A Loose to Continuation of "Has Kollywood dug its own grave" : Tamil Nadu Footfalls Part 2 :-

SURIYA :- 

7 am Arivu - 60.5 Lakhs 
Singam - 59 Lakhs 
Singam 2 - 55.5 Lakhs 
Ayan - 50 Lakhs 
Ghajini - 45 Lakhs

RISE :- 

Suriya's rise to the top lies in his never give up attitude and the effort he puts in correcting his flaws . He was well aware of the criticism he was facing in the earlier stage of his career, instead of blasting his critics, he understood what they pointed out and worked on improving himself as an actor. 

Nandha, Unnai Ninaithu & Mounam Pesiyadhe were baby steps in his path to prove critics wrong. Suriya's decision to do Kaakha Kaakha despite knowing it was rejected by Ajith, Vijay & Vikram was a masterstroke, the film was Suriya's first solo blockbuster.

He later starred alongside Vikram in Pithamagan and in Perazhagan where he played dual roles for the first time. Both films were vastly different from each other. Suriya's role in Pithamagan was overloaded with humor, while he played a hunchback and a role with shades of grey in Perazhagan. Both films were commercially successful while his work in Mani Ratnam's Multistarrer Aayutha Ezhuthu fetched him critical praise.
 

In 2005, Suriya played a short term memory loss patient in Ghajini. The film expanded his market outside Tamil Nadu. Ghajini's Telugu dubbed version was a blockbuster having grossed 16 crores in Andhra, which was just 5 crores lower than what it collected in Tamil Nadu.  
Suriya's later lineup had a mix of both commercial and experimental films placed without any particular pattern.


 

Suriya teamed up with Director Hari for the first time in Aaru, the film received mixed reviews and did above average business but the combo came together again for 4 more films, 3 out of 4 of those films were blockbusters. Hari knew Suriya's strengths better than any other commercial filmmaker. He was very well aware of the fact that Suriya is different from Ajith & Vijay, his films can't be treated like an Ajith or Vijay film. Suriya has less fans compared to them but had more general audience patronage, hence to make a hit commercial film with Suriya, it has to be a wholesome entertainer and shouldn't rely on particular set of scenes to satisfy fans alone. Making a film with Ajith or Vijay means, the director has to fear response from fans and has to restrict himself to satisfying them the most, as they are the ones who rush to theaters in the opening weekend.

Suriya on the hand is a more flexible actor, so what cannot be done with Ajith or Vijay should be made with Suriya. That's exactly what Hari did and the reason why his combination with Suriya worked wonders at the box office.



PROMOTION TO TIER 1 ACTOR :- 

While Ghajini's success hinted Suriya is an actor to watch out for, Ayan is where his career graph hit a new high. It was his first 50 Lakh footfall film in Tamil Nadu and pushed him ahead of Vijay & Ajith. Ayan was a blockbuster grossing over 68 crores worldwide.

His next film Aadhavan opened to mixed reviews and did average to above business in Kerala, Karnataka & Andhra but Suriya's form pushed the film to safe zone in Tamil Nadu & Overseas.





FIRST 30 CRORES SHARE FILM :-

Suriya donned Khakee after 7 years for Singam, it was his 3rd film with Director Hari. Unlike Kaakha Kaakha's Anbu Selvan, who was a soft spoken Police Officer, Durai Singam was a loud mouth and a remorseless cop, Suriya's over the top performance was trolled in social media but general audience embraced the film made it a blockbuster especially in the B & C centers. It was the first Non-Rajini/Kamal film to collect 30+ crores share in Tamil Nadu. Singam's Tamil Nadu footfalls were 59 Lakhs, thus beating Suriya's previous highest Ayan with a huge 9 Lakh margin.     

Suriya once said the success of films like Singam gave him the budget and confidence to do big budget experimental films.


DISAPPOINTMENTS FROM 7 AM ARIVU :- 

Though 7 am Arivu became both his highest grosser and highest footfall, the film received mixed response from critics and audience and wasn't good enough to cover the costs involved despite extraordinary revenue.

He next teamed up with Ayan director KV Anand for Maattraan and unfortunately it faced the same criticism as 7 am Arivu and fell short of expectations both critically and commercially.


    

HARI STRIKES AGAIN :-  

Singam 2's blockbuster success stands testament as to why Hari is the only director who knew how to make a proper commercial film with Suriya. The film was Suriya's comeback after 2 below par films. Fans of Singam were disappointed with the loss of nativity and least utilized supporting characters but majority of moviegoers liked it better and made it the highest grossing Tamil film of 2013.

LOSS OF A CONFIDENT DECISION MAKER ?

The success of Singam, Singam 2 and disappointment of 7 am Arivu, Maattraan shattered the confidence Suriya had on his beloved directors. Since Ghajini & Ayan were milestone films in his career, Suriya surrendered himself to the vision of AR Murugadoss and KV Anand while working on 7 am Arivu & Maattraan. Suriya gave his best but the directors disappointed him, they let him down.

