India release was on 7 September and outside India on 13 September.
