Sunday, June 03, 2007
Sivaji - The Boss
Almost everybody seems to think that Sivaji cannot fail. After all, there's Rajnikanth, Shankar, AR Rehman and lots of DI. But what if it does? Just trying to be contrarian, and for the superstitious among you, let me be damned.
If it were to succeed or fail, when would we know? Would we know at all? What is success? The film is expensive enough for box-office success to matter. And the fanboy crowd is large enough to take it through the initial few weeks without adverse word-of-mouth affecting it. In any case, I shall be watching this film closely. Should tell me a lot about how Tamil cinema economics works. And the things to watch out for are:
1. Do the projectionists/director/producers start making changes in the film, and if they do, when.
2. Are more prints going out of the labs? Or are some prints coming back in two weeks time?
3. At what point is it going to do the rounds of the second-rung NRI towns?
One thing is almost certain. It is impossible within the first two (or three) weeks to do any sane predictions on how the film will fare. I'm willing to start considering analyses that come after that.
What not to really worry about:
1. Random newspaper and magazine reviews.
2. Television spots and interviews with the likes of Antony.
3. Gossip about how much AVM sold such-and-such rights for.
4. Politicians like Ramdoss making some noise.
The thing that could potentially play spoilsport is the stupid price-ceiling the government introduced a while back. But I do have a lot of faith in our cinemas to circumvent that.
Comments to Sivaji - The Boss
You sir, are thinking. This activity in itself is pernicious to your aspirations in Tamil film industry.
BTW, liked your opinion on the sound recording article.
[Yes i cannot be bothered with commenting on two articles]
posted by 
The current issue of Kalki quotes AVM Saravanan as saying that he does not deal in black money and blaming that as the reason for the delay in screening the movie. Not trying to sound pedantic - But what is success in this case ?
posted by
I'm not a Rajni "fanboy" but I definitely admire him for his acting skills. Contrary to popular belief, I think his acting is on par with Kamal. The only difference is that his natural personality shines through so much that people don't notice his versatility and skills. His movies usually have all the necessary ingredients without overdosing the viewer on any single one. "Annamalai" is a great example. It has sentiment, comedy, family values, fight sequences and the feel-good factor which makes it so watchable. Sometimes people place too much emphasis on "realism". I don't value that at all. When one watches a movie, it's about relaxation and fun. Not to see our own real-life problems. Kamal is also somebody who mixes reality well with fiction. The only difference is that he aims at the more "intellectual" people (I use that term loosely). To be frank, I make no distinctions between the two myself. They are equally great in their own ways. I hope Sivaji is of the same kind.
He has aged with dignity in the business and has delivered so many super hits that I hope this one is a success and he retires as a hero. He can do more mature roles like Amitabh is doing right now, but I think his acting as a hero with girls who are young enough to be his grand-children is not appropriate any more.
posted by
Anon: Thanks!
BNB: I do not know the details of the case. But I suspect Sivaji's release was delayed by not just any one factor. Box office profit, be it black or white, is still part of the success of the film.
Hari: OK!
posted by 
Anand
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