Sivaji: The Boss is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language Vigilante film co-written and directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions.[9] The film stars Rajinikanth in the main lead role alongside Shriya Saran, Vivek and Suman. In the film, a software systems architect returns to India from US to provide free medical treatment and education, but has to face hurdles from the system and an influential political leader.
A. R. Rahman composed the music in his 100th milestone composition, while the art direction, cinematography and editing were handled by Thota Tharani, K. V. Anand and Anthony respectively. With a budget of ₹600 million (US$7.2million), the film was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. Rajinikanth became the highest-paid Indian actor with this film, earning a fees of around ₹260 million (US$3.1million). Principal photography of the film commenced in November 2005 and lasted till February 2007. Filming took place in various locations across Hyderabad, Spain, Italy, New York City, Pune and Chennai. It became the first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos surround sound technology.
Released on 15 June 2007, Sivaji received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success by grossing ₹125—160 crore worldwide. It emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films at the time of its release and went on to win a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards and two Vijay Awards. The film was converted into 3D and released on 12 December 2012 as Sivaji 3D. The runtime of the 3D version was shorter than the original, cut to 155 minutes. It also emerged as the first Tamil film to enter the 100 crore club in the history of Kollywood.
This marks the final cinematography work of K. V. Anand due to directing films since 2005, which he debuted in Kana Kandaen as well as the final dialogue writing work of Sujatha before his death on 27 February 2008.
Plot
Sivaji Arumugam is an Indian software engineer who returns to India after working for 10 years in the United States. He aims to establish a non-profit trust called Sivaji Foundation, which includes a network of hospitals and educational institutions that serve the poor free of charge. A highly influential political lobbyist and businessman, Adiseshan, who runs profit-making educational institutions and hospitals, sees Sivaji as a deadly competitor.
To start his foundation, Sivaji is forced by Adiseshan to pay bribes to several government officials to get the basic approvals and sanctions. This eventually forces him to mortgage his property and sell his belongings to pay out the bribes. Meanwhile, Sivaji falls in love with Tamizhselvi, a demure and traditional girl who works as a saleswoman at a music instrument shop. Initially, Tamizhselvi and her family are scared of Sivaji's advances, but he soon manages to win Tamizhselvi's heart and her family's approval. However, when an astrologer checks Sivaji's and Tamizhselvi's horoscopes, he warns that their engagement will result in heavy financial ruin and their union will result in Sivaji's death. Tamizhselvi initially refuses the proposal due to her concern for Sivaji, but he calms her fears and convinces her to marry him.
Adiseshan starts sabotaging Sivaji by influencing the state government to bring Sivaji to court and forcing him to admit that he paid numerous bribes. The judge declares the verdict against Sivaji, and his foundation is closed. Sivaji, reduced to poverty, decides to play the game his own way. With the help of his uncle, Arivu, Sivaji acquires evidence of ₹2billion worth of illegal earnings from Adiseshan and uses it to blackmail him into giving Sivaji half the money. Adiseshan sends goons to retrieve the document and money, but Sivaji thrashes them. Sivaji proceeds to do the same to other people who have illegal money, including the officers he bribed. He then transfers the money to his friends around the world. They then deposit the money as donations to the Sivaji Foundation, making the money legitimate. Sivaji informs the Income Tax Department about illegal money held by the tax evaders, including Adiseshan, and gets them arrested. After this, Sivaji marries Tamizhselvi.
Sivaji blackmails the chief minister who was under Adiseshan's payroll and legally reopens his foundation. Tamizhselvi's innocence is exploited indirectly by Adiseshan, and she gives up Sivaji's laptop to save his life. He is arrested with presentable evidence. Adiseshan and the police try to unlock his laptop through voice-recognition means but are unable to do so without him. Sivaji refuses and is tortured to the point of death. To cover this up, Adiseshan and the police organise for mercenaries to shoot at the police van that carries Sivaji's body, making it look like a murder by a third party. However, Sivaji fakes his death as he was informed of the plans to kill him by a sympathetic police constable prior to the interrogation. Left alone in the room, he electrifies himself and loses consciousness. Sivaji's friend Dr Chezhian, Tamizhselvi and Arivu intercept the police van after being informed by Sivaji through an MMS and replace Sivaji's body with a dummy before the mercenaries open fire. Chezhian then revives him using a defibrillator.
