Vaibhav's landmark 25th film, written and directed by Sherief, is titled Ranam. The investigative thriller also stars Tanya Hope, Nandita Sweta and Saraswathi Menon.

Opening up about the genre and story of his directorial debut, Sherief says, "Ranam is an investigation thriller that revolves around a murder mystery. Vaibhav will be seen as a facial reconstruction artist in the film. One of the cases he takes up changes his life."

The tagline of Ranam reads 'Aram Thavarel'. Explaining the significance of the same, Sherief shares that it has been taken from Avvaiyar's Aathichudi. "In Aathichudi, Avvaiyar has mentioned the term 'Aranai Maravel'. Lyricist Thamarai suggested that I use 'Aram Thavarel' instead as the tagline to make it more understandable."

Aram Thavarel means that one should never let go of an opportunity to do a good deed. "The hero gets one such opportunity in the film, and the repercussion of his decision forms the rest of the story," says Sherief. 

Vaibhav's character from Ranam looks rugged in the title reveal video, unlike the roles the actor has done so far. "I wanted someone who has never done a thriller film to be the hero of Ranam. Vaibhav fit the role perfectly as he was also on the lookout to do something new," says Sharief, who asserts the role will not play to Vaibhav's strengths as a comic actor. 

Backed by Madhu Nagarajan of Mithun Mithra Productions, Ranam has music by Arrol Corelli, cinematography by Balaji K Raja, and editing by Muneiz.

With the filming of Ranam already wrapped up, Sherief and the team are expecting to release the film this June.