Before I begin, lets take a look at the most watched films of our beloved stars in Tamil Nadu theaters.
The highest grossers of our stars may not necessarily be their most watched film in theaters. As you all know, there has been steady decrease in theater footfalls (No. of tickets sold) every year since the 1990s because of many external factors like Television, DVD, Digital Streaming, Piracy and Bad content.
KAMAL HAASAN :-
Aboorva Sagotharargal - 2 crore
Nayagan - 1.44 crores
Indian - 1.26 crores
Thevar Magan / Sakalakala Vallavan - 1.2 crores
Kaaki Sattai - 1 crore
RISE :-
"Kamal Haasan's works are too intellectual for mainstream audience to understand" is a 21st Century Cliche. Back in his prime time, Kamal did as many mindless Masala films as his close friend/rival Rajinikanth. Kaaki Sattai & Sakalakala Vallavan were out and out sexist films. Morals and logic mattered less, entertainment mattered more. Both were Kamal Haasan's highest grossers before Nayagan and were also more profitable as Nayagan went through budget overruns.
Kamal Haasan would then go on to set a new state footfalls record in Aboorva Sagotharargal which sold around 2 crore tickets in Tamil Nadu when the population was just around 5.5 crores. M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's Haridas is the only film that is likely to have had more footfalls or in similar range. Though that cannot be independently verified as the film is too old and even experienced distributors were clueless over how much tickets it sold.
After a series of hits and misses, Kamal scored his next Blockbuster Thevar Magan in Diwali 1992 which broke several records and set new ones in B & C centers, state footfalls were on par with Sakalakala Vallavan and it was also the 2nd highest grossing Tamil film of 1992 after Annamalai . This was also the last time Kamal Haasan & Rajinikanth clashed. As Pandiyan was a huge flop, Kamal & Rajini mutually agreed not to release their films on the same day henceforth. Thevar Magan was India's official entry to the Oscars in best foreign language film category but didn't make it to the final list of nominations.
Indian marked Kamal Haasan's first association with Director Shankar. The film beat Rajinikanth's Baasha and became Kollywood's new Industry Hit. With significant contribution from its Hindi version, Indian Worldwide Gross stood at over 60 crores. Indian was Kamal's last Industry Hit and also his last film to have over 1 crore footfalls in Tamil Nadu.
FALL :-
The fall of Kamal Haasan began with his incomplete Magnum Opus Marudhanayagam. Kamal had invested 8 crores of his own money in the film, but the film eventually got stalled after talks with financiers turned unfruitful.
Though he scored sleeper hits in between like Avvai Shanmughi, Kaathala Kaathala, Thenali & Panchathanthiram, the failure of Hey Ram, Aalavandhan & Anbe Sivam damaged his stardom beyond repair and made sure he'll never be able to get back competing with Rajinikanth ever again.
Till Dasavatharam, Kamal Haasan at least stood as the 2nd biggest star in Kollywood but eventually Vijay, Suriya & Ajith took lead over him a couple of years later.
Vishwaroopam was the last film of Kamal Haasan to do some reasonable biz commercially though it wasn't much profitable because of its huge budget. Kamal made his return to the silver screen in May 2015 with Uttama Villain. Despite earning critical appreciation, the film was a box office disaster and damaged his market further apart from worsening the financial situation of Thirupathi Brothers whose last production Anjaan was also a massive failure.
2 months later, Kamal Haasan's Papanasam opened with occupancy below Dhanush, Sivakarthikeyan films. Positive WOM helped the film pick up and settle as a decent hit in Tamil Nadu and as an above average grosser worldwide.
Yet still 30+ crores in TN and hardly 50+ crores gross worldwide meant Kamal's market was down by 50%, Papanasam can be termed as a hit in Tamil Nadu solely because of its low budget and the reasonable prices it was sold for.
Later in 2015 Diwali, Thoongaavanam also closed as a loss venture despite getting decent openings.
Kamal Haasan has been constantly in the news off late courtesy of his twitter account and Big Boss. But as far as his planning in cinema & politics is concerned, it has been so so. His Sabash Naidu is being termed as a cursed project as crew and technicians involved fell sick, got injured or faced some kind of personal loss, even Kamal's leg got fractured after he slipped off his office stairs.