Following Sivaji's "death", Adiseshan tries to open Sivaji's laptop, but they fail, and all the data is erased. A few days later, the revived Sivaji returns to take control of the foundation in the guise of an NRI friend, M. G. Ravichandran. Though Adiseshan immediately realises that Ravichandran is actually Sivaji, he is unable to prove it. Later, Sivaji confronts Adiseshan at one of his institutions, and the two fight. Sivaji breaks open the terrace containing all of Adiseshan's black money which flies out in campus attracting students who all come running out resulting in a stampede in which Adiseshan gets trampled to death. Sivaji Foundation soon becomes a frontier for India's economic and industrial rise. Sivaji serves a short jail sentence for money laundering, and India becomes a superpower by 2015.
In 1996, following the release of his Indian, Shankar approached and pitched three storylines to Rajinikanth to consider for his next venture. This included scripts which would later become Sivaji (2007), Enthiran (2010) and I (2015). Rajinikanth was sceptical and refused all three scripts at the time.[16]
In August 2005, Rajinikanth signed up for his next film which was to be produced by Chennai's oldest operative studio, AVM Productions, which was run by M. S. Guhan and M. Saravanan.[17][18] This time Shankar was confirmed to be the film's director.[17] After consulting Sivaji Ganesan's family to avoid any issues with the film's name, the project was subsequently announced on 24 August 2005.[19] The film was titled Sivaji,[19] after Rajinikanth's name at birth– Sivaji Rao Gaekwad. A tagline, The Boss, which stands for "Bachelor of Social Service", was suffixed to the title.[20]
In addition to being AVM Productions' 168thfilm,[21]Sivaji was also Rajinikanth's 154thfilm,[17] his 100thTamil film[b] and his ninth film with AVM Productions.[17] According to Rajinikanth's biographer Naman Ramachandran, the film was also made to commemorate the 100thbirth anniversary of the production company's founder, A. V. Meiyappan.[23]Sivaji was also noted for its change in the traditional yellow coloured Rajinikanth introductory text which made its debut with Annaamalai (1992). Instead the text is displayed in Chrome.[24]
Cast and crew
The first choice for the role of the female lead was Aishwarya Rai.[25] However, in October 2005, Shankar and Rajinikanth announced that actress Shriya Saran would play the female lead role.[26] Saran's voice was dubbed by actress Kanika, who was selected after a successful voice test,[27] thereby collaborating for the second time with Shankar.[c] Actor Vivek was signed up for the role of Sivaji's maternal uncle, Arivu, in November 2005.[28] Actress Sunaina made her acting debut through this film in a special appearance; the scene however was later removed from the final cut.[29][30]Nayanthara, who had earlier worked with Rajinikanth in Chandramukhi, was signed up to perform a special appearance alongside Rajinikanth in the song "Baleilakka".[31][32]
Suman was confirmed in March 2006 to play the role of Adiseshan after Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal and Prakash Raj were considered.[33]Sathyaraj, who acted with Rajinikanth in Mr. Bharath (1986), said he declined the role because, "After a film of the calibre of Mr. Bharath with Rajnikanth, I couldn't settle for anything less".[34] Mohanlal said he declined as he could not commit to the project for an entire year without missing out on other projects.[35] For his role, Suman removed his moustache and used dentures to make his smile visible. Shankar instructed one of the costume designers to give the character a spotless white dhoti, shirt, shoes, a Rolex watch and Ray-Ban sunglasses.[36] Prior to this, Suman had acted with Rajinikanth in Thee (1981).[37]Subbu Panchu dubbed for Suman.[38] Debate speakers Solomon Pappaiah and Pattimandram Raja were selected to play supporting roles, with the latter making his cinematic acting debut.[39][40]Vadivukkarasi and Manivannan were selected to play Sivaji's parents.[41][42]Raghuvaran appeared in a small role as Dr. Chezhian.[11]