Suriya became reluctant to do experimental films fearing they might meet the same fate as 7 am Arivu & Maattraan. This resulted in Suriya backing off from Gautham Vasudev Menon's dream project Dhruva Natchathiram. This also created a rift with GVM who gave Suriya two memorable films Kaakha Kaakha & Vaaranam Aayiram.

 

ANJAAN : THE FAITH BREAKER :-  


What's the difference between disappointment and failure ?  
As per English dictionaries,
Disappointment is an emotion felt when our expectations are not met.
While Failure is an exact opposite of success.

Disappointment - 7 am Arivu & Maattraan
Failure - Anjaan

Suriya's attempt to avoid disappointments, didn't give him success, it landed him in failure instead.

Anjaan was not just a failure, it was Suriya's biggest disaster in 12 years. Never in their wildest dreams, anyone imagined Suriya giving a damp squib like Anjaan. The film broke the faith general audience and families had in Suriya . 


DOWNFALL :-



Despite Anjaan's massive failure, theaters payed huge MGs to sign Masss which was later renamed Masssu Engira Massilamani to appeal for entertainment tax exemption, their appeal was rejected which meant the title change wasn't doing any good, it was just negative publicity. 

On top of all, reservations were so poor that many centers reported nil houseful shows on the opening day. Exhibitors thought the film will pick up as those who watched it felt it was much better than Anjaan. After good Sunday, Masss collapsed in weekdays. On its 11th day itself, Masss was replaced with low budget blockbuster Kaaka Muttai in most many centers. Ultimately Masss closed with mere 15 crores distributor share in Tamil Nadu, when it should have collected at least 35 crores share to be termed as a hit.




24's Promos raised hopes on a possible comeback for Suriya. The actor himself funded the film after being impressed with Vikram K Kumar's script. 24 got decent to positive reviews with high praise towards Suriya's performance, 24's Screenplay, Cinematography & VFX. 24 was a success in Telugu, Kerala & Overseas (Baring Malaysia, Sri Lanka and few European markets). Karnataka was disappointing while the film couldn't even get a proper wide release in Tamil Nadu. Still with positive WOM, 24's Tamil Nadu gross was much better than Masss. 

Had they spent more time in editing table and took extra care over off line promotions and theatrical release, 24 would have easily been Suriya's comeback vehicle.

Suriya's next film Singam 3 a.k.a. S3 a.k.a. SI 3 a.k.a. C3 released in Feb 2017 after multiple postponements and bombed at the box office. As far as progress was concerned, Singam 3 was a modest success in Karnataka. Malaysia, Sri Lanka and collected more than 24 in Tamil Nadu. While it was a loss venture in Telugu, Kerala & Overseas, thus failing in all areas where 24 did well .



Next up Suriya's latest release Thaanaa Serndha Koottam got better reviews than Singam 3, Masss & Anjaan. Despite Word of Mouth also being positive, TSK failed to sustain after Pongal Holidays and flopped along with fellow Pongal releases Sketch & Gulebhagavali. 

Any Progress ? 

Almost nil, in fact TSK has only damaged his market further instead of repairing it.
The film is a flop almost everywhere but can be termed as a below average worldwide grosser as it was sold for reasonable prices and Telugu version Gang performed much better than expected after poor opening.

So what is to be blamed this time ?

TSK has super hit songs and content with universal appeal, audience gave positive response but it still became another failure for Suriya. We'll briefly discuss about this later. For now, the bottom line is TSK has done nothing to revive Suriya's market.

Future :- 

Its now clear that Suriya's days as a bankable actor are over and he has to restart from scratch, sort of like beginning a 2nd innings. Although, there is no surety of any film bound to give him a comeback overnight, there is little hope left in Suriya's 37th film to be directed by KV Anand. With backing from LYCA Productions, pre-release hype will be more. For that to happen, Suriya has to survive Suriya 36, surviving in the sense, it shouldn't damage his market further. 





CHIYAAN VIKRAM :- 

Saamy - 72 Lakhs 
I - 64 Lakhs  
Gemini - 63 Lakhs 
Anniyan - 54 Lakhs 
Dhool - 53 Lakhs

After struggling for over 10 years shifting between Dubbing and Acting, Vikram finally tasted commercial success in Bala's tragedy film Sethu. Dhill's blockbuster success turned Vikram into an action hero, he later scored much bigger hits in Gemini, Dhool & Saamy. The success of these films positioned Vikram next to Rajinikanth. Though he also scored flops in between like Samurai, Kadhal Sadugudu & Arul, they didn't affect his career graph much.

It was after Anniyan, Vikram began to make several costly miscalculations while choosing his films. Basically he selects scripts solely based on how much he liked his role, how different the role is, how many getups he can sport and whether it has scope to perform or entertain. Vikram's judgement skills became unreliable as he focused more on his character than the script as a whole.