On May 2nd, Kamal Haasan tweeted a new poster from Vishwaroopam 2 and announced the film is targeting 2017 release. But the film never made it. Distributors associated with Aascar Films got word that the film will be ready for release by August, September or November. A trailer cut was locked in November and was expected to be launched on Kamal's birthday but never saw the light of the day.
The setbacks Kamal Haasan has been facing from Uttama Villain is attributed to a lot of factors like Kamal distancing himself from Crazy Mohan, his mentor Balachandar's death. Making things worse, the death of his brother Chandra Haasan left a void that is impossible to fill. Chandra Haasan was the backbone of Rajkamal films International, Kamal can't maintain his production company all by himself. People who would voluntarily help him are dead and Kamal is not open or wise enough to seek help from those who can help him.
Kamal Haasan's poor time management skills are the main reason why Telugu producer Dil Raju backed off from bankrolling Indian 2. For him irrespective of how big or small a project is, 2 things are very important. 1) Movie should be wrapped within the given budget, he is strictly against budget overruns. 2) Movie shooting should be completed on time. Dil Raju left Indian 2 because he was unsure of whether Kamal Haasan can honor his commitment.
With very less time in hand, Kamal Haasan has to strike a balance between his commitments in Cinema & Politics, that's something which he is currently struggling to do.
RAJINIKANTH :-
Thalapathy - 1.4 crores
Moondru Mugan - 1.35 crores
Annamalai / Baasha - 1.27 crores
Padayappa- 1.26 crores
Chandramukhi - 1.16 crores
6 more films of Superstar Rajinikanth are also likely to have had over 1 crore footfalls in Tamil Nadu though estimates aren't available for some of them at the moment.
RISE :-
Rajinikanth made his mainstream acting debut in a supporting role in
K. Balachander's Apoorva Raagangal. Rajinikanth became friends with the rising star of the 70s Kamal Haasan while shooting for the film. The duo went on to act together again in films like 16 Vayathinile, Aval Appadithan, Ninaithale Inikkum etc.
Kamal Haasan had influence in Rajinikanth's choice of films. He had warned Rajini, the more films you choose to be a sidekick, the more chances of you getting stereotyped, to grow and make a name for yourself, you have to do more films as the solo lead.
Rajinikanth would then go on to do films with heroism and films with substantial content. After brief struggle, he scored his first solo blockbuster Billa which released in 1980 on the occasion of Republic Day. The film's success lead to Rajinikanth officially becoming his good friend Kamal Haasan's professional rival. Rajinikanth's Moondru Mugam had huge 1.35 crore footfalls in Tamil Nadu, more than all films of Kamal Haasan till the release of Nayagan.
1990 saw a surge in video piracy resulting in multiple films performing below expectation in theaters. A year later Rajinikanth's Thalapathy & 1991's highest grosser Chinna Thambi & 3rd highest grosser Captain Prabhakaran played significant role in riving theatrical market. Thalapathy's pre-release hype was on par with Kabali, Endhiran, Sivaji etc. Rajinikanth's fans were displeased with the film's slow pace, so public talk was mixed but that eventually faded out and everyone enjoyed watching the film in long run. It was the first Tamil film to have had simultaneous release outside India in around 8 countries and its also the most watched Rajinikanth film in Tamil Nadu with around 1.4 crores footfalls. This was largely surprisingly considering Thalapathi was not a regular Rajinikanth film and the superstar's previous film Nattukku Oru Nallavan was a big flop.
It is to be noted that Thalapathi was the first film that hinted Rajinikanth would soon surpass Kamal Haasan's craze among the masses with the victory over Gunaa. Rajinikanth's next 2 films were also largely successful making it a hattrick of big hits, Annamalai in particular became his new highest grosser though footfalls wise Thalapathi remained at the top in Tamil Nadu.
Then came Baasha, Rajinikanth's first film to gross more than 25 crores in India and till date it remains the most favorite entertainer for many Rajini fans. Though superstar's Padayappa (Footfalls : 1.26 crores), Chandramukhi (Footfalls : 1.16 crores) & Sivaji The Boss (Footfalls : 1.14 crores) broke it later, nothing matched the craze Baasha had among the masses. Never before and never again.
SETBACKS :-
Endhiran became the new Industry Hit in 2010, no doubt in that. But the film also served as a warning bell to theaters, distributors and producers. Rajinikanth is the undisputed emperor of Kollywood but he has also become unaffordable and the risk of losing money is more than the profits they are likely to get If the film becomes a success.