Shankar, who also wrote the film's story and screenplay,[43] was paid a then record salary of ₹100million (Indian rupees)[d] for the project.[45]A. R. Rahman, who was selected to compose the film's soundtrack and background score, was also paid ₹30million.[46][d]Sujatha was assigned to write the dialogues for Sivaji.[43] Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan, who would later direct the film Karuppampatti (2013), worked as an assistant director in this film.[47] Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya worked as a graphics designer, creating the title for this film; she had earlier worked in the same position on two of her father's films– Baba (2002) and Chandramukhi (2005).[48]K. V. Anand was hired as the cinematographer in August 2005.[49]Manish Malhotra was responsible for designing the film's costumes,[50] while Anthony and Thota Tharani were the editor and art director respectively.[43] Additional make-up for Rajinikanth was done by make-up artist Banu.[51] Director S. P. Muthuraman worked as the film's co-producer.[52][53]
Filming
Principal photography commenced on 28 November 2005with a puja at AVM Productions. The film's launch was a secret event, with only pivotal members of the cast and crew being called for the event's attendance.[28] The first schedule of Sivaji began on 14 December 2005with the song "Vaaji Vaaji" featuring Rajinikanth and Saran being shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.[54][55] The idea of shooting at Ramoji Film City was suggested to Shankar by Tharani who felt that the place offered a lot of scope for him to use his skills and experience as an art director.[55] "Vaaji Vaaji" was picturised with an intention to showcase a Babylonian palace setting when Shankar requested Tharani to show "a palace with lots of colour".[55] Tharani created a four-storey Babylonian palace to accommodate 80dancers and 100junior artists for the number.[56] The set was built within 30 days.[57] Shooting of the number, which according to K. V. Anand was filmed in Super 35 motion picture film format, was completed in eight days.[58]G. Dhananjayan mentions in his book The Best of Tamil Cinema that ₹35million[d] was spent on the song's making.[59]
I decided to have a glass dome depicting four seasons. But Shankar was specific, saying he wanted the desert and the flowers look. So, we decided to have desert on one side and rocks, waterfalls and flowers on the other.
— Thota Tharani, on his experience of designing the set for the "Sahana" number.[60]
Tharani described the set designing for the song "Sahana", which was also shot at Ramoji Film City, as "extremely challenging".[60] After listening to the lyrics of the song which speaks of the four traditional calendar seasons, Tharani thought of using a concept titled Living in Seasons, which he used at a symposium held in Japan.[e] For the set's design which depicted the four seasons, Tharani proposed three concepts– a traditional Japanese house, a contemporary house and a futuristic house. Shankar chose the futuristic house concept, which consisted of three domes in the shapes of a square, a circle and a pyramid adjacent to one another.[60] The circular dome had a pathway around it and water falling from a 50 feet high rock, which would seep under the set. Tharani made use of acrylic glass and normal glass with the former being implemented on the floor to make the dance movements more easier to perform.[57] Construction of the set for the number was completed in 30days.[62]
In addition to these two songs, Tharani contributed to similar creations for the music store where Tamizhselvi works as a saleswoman, the street surrounding the music store, the warehouse behind the music store, the interior portions of Thamizhselvi's house and Adiseshan's office room.[61] The music shop was designed in the Victorian architecture style, while the warehouse was constructed at AVM Productions with the fight sequence being filmed there as well.[63] Filming of another action sequence in an open-air theatre, which was also designed by Tharani, took place for approximately 15–20 days.[64] K. V. Anand used balloon lights brought from a French company Airstar Space Lighting for the sequence.[64][65] The interior portions of Thamizhselvi's house was designed using clippings of flats constructed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.[66]
The "Style" segment was filmed in May 2006 at the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain,[3][67] as well as the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia[68] and the Kursaal in San Sebastian.[69] The fair look of Rajinikanth's character in the segment was created using computer-generated imagery, which was performed by V. Srinivas Mohan, the head of the Chennai-based firm Indian Artists. K. V. Anand re-shot every single movement of Rajinikanth with a British woman named Jacky, who was also one of the song's background dancers. All the shots featuring Rajinikanth in the song and those featuring Jacky were scanned in 4K resolution to enhance their clarity after which Jacky's skin colour was digitally implemented onto Rajinikanth's skin.[70] In a scene, Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran imitated the dance from songs from three Tamil films starring Sivaji Ganesan, MGR and Kamal Haasan, respectively.[71] For the Telugu dubbed version, the scene instead featured songs from films starring ANR, NTR and Chiranjeevi, respectively.[72] French hair-stylist Sandrin Veriar Seth designed two distinct hair-styles for the entire film and 13hair-styles for the segment alone.[73] To avoid disruptions that could occur at the shooting spot due to Rajinikanth's fan following in Tamil Nadu, Brinda choreographed "Balleilakka", Rajinikanth's introduction song sequence in Wai, a hill station near Pune with 500people for eight days.[32] To add more colour to the sequence, a 50-member team of Puli Kali artists from Thrissur were employed by Shankar as background dancers.[74]
In November 2006, sequences featuring Rajinkanth, Saran and Vivek were shot at the Pune Junction railway station.[citation needed] Filming of a key portion involving Rajinikanth and Vivek took place in the Victoria Public Hall building in Chennai.[75][76] A fight sequence and the song "Athiradi" were filmed at Binny Mills. The sets for the song were made bearing resemblance to the city of Venice.[citation needed] For the climax scenes, which were filmed at the Magarpatta city SEZ towers, Rajinikanth tonsured his head.[77] The scenes where Sivaji gets the money he transferred to his friends by forgery were filmed in New York City.[78] The completion of those scenes in February 2007 marked the end of the principal photography.[79] The climactic fight between Sivaji and Adiseshan was filmed at Vels University.[80] K. V. Anand told Shobha Warrier of Rediff.com that the portions other than the songs and action sequences were completed in 65days.[81][82]
Themes and influences
Many critics stated that the theme of Sivaji has been inspired from Shankar's previous films Gentleman (1993) and Mudhalvan (1999).[83] The film deals with the concept of corruption and money laundering and how the film's protagonist employs methods to get rid of those elements.[citation needed] Gopinath Rajendran of The New Indian Express compared the film's title character to Robin Hood for being a hero "who takes from the rich and passes it on to the poor".[84]
Sivaji, who is a software engineer is frustrated with the corruption in India which is shown in the scene where he watches the pitiable condition of poor people stating that: "The rich get richer, the poor get poorer".[85] Sivaji's love for his country is also illustrated in a scene where he is advised by his uncle to go back to abroad but he says "Where else will I go? This is home."[86]
After some re-recording of the background score in Paraguay,[87]A.R. Rahman had been to London for additional re-recording.[87]
A month and a half prior to the film's official soundtrack release, three songs from the soundtrack were leaked into the Internet. The songs, however, were only unofficial with low quality, where the official versions were composed slightly different and sung by different artists.[citation needed]
Release
The television rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV for ₹4 crore.[88] The film's distribution rights, as distributed by AVM Productions to various companies are ₹35 million (US$420,000) for the selling of rights to Kerala, ₹140 million (US$1.7million) for Andhra Pradesh and ₹139.5 million (US$1.7million) for the rights to Ayngaran, an international Tamil film distributor. The trailer was released by CNN-IBN on 30 May 2007 lasting for three minutes.[89] The official trailer was released by AVM to Galatta.com, the official online sponsor and Ayngaran International.[90] The film was supposed to be released on the Tamil New Year's day, 14 April 2007,[21][91] but due to post-production delays, the film was released worldwide on 15 June 2007.[92][93] On 15 July 2007, AVM Productions, the producers of the film, announced their decision to dub the film into Hindi.[94][95] That version was released on 8 January 2010.[93]
M. Satyamoorthy, on 9 July 2007, sought to stop the film being screened, claiming that it defamed the Indian National Congress, a political party, as well as its president, Sonia Gandhi, and the then Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. Satyamoorthy cited a scene in which portraits of Gandhi and Singh are visible behind Adiseshan's chair, implying that Adiseshan was a member of the Indian National Congress.[96] Satyamoorthy also claimed ₹500 million (US$6.0million) in damages from the film's producer, director and lead actor to be paid to the Tamil Nadu section of the party.[97] Jaya Rajadevan, one of the film's assistant directors, sought an injunction in civil court to stop screening of the film for alleged plagiarism. Rajadevan claimed that he had written the film's story and had discussed it with Shankar's manager in 2005.[98] Although the court sent notices to Shankar, among others, the screening of the film was not stopped.[99]
Special screenings
Rajinikanth used his political affiliations to screen the film for several politicians. He went to Hyderabad to showcase the film for the former Andhra PradeshChief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, on 14 June 2007.[100] At the screening, Rajinikanth told the media that he would invite the Chief Minister, Rajasekhara Reddy, for a special viewing as well. Rajinikanth said that he had screened the film to current and former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers, Dr. Karunanidhi[101] and Jayalalitha,[102] respectively, and that India's Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, was also keen to watch the film.[101] A private screening was also shown to Amitabh Bachchan.[103]Mammootty saw a special preview of the film at Shenoys theatre in Ernakulam. After the screening he says, "It is a very good commercial film. Rajnikant has a halo around him; the man is amazing, simple and straight forward with no starry airs."[104]
3D re-release
A 2012 re-release, also known as Sivaji 3D, was created by re-mastering the original to Dolby Atmos and post-converting to 3D format and cutting half an hour of running time.[105]Sivaji 3D is the first Indian film to be launched with the new Dolby Atmos platform.[98][106] The trailer of 3D version was launched on 13 August 2012 at Prasad Labs along with Rajinikanth.[107] The 3D version released on 12 December 2012, coinciding with Rajinikanth's birthday.[98][108] The runtime of 3D version was shorter than original, cut to two hours and thirty-five minutes.[109]
Box office
The theatrical rights of the film were sold for ₹26 million (US$310,000)[110] in Kerala and ₹80 million (US$960,000) in Andhra Pradesh. Worldwide, the film was estimated to have been released in about 750 screens.[22] The film opened to virtually full cinemas.[111]Sivaji was released in 303 screens in Tamil Nadu, 300 screens in Andhra Pradesh; 12 screens in North India and 145 screens across the rest of the world.[22][112] It was released in 16 screens in Chennai and grossed ₹1.35 crore (US$160,000) within the first four days, at that point a new record for Tamil cinema. The film also debuted well in Kerala and in Bangalore. Despite protests from pro-Kannada groups, the film debuted in 13 screens.[113] In the national capital, New Delhi, the film debuted on 4 screens in PVR Cinemas.[114] Based on what the distributors claim, there was "overwhelming response to the film", with the number of screens increasing to 12 by the second week.[115] The film made a good debut in the nation's other metros as well such as Mumbai[113] and Kolkata,[116] as well as in other non-traditional markets for Tamil films such as Pune[117] and Baroda.[118] The film grossed ₹ 4.07crore[citation needed] in two weeks; ₹ 8.5crore in five weeks,[119] and ₹ 10crore in seven weeks in Chennai.[citation needed]
Sivaji was also successful in international markets. The film had a wide release with over 145 prints and in 200 theatres (Tamil Version alone) in over 20 countries across South East Asia, Europe, North America, GCC and Australia and others, one of the widest release for an Indian film in the international markets. Internationally, Sivaji had good screenings in Malaysia.[120][121] grossing over US$2million in Malaysia,[122]Sivaji made a debut with 150 shows in Singapore.[123] In Sri Lanka, the film debuted across 70 screens with all 700 shows virtually sold out.[124] In the Persian Gulf that contains a sizeably large Indian diaspora, the film opened to a good response.[125] The film has collected over $8.5 Million from the overseas markets.
In Canada, the film released in 10 screens in 3 major cities along with special screenings for the Tamil diaspora in the smaller cities.[citation needed] In United Kingdom, the film debuted on the box-office list at No.9 with earnings of about £14,000 per screen and was the first Tamil film to enter UK Top 10. In United States, Sivaji was released in 24 screens with subsequent additions of 19 screens for the Tamil version.[126] The producers of the film claimed that the film was going to be dubbed in Chinese and Japanese by Ayngaran International, the holder of international rights of the film.[94] The response in Cape Town was disappointing, while the box-office collections in Johannesburg and Durban allowed it to become the first Tamil film to feature in the South African box-office top 10.[127]Singapore Airlines bought a 3-month exclusive in-flight screening rights to the film, a first for the airline for any Tamil film.[128]
In the UK, 13 seconds of the film was cut.[129] The original film showed Rajinikanth throwing a firecracker into his mouth, lighting it and then spitting it out at Pattimanram Raja, which was removed to give the film a 12A rating, The Ayngaran UK DVD release was uncut and given an 18 rating by the BBFC. It was also the first Tamil film to be officially released on a 1080p High Definition Blu-ray disc.[130]
The worldwide box office collection of Sivaji was ₹100—160 crore. The overseas distributor Ayngaran International reported collections as follows: US$2,000,000, Canada $500,000, UK$750,000, Europe and Gulf $750,000, Malaysia $2,000,000, Singapore $750,000, Sri Lanka $1,250,000, Australia, New Zealand & Thailand $250,000.[citation needed]Sivaji was released in South Africa in late July 2007 after six weeks of its release by the leading South African distributor Ster Kinekor with four prints and released in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.[131][132]
Critical response
Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu, in a review about the story, said that the lead character carrying out a rebellion against corruption was something "not be true to life". She concluded by saying that "the story sags towards the end". She, however, appreciated the performances of the prominent actors, the soundtrack, art direction, photography and the animation.[133] Ananth Krishnan, another review from The Hindu, a month after the film's release, said that the film "... presents an effective diagnosis of entrenched corruption but the rather disturbing remedy it offers is, good old vigilantism." It concluded by saying that, though the film did well at the box-office, the message of rejecting the corrupt system instead of reforming it was troubling.[134] T. S. V. Hari of Hindustan Times said that the director, Shankar, was not creative enough for the film and added this by saying "Sivaji turns out to be a rehash of all his previous jingoistic claptrap efforts". It appreciated the other technical departments and suggested a good response at the box office.[9]The Times of India had a similar review about the story saying that "it had nothing new to offer" but promised it to be entertaining and gave it four stars.[71] Nidarsana of Kalki praised the performances of Rajini, Vivek, Shriya and Suman, Vivek's humour while also praising Tharani's art direction, Anand's cinematography and Sujatha's dialogues but felt Shankar compromised a lot for Rajinikanth as the subject of black money is dealt just like that and due to story taking a backseat with Rajini taking the forefront, Sivaji feels deserted without Shankar's signature yet Shankar is on par with himself for portraying Rajini as larger than life.[135]
R. G. Vijayasarathy of Rediff.com summed the film by saying, "No logic, only Rajni's magic". About the story, he said, "Unfortunately, (the) message is lost in the maze of illogical and sometimes absurd sequences". The review, however, praised the performances of Rajinikanth, Shriya and Vivek and the technical crew.[136]Sify wrote: "There is only one hero here, [..]– Rajni himself. Such is the overpowering screen presence of his cinematic charisma in every frame of the film. The film works big time as Shankar has made the film on a grand scale, [..] which is a visual treat with superbly choreographed action scenes. All this comes with top-of-the-line techno-finesse, perhaps the best ever in Tamil cinema" and also wrote that "Technically, [..] a revelation [..] there are stunning visuals, which is paisa vasool. K.V.Anand's cinematography is top class. Art director Thotta Tharani work is enticing, especially the sets in songs".[83]Ananda Vikatan rated the film 41 out of 100.[137]
↑ The Economic Times claims the budget to be 600million.[1]The Telegraph estimated it to be 80 crore,[2] while India Today claimed it to be 890million.[3]
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled mannerism and one liners in films, he has a huge fan base internationally and has a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and the highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the 67th National Film Awards ceremony (2019) for his contributions to Indian cinema. He has won numerous film awards including seven Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Nandi Award and one Filmfare Award.
Chandramukhi is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language psychological horror comedy film written and directed by P. Vasu. It is a remake of Vasu's Kannada film Apthamitra (2004) which itself was remake of Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993). The film stars Rajinikanth, Prabhu and Jyothika along with an ensemble supporting cast, including Vadivelu, Nayanthara, Nassar and Sheela. It revolves around a woman who suffers from dissociative identity disorder that affects a family, and a psychiatrist who intends to solve the case while risking his life.
Anniyan ( transl. Stranger) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Vikram as a law-abiding lawyer who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and develops two other identities: a fashion model, and a murderous vigilante seeking to eradicate corrupution. The cast also includes Sadha, Vivek, Nedumudi Venu, Nassar and Prakash Raj.
Shankar Shanmugam, credited as S. Shankar or his mononymShankar, is an Indian film director, film producer, and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. In addition, he also worked in Hindi films and Telugu films. His films typically deal with contemporary social issues, vigilante themes, and the usage of state-of-the-art technology and VFX. He has won one National Film Award, four Filmfare Award South, and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards in his career. Six of his films have won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects.
Nayak: The Real Hero ( transl.Hero) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language political action film co-written and directed by S. Shankar and produced by A. M. Rathnam under the Sri Surya Movies banner. The film stars Anil Kapoor, with Rani Mukerji, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal, and Johnny Lever playing supporting roles. A remake of Shankar's 1999 Tamil-language film Mudhalvan, it focuses on Shivaji Rao Gaekwad (Kapoor), a television cameraman and, later, television presenter, who accidentally hears and records a conversation between the police and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Balraj Chauhan. While interviewing Chauhan about the issues, Shivaji is challenged to take over the chief minister's job for a day.
Padayappa is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Rajinikanth in the titular lead, with Sivaji Ganesan in his penultimate release, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya sharing other lead roles, while Lakshmi, Radha Ravi, Nassar, Abbas and Preetha play supporting roles. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman. The plot revolves around the title character and his family being targeted in a generations-long revenge by his cousin Neelambari, a narcissistic woman who was left humiliated after Padayappa rejected her love proposal as he was in love with her good-natured home worker Vasundhara.
Thota Tharani is an Indian art director, production designer and painter known for his work in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. With a career spanning over six decades, he is celebrated for his detailed set designs and visual storytelling. Tharani is recognized for his ability to create impressive sets while managing budget constraints, using innovative techniques to replicate expensive materials.
Gemini is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Saran with Pon Elango as assistant director. This film was produced by AVM Productions. The film stars Vikram in the main lead role, while Kiran Rathod, Murali, Kalabhavan Mani, Vinu Chakravarthy, Manorama and Thennavan portray significant roles. Based on gang wars in Chennai, the film delves into the lives of outlaws and the roles the police and society play in their rehabilitation and acceptance.
Billa is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Vishnuvardhan. It is a remake of the 1980 film of the same name starring Rajnikanth, which itself is a remake of 1978 Hindi film Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan. The film stars Ajith Kumar who plays a double role as an underworld don and his friendly look-alike alongside Nayanthara and Namitha, while Prabhu, Rahman, Adithya Menon, and Santhanam playing supporting roles. It is produced by L. Suresh and Abdurrahman M while featuring a score and soundtrack by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography by Nirav Shah and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad.
Sivaji: The Boss is the soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman for the film of the same name directed by S. Shankar, starring Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran and produced by AVM Productions.
Rajinikanth is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter and also a playback singer who has appeared predominantly in Tamil cinema. He began his film career by playing antagonistic and supporting roles before graduating to a lead actor. After starring in numerous commercially successful films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he has continued to hold a matinée idol status in the popular culture of Tamil Nadu. Writing for Slate, Grady Hendrix called him the "biggest movie star you've probably never heard of." Rajinikanth has also worked in other Indian film industries such as Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
Sivaji Productions was an Indian film production and distribution company based in Chennai. Established in 1956, it was involved mainly in Tamil and Hindi-language films until 2010.
Enthiran (transl. Robot) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the first instalment in the Enthiran film series. The film stars Rajinikanth in the main dual lead role as a scientist and the robot he created. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam and Karunas play supporting roles. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman while the dialogues, cinematography, editing and art direction were handled by Madhan Karky, R. Rathnavelu, Anthony and Sabu Cyril respectively. The story revolves around the struggle of a scientist named Vaseegaran to control his sophisticated android robot named Chitti, after Chitti's software is upgraded to give it the ability to comprehend and exhibit human emotions and to commission it to the Indian Army. The project backfires when Chitti falls in love with Vaseegaran's girlfriend Sana, and is manipulated by Vaseegaran's mentor Bohra into becoming homicidal.
Kuselan is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language dramedy film directed by P. Vasu. An official remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol (2007), it was produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages. Kuselan stars Rajinikanth in an extended guest appearance with Pasupathy and Meena. It also stars Vadivelu and Livingston in supporting roles. The film was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu.
Parasakthi is a 1952 Indian Tamil-language satirical drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, S. V. Sahasranamam, S. S. Rajendran, Sriranjani Jr., and Pandari Bai. It is the cinematic acting debut of Ganesan and Rajendran. Based on Pavalar Balasundaram's play of the same name, Parasakthi narrates the misfortunes that befall the members of a Tamil family during World War II.
S. P. Muthuraman, also referred to as SPM, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He has directed 72 films in Tamil. He was one of the most successful commercial directors in Tamil cinema. Initially he worked mainly with R. Muthuraman, Jaishankar, Sivaji Ganesan and went on to direct successful films with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
Success is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Suresh Prasanna. The film featured newcomer Dushyanth in the lead role, a grandson of actor Sivaji Ganesan, while Sonia Agarwal and Nandhana played supporting roles. The film released in September 2003.
Autobiography of an Actor: Sivaji Ganesan, October 1928 – July 2001 is the autobiography of Indian actor Sivaji Ganesan published by Sivaji Prabhu Charities Trust. It is told in a Q&A format between Ganesan and T. S. Narayanaswamy. The book was originally published in Tamil under the title Enathu Suya Sarithai on 1 October 2002, and the English translated version by Sabita Radhakrishna was released on the same date five years later.
Chatrapati Sivaji is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language historical drama television film directed by S. A. Kannan and written by Thanjaivannan. Based on the life of the Maratha warrior Shivaji, it stars Sivaji Ganesan in the title role. The film premiered on Doordarshan on 21 July 1974.
Billa (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2007 film of the same name directed by Vishnuvardhan starring Ajith Kumar, Nayanthara and Namitha. It is a remake of the eponymous 1980 Tamil film which itself is based on the Hindi film Don (1978). Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the musical score and soundtrack with the lyrics written by Pa. Vijay. The soundtrack consisted of two songs from the original counterpart remixed for the film, three original songs and a theme music. It was released on 21 November 2007 to critical and commercial success.
↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (3 December 2009). "Musings, the Muthuraman way". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2024– via www.thehindu.com.
↑ "Dubbed films bounce back". The Times of India. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. buyers lost nearly ₹ 40million by procuring Sivaji for ₹ 160million, as it failed to impress beyond the Nizam region
↑ Marostica, Jennifer (19 June 2007). "Sivaji is the boss in Singapore". TimesNow. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