After Anniyan, only Deiva Thirumagal was a success both critically and commercially. Vikram spent the next 3 years adjusting his physique appropriately for Shankar's magnum opus I. Though the film grossed over 200 crores and is currently his highest grossing film, the film's content again raised questions over Vikram's script choices.


Getting back on track :-



Following 10 Endrathukulla's failure, there was a sensible change in Vikram's lineup. Irumugan's Anand Shankar might be a very mediocre writer but he is a brilliant director who was well aware of audience pulse. The film opened to mixed reviews but emerged as a Super Hit.

His recent Pongal release Sketch was just a compensation project, with minimal investment at stake, its failure hardly affects his career graph.




SAAMY SQUARE :-
               
The first part's footfalls were a huge 72 Lakhs in Tamil Nadu. More people watched Saamy than big hits of Vijay, Ajith & Suriya in the last decade. But still given that Singam 2 footfalls were less than Singam despite only 3 years gap, its certain that Saamy Square's footfalls will also be very much less than Saamy. Still the film is fresh in the mind of movie buffs and is considered as one of the best entertainers of Director Hari.   
Distributors feel If Saamy Square gets a good release date and positive response from mainstream audience, it can get upto 50 Lakhs footfalls in Tamil Nadu. Also the film's Tirunelveli backdrop gives it a chance to attract B & C audience who have become very selective in visiting theaters after ticket price hike.

Its also better If Dhruva Natchathiram releases after Saamy Square. If the film clicks, it will ensure Dhruva Natchathiram will get a solid opening in Tamil Nadu.





SIVAKARTHIKEYAN :- 

REMO - 47 Lakhs  
Rajini Murugan - 46 Lakhs   
Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam - 45 Lakhs 
Velaikkaran - 42 Lakhs 
Kaaki Sattai - 36.5 Lakhs

Sivakarthikeyan was doing films as a hobby while he was working in Vijay TV. His films were doing decent business given their very low budgets. After the unexpected huge success of Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, Ethirneechal produced by Dhanush became another surprise hit  and Siva slowly began to garner his own fan following. 

The ultimate big break for Sivakarthikeyan was Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam. No one imagined the film would become such a huge blockbuster. The film established Sivakarthikeyan as a rising star in Kollywood. VVS also had the highest footfalls of 2013 in many B & C centers, marginally edging out the year's highest grosser.

His next film Maan Karate opened to negative reviews and led people to assume If VVS's success was a fluke but the film grossed a decent 29 crores in Tamil Nadu, thus becoming his 2nd highest grosser, it also expanded his market in overseas.

Sivakarthikeyan came back in 2015 with Kaaki Sattai. The film got better reviews than Maan Karate and collected 18.5 crores share in Tamil Nadu. Kaaki Sattai collected more than Dhanush's Anegan & Suriya's Masss despite releasing in exam season. That made it loud and clear that Sivakarthikeyan is here to stay and his success is not a fluke.

His next film Rajini Murugan released in 2016 Pongal after multiple postponements. While Kaaki Sattai proved SK films are minimum guarantee films, Rajini Murugan beat the footfalls of his 2 1/2 years old Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam and became his new highest grosser. The film also smashed records of Endhiran and became the highest grossing film of all time in few B & C centers. Few of them still remain unbroken even after the release of Baahubali 2 & Mersal.

Sivakarthikeyan had another release REMO in 2016. The film released amidst huge expectations though it was clear from first day itself that's its SK's worst film since Maan Karate, Sivakarthikeyan's star power ensured it became his highest grosser and footfall .

What could be the reason behind SK's success ? 

REMO Tamil Nadu footfalls were only 9 Lakhs less than Theri and only 3 Lakhs less than Kabali. Sivakarthikeyan may not be having die hard fans like Ajith or Vijay but he had more general audience patronage than them. REMO's footfalls is proof for it.


SETBACK OR MISCALCULATION ?



The reason for Velaikkaran becoming Sivakarthikeyan's first loss venture is not bad content, its because of business miscalculation. The film is SK's highest grossing film both in Tamil Nadu and worldwide, the reason for the losses is it was too early for 38 crores pre-release business in the state when his previous highest distributor share was only 31 crores.

REMO had entertainment tax exemption, while Velaikkaran was released with double taxation (GST+Local Body Entertainment Tax). Keeping all this in mind, Velaikkaran would have been a profitable venture If Tamil Nadu rights were sold area-wise in a modest 25 crores ratio.

As far as progress is concerned, Velaikkaran is not a setback, its another stepping stone in SK's path to become a Tier 1 Actor. The business miscalculation was basically a repeat of Suriya's 7 am Arivu. 


MUNI FRANCHISE & BAAHUBALI :-   


Kanchana 2 - 73 Lakhs 
Baahubali : The Beginning - 78 Lakhs   
Baahubali : The Conclusion - 120 Lakhs (1.2 crores)


SUN PICTURES who are bankrolling Kanchana 3 have Tamil New Year release in mind, in case 2 Point O gets postponed again. Baahubali Franchise's success can't be described in words. 

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