Apart from that, a sentence like "Rajinikanth has crores of fans in Tamil Nadu" became illogical as the state footfalls were only 81 Lakhs. Its superstar's highest grossing film of all time but footfalls were lower than 16 Vayathinile (85 Lakhs). I've rather not talk about Kochadaiiyaan & Lingaa as their fates are well known to the public.
Kabali might have become Rajinikanth's highest grosser worldwide but in Tamil Nadu, there is around 30 crores difference in gross between Kabali & Endhiran and footfalls stood at a mere 50 Lakhs. Vijay's Theri footfalls in the same year were 56 Lakhs despite not getting proper release in Chengalpet area (TN's biggest territory).
2 Point O & Kaala are said to be Superstar Rajinikanth's final films, though there is a recent buzz that there are chances of seeing him in one more film.
50 Lakh Footfalls club :-
As the biggest stars of the ruling generation Vijay & Ajith have only one film each with more than 1 crore footfalls. Its better to use the term 50 Lakhs club henceforth.
VIJAY :-
Ghilli - 1+ crores (Actual not available)
Kadhaluku Mariyadhai - 85 Lakhs
Thulladha Manamum Thullum - 75 Lakhs
Poove Unakkaga - 73 Lakhs
Kushi - 72 Lakhs
Mersal - 66 Lakhs
Thuppakki - 65 Lakhs
Thirumalai - 64 Lakhs
Friends - 56.5 Lakhs
Theri - 56 Lakhs
Pokkiri - 55 Lakhs
Thirupachi - 51 Lakhs
Vijay has 12 films in the 50 Lakhs footfalls club. Highest for an actor from his generation.
RISE :-
Vijay might have entered Kollywood as Director S.A.Chandrasekhar's son but his father gave him only flop films. His first big break was Poove Unakkaga (Directed by Vikraman). The film was Vijay's first blockbuster, distributors and theaters which bought the film earned multiple times their investment.
A year later, Vijay starred in Kadhaluku Mariyadhai, a remake of Malayalam blockbuster Aniathipravu and the Tamil remake managed to repeat the success of the Malayalam original. Kadhaluku Mariyadhai was instrumental in earning Vijay strong support from family audience. The film's footfalls are still the highest for Vijay in many centers, even more than his most watched film Ghilli.
Amidst some flops and disasters, Vijay still managed to give 4 more blockbusters Thulladha Manamum Thullum, Kushi, Friends and Thirumalai before landing in Ghilli. For the Word of Mouth Ghilli had, distributors felt it won't be surprising If it becomes Vijay's highest grosser but surpassing all expectations, the film beat Padayappa to become the highest grossing film of all time in Tamil Nadu. It was also the first and only Vijay film to have more than 1 crore footfalls in the state.
SETBACKS :-
Vijay's setbacks began from Madhurey, as it came immediately after Ghilli, area-wise rights were overpriced, resulting in loss for distributors despite not so bad collections. In the next 6 years, only Thirupachi, Pokkiri and to an extent Sivakasi clicked, his remaining films were mostly disappointments despite good pre-release hype. Aadhi, Azhagiya Tamizhmagan, Villu, Sura etc. were some of the biggest failures in Vijay's career released in this period.
In particular, Sura's massive failure caused trouble in the release of Vijay's next film Kaavalan. Aascar Ravichandran who earlier produced Kadhaluku Mariyadhai and was currently producing Velayutham, extended support and bailed out Kaavalan, the film did well in A centers and critics felt content-wise, Kaavalan is a decent comeback for Vijay.
Velayutham was supposed to release later that year for Vijay's birthday but delay in shooting resulted in the film getting pushed to Diwali. Releasing on Diwali meant they had to face tough competition from 7 am Arivu which was made on a massive budget and had extraordinary pre-release hype, courtesy of the return of Ghajini duo Suriya-AR Murugadoss. Yet still, Aascar Ravichandran sensed from the promos, there could be a chance of 7 am Arivu not living up to the expectations, if that happens, there is possibility of those who were planning to watch 7 am Arivu choose Velayutham instead. His guess turned out to be true. 7 am Arivu became Suriya's highest grosser but wasn't good enough for the huge costs involved. This helped Velayutham to sustain and gross around
39 crores in TN, that might be almost 13 crores less than 7 am Arivu, but Velayutham was a safe venture for everyone as it was sold for reasonable prices unlike Sura.
Vijay's next film Nanban became his highest grosser but was a cost failure project overall as the revenue wasn't good enough to cover its huge budget.
2ND INNINGS :-
Vijay’s career as an action hero can be seen as two phases. Before Thuppakki, After Thuppakki. AR Murugadoss bounced back strong with this film and gave Vijay a makeover like never before. Thuppakki influenced Vijay to change himself on and off screen. Vijay returned to becoming the biggest star in Kollywood after Rajinikanth post Thuppakki‘s success. It was the first Non-Rajini film to gross 100 crores with Tamil version alone.
Nanban TN Gross – 43.5 crores (Share - 28 crores)
Thuppakki TN Share – 44.6 crores
Thuppakki TN Share – 44.6 crores
That’s how a real big jump looks like.
After Thuppakki, Thalaivaa had a delayed release in Tamil Nadu and Jilla was a loss venture. Vijay‘s next release Kaththi expanded his market outside Tamil Nadu though footfalls were below 50 Lakhs as the film performed slightly below expectations in B & C centers.
After Puli‘s failure, Vijay‘s Theri released in 2016 to mixed reviews but somehow still became his highest grosser and footfalls were much higher than Kaththi despite not getting proper release in Chengalpet Territory. The film however was either a minor loss or only marginally profitable except Europe as it was sold for very high prices.
MERSAL :-
After 5 years, Vijay's Mersal (66 Lakhs) broke his recent best footfalls record Thuppakki (65 Lakhs) in Tamil Nadu. The film collected more than 125 crores worldwide share and was largely profitable to everyone involved except Kerala and Mersal's producers Thenandal Studios Limited. Kerala couldn't sustain after huge opening and its just a breakeven or marginally profitable venture for the producers as the film cost 135 crores excluding loan interests that were bought to complete the film on time for Diwali 2017.
Vijay was personally involved in clearing hurdles in the film's way. Keeping the budget overshot in mind, Vijay assured Thenandal Studios Limited that they will work together again and budget control will be given extra care in their next project.
For the first time in 25 years, a Rajinikanth film is not there in Top 2 lifetime TN Gross:-
Currently its,
Baahubali 2 - 147.45 crores
Mersal - 120 crores
Endhiran - 104 crores
Vijay has took lead over Rajinikanth not just in Tamil Nadu, but also in Sri Lanka,
1) Mersal
2) Baahubali 2
3) Endhiran
4) Theri
5) Sivaji The Boss
This wasn't mentioned to say Vijay has become a bigger star than Rajinikanth but just to subtly hint Vijay's growth.
Thalapathy 62, Vijay's personal involvement in recent and upcoming projects :-
Sudden obsession with Music ?
After Puli, Vijay has been personally involved in getting Music Directors on board for his films. For Bairavaa, Vijaya Productions wanted Anirudh to score Music, but on Vijay's insistence Santhosh Narayanan was signed instead. For Mersal too Anirudh was the top contender but once again on Vijay's influence, they decided to go with AR Rahman. This lead people to assume whether Vijay didn't like Anirudh's work in Kaththi, but in Thalapathy 62's case AR Murugadoss wasn't looking for Anirudh but wanted another rising young composer but Vijay who was impressed with Mersal's Music wanted AR Rahman again.
As Vijay has given him complete creative freedom, for the sake of pleasing Vijay, AR Murugadoss agreed to have AR Rahman Music. SUN Pictures have kept 60 crores cap (Excluding Vijay & ARM's pay) on the production budget and warned If shooting couldn't be completed with the given budget, it will have direct affect on Vijay & AR Murugadoss's salary. With a young team AR Murugadoss thought he can cut costs and flexibly work on the budget. Still he is glad to at least have creative freedom over the film except Music.
Thalapathy 62 is buzzed to be a commercialized version of a Hindi docudrama and a Tamil film that went unnoticed last year. Its not going to be a rip off but the core concept of these 3 films are to said to be baring similarities, unlike the former films, Thalapathy 62 is being produced in a larger scale and will be a trademark AR Murugadoss Social Thriller with commercial elements and of course, a message will also be there.
After Thuppakki, Vijay's role in Thalapathy 62 is expected to give him his next makeover.
Vijay's choice of films are often weird and sometimes surprising,
While working on Thuppakki, Vijay was in final stage of talks with KV Anand & Ameer Sultan but both the films failed to materialize and KV Anand later made the film with Dhanush while there is no clue on whether Vijay's project with Ameer will happen or not.
It remains to be seen If Vijay will choose H. Vinoth for Thalapathy 63 or go ahead with a Masala film in Neason's direction
AJITH KUMAR :-
Kadhal Kottai - 1+ crore (Actual not available)
Vaali - 68 Lakhs
Billa - 63 Lakhs
Villain - 61 Lakhs
Dheena/Mankatha - 58 Lakhs
Amarkalam - 57.5 Lakhs
Varalaru - 53 Lakhs
Kadhal Mannan - 52.5 Lakhs
Veeram - 51 Lakhs
After making a name himself in the low budget thriller Aasai, Ajith Kumar scored his first solo blockbuster in Kadhal Kottai. The film won a National Award and till date remains the most family friendly film in Ajith's career.
Ajith went on to star in many youth friendly films, some of them clicked, some of them didn't. His Kadhal Mannan was a trendsetter and seen as the first among the few unconventional choices of Ajith.
His boldest choice happened to be Vaali. Not just the subject but Ajith choosing a least experienced SJ Suryah over senior associate directors was also a huge surprise with some seniors being very displeased with him because of that. Ultimately the risk was worth it. Vaali's footfalls stand @ 68 Lakhs which is just few Lakhs lower than his rival's family friendly blockbusters.
The success of Vaali shocked many distributors and theaters and became the 3rd highest grossing film of 1999 after Padayappa & Mudhalvan. They felt Vaali clicked solely because Ajith Kumar was both bold and smart enough to choose the film on the merit of the script and not based on the director's experience. Vaali would have bombed had it starred someone like Prashanth or Vijay, who are largely dependent on family audience for the long run of their films.
Ajith teamed up with Kadhal Mannan Director Saran again for Amarkalam. It was Ajith's 25th film and became a blockbuster. Their 3rd film Attahasam did reasonably biz while their 4th film Asal was a box office disaster.
Later on Ajith's choice of films weren't as wise like before, the actor made lots of miscalculations like Red, Anjaneya, Ji, Jana etc. After Amarkalam, Kandukondain Kandukondain, Poovellam Un Vaasam & Attahasam were hits, Dheena, Villain & Varalaru became blockbusters. Ajith became selective with choosing producers as things turned sour between him and SS Chakravarthy while filming Varalaru.
BILLA'S SUCCESS AND HANGOVER :-
Ajith agreed to do this film to compensate for the losses faced by his earlier films. In Production, Ajith developed good bonding with the film's director Vishnuvardhan with whom he worked with again later in Arrambam. Both films featured Ajith's looks in what could be called his stylish best.
Billa is 21st Century's most watched film starring Ajith Kumar. The film not only influenced a change in films of other actors but also unfortunately became like a hangover in Ajith's later films. Aegan & Asal tried hard to recreate Billa's magic but the final output had more style and less substance, thus becoming failures.
After facing criticism over Billa's hangover, Ajith made his boldest decision since Vaali. Mankatha featured Ajith in a full length negative role, it broke all hero-villain conventions and emerged as a blockbuster. Though footfalls weren't in the league of Billa or Vaali, they were on par with Dheena.
Call it unfortunate, but after getting rid of Billa hangover, Ajith began to exhibit cliches of Mankatha in Arrambam, Veeram, Vedalam & Vivegam. The cliche being quoted is his salt and pepper look which was necessary in Mankatha & Arrambam but was needless in Veeram, Vedalam & Vivegam. Co-incidentally all 3 films were directed by J. Sivakumar a.k.a. Siruthai Siva. Ajith loved working in Veeram, sporting White & White after consecutively appearing in western looks was a breath of fresh air. Thus Siva became a close friend to Ajith Kumar.
Footfalls clearly points out Vedalam's success was a fluke and solely because of Diwali season and illegal ticket price hikes it became a blockbuster. Veeram had better footfalls, that says which film audience really liked. Imagine Yennai Arindhaal releasing in Diwali and Vedalam releasing in Feb ? Recent turn of events prove that festive season + ticket price hike and a modest budget is the perfect recipe to score a blockbuster film. Had Yennai Arindhaal worked, Ajith's choice of films would have drastically changed.
Ajith was supposed to work with Pushkar Gayathri in AK58 but on Sathyajyothi films's request, he has agreed to do a quickie like Vedalam with Siva to compensate Vivegam's losses. A bound script, heroine, music director and other cast and crew are currently being finalized.
Continue Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment