Vikram- On the edge!

shetty |

119 | December 6, 2006 at 9:31 pm | 6,119 views | NaachGaana Bol| Share

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http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14344499

In Kollywood, it is a thin dividing line between superstardom and just being a plain star. Some people say that it is like a Snake & Ladder game and is the survival of the fittest. The bottom line is box-office success and nothing else really matters.
Our Chiyaan Vikram is facing a mid-career crisis. His last release (on Nov 1, 2005)Majaa, a colossal flop was 400 days back! The actor took his own time and started the Lingusamy directed Bheema which was scheduled for release in August 2006. Then the release day was pushed to Diwali 2006 and today the film is just 60 percent complete!

Bheema is in big trouble and in deep financial crisis. Its producer A.M.Ratnam one time leading producer in Tamil and Telugu made a costly turkey early this year Bangaram in Telugu with Pawan Kalyan. After the colossal failure of the film Ratnam was squeezed by his financiers, which badly affected Bheema.

Ratnam’s financiers alleged that he diverted funds meant for Bheema to his sons Kedi which also bombed and then started work on another film Nandalala which is also subsequently shelved due to lacks of funds. Now the current position is everybody except Vikram seems to have lost interest in Bheema. Remember that when the film was launched, it was touted to be a big budget extravaganza with Nana Patekar Vs Vikram as the highlight. But Nana backed out as Ratnam could not even pay him an advance!

Then Prakash Raj was roped in and he shot for couple of days and disappeared. Lingusamy, the director is now concentrating more on Deepavali which he is producing. Harris Jayaraj the music director of the film has given just one out of five songs. Initially Vikram and Trisha were supposed to shoot the song in Canada, which may now be shot in a paddy field near Chengalpet!

Trisha is furious as she lost 40 days of her precious call sheet as had to sit at home as shooting got cancelled at the last minute. Now she has no immediate dates as she is doing Selvaraghavan’s Telugu film and Ajit’s Kireedom.

Meanwhile Vikram has gone into a sulk. Bheema will never make it for Pongal 2007. His film for producer Kalaipuli.S.Thanu is getting delayed and directors whose scripts he had cleared cannot wait any longer and have moved on to other projects. Unless he makes a superhuman effect like the real Bheema of Mahabharata and raise funds, the “Celluloid Bheema” will never see the light of the day!

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There Are 119 Responses So Far. »

qalandar 6 December 2006
09:35:51 pm

Thanks Shetty– I saw this last night…typical Sify, in four years I have never seen them write a positive piece on Vikram, wonder what their beef is?!

Quite frankly this reads like such a catalogue of disasters I find it hard to believe. Especially as there were other media reports that Vikram’s illness was the cause of at least one postponement.

That being said, given that Majaa didn’t do all that well at all, he surely needs a big hit.

Bad news about Nana, wonder what is going on…I would have liked to have seen the two of them together!

akshay shah 6 December 2006
09:42:20 pm

Guttered…no Nana:(! Poor Vikram…

satyam 7 December 2006
06:45:44 am

Agree on Sify, they continually misrepresent and distort when it comes to Vikram. Majaa was not a colossal flop by any stretch of the imagination. It was average/above average. I don’t believe anyone in the trade even expected a Samy here! They know Vikram inserts these ’speed-breakers’ from time to time. The true box office disappointment that he had in this sense was before Anniyan when Hari’s Arul released. Even this wasn’t a ‘colossal flop’ but of course an outright hit was expected here.

zero 7 December 2006
07:03:21 am

I’ve no reason to not believe this one, though. And, with Ajith scoring big with ‘Varalaaru’, it has become a Vijay vs. Ajith saga again. Definitely so, as far as fan-frenzy goes. Everyone (including Vikram fans) dubs Vikram as one who’d do meaningful cinema (some even say, next Kamal Haasan), and in that sense he’s bracketed with Surya.

Satyam, you might not agree here, but Chiyaan Vikram reign as the number one was quite shortlived (and pretty much ended with ‘Arul’). And, most of Anniyan’s success was attributed to Shankar, and rightfully so. As Vijay was steadily climbing since ‘Gilli’, it became an even game. But, now with Ajith getting back into business, Vikram’s not even level with Vijay & Ajith, I *guess*. I can only guess the last thing because he hasn’t had a release for a long time now.

zero 7 December 2006
07:26:59 am

And, Sify too hailed Vikram as the number one, back then, if I’m not mistaken.

qalandar 7 December 2006
07:39:22 am

Zero: after a string of disappointments, ONE Varalaaru puts Ajith ahead of Vikram??! I disagree.

Sify acknowledged Vikram as #1 because they had to, but even there they had quite a grudging attitude. Vijay basically does remakes of Telugu superhits, some work (Ghilli) and some don’t (I believe the Athadu remake tanked)…

satyam 7 December 2006
07:40:17 am

Zero: Well as you know I don’t agree in any sense. I don’t remember Sify hailing Vikram as the top star either. But they have tried to do everything else from asserting that Rajni is the true numero uno to the idea that Surya had stolen up on him.

Ajith by the way has tasted success for the first time since villain! I’m not going to list all the stuff he did in between!

Vijay was on life support till Gilli came along. Hasn’t had anything remotely comparable since though a couple of relative successes. The standing joke on him still is that he shouldn’t be touched if it isn’t a Telugu remake!

Your reading of Vikram’s career is certainly not something the Tamil audience reflects! And I haven’t read a single piece where the Anniyan credit was given only to Shankar! The scale of the film’s achievement is such that it would preclude any such, frankly preposterous, claim!

And you’re saying that his reign was short lived at the top. The last time we were arguing about this you weren’t even conceding he was ever the top dog!

Within TN the film media is always politicized. There are explicit camps that support one star or another. So it’s par for the course there. However even inline some of this partisanship comes to the fore. And Sify is the leader here!

qalandar 7 December 2006
07:41:58 am

I expect Ajith’s post-Varalaaru career to be exactly like his pre-Varalaaru career: numerous underperforming films, punctuated by a hit here and there. Though all these films will open well, as Ajith has always had his initial.

And Varalaaru is a superhit in Chennai, but it isn’t clear how it is faring elsewhere: reports suggest that the comedy is quite vulgar and low here, and I just don’t know how this is playing in the smaller centers. In any event that Ajith has sunk to this is sad, as he’s been in some pretty good films.

qalandar 7 December 2006
07:44:29 am

I don’t even think Ajith is in the same category as Vijay (it’s an insult to Vijay; Ajith needs a few more Varalaarus before I can seriously consider him a contender).

qalandar 7 December 2006
07:45:31 am

Satyam: not to mention that online or offline, everyone knows that Vikram and Vijay supporters are skeptical of the other guy’s claims…

zero 7 December 2006
07:52:33 am

I’ve opined on Ajith’s success streak myself. I always wonder (at NG too) how he comes back to the top league just after giving one hit after a string of superduds.

>>The last time we were arguing about this you weren’t even conceding he was ever the top dog!
This is rather unfair on me, Satyam. Here’s the Google cache of that post. Read it for yourself where I say his golden period was *shortlived*.
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=.....38;strip=1

qalandar 7 December 2006
07:54:29 am

The one thing Ajith does have is a loyal cadre of Ajithfans, such that all his films basically open pretty well, even if most of them ultimately go on to fail. But I hope Varalaaru’s success doesn’t mean he does more lewdfests…

zero 7 December 2006
07:55:59 am

I’m no fan (or even a supporter) of any of these folks, though I love Vikram as an actor.

I hate Ajith and the fact that he comes back to business with just a single hit (first, it was Villan and now, Varalaaru) after so many flops drives me nuts.

Qalandar, I’d like to believe that you’re right. Ajith hardly has the success rate that Vijay boasts of. But, this fella’s star status always puzzles me.

qalandar 7 December 2006
07:57:19 am

The film I am MOST looking forward to whenever it releases is Bala’s next…only thing is I wish it didn’t feature Aarya, didn’t like him in the one film of his I saw (PATTIYAL)…

zero 7 December 2006
07:59:09 am

Q, didn’t read your last comment.

>>The one thing Ajith does have is a loyal cadre of Ajithfans
Exactly. And, I’ve no idea when such a huge base got formed too. It’s even told (I’d drop a total disclaimer now from my side) that his fan base is strong because of the helping hand he lends to them. No explanation whatsoever.

qalandar 7 December 2006
08:00:49 am

I don’t know how “huge” that base is zero, but it certainly is dedicated.

zero 7 December 2006
08:01:38 am

I really disliked Arya’s performance in Pattiyal, and didn’t like the film too. But, I think he’s quite good (‘Arindhum Ariyaamalum’, ‘Ullam Ketkume’), and Bala, like Mani Rathnam even if not to that great an extent, can make stones act.

qalandar 7 December 2006
08:06:01 am

I liked Pattiyal quite a bit, but didn’t think much of Aarya…haven’t seen the other films you mention…

btw, Baradwaj’s point that he made a week or so ago on the Virumaandi threas on NG 1.0 is also valuable, about the Tamil industry being incredibly shy about releasing BO numbers. This is true, and relative to Hindi and Telugu films very few hard numbers are ever available, and thus public perception is prone to media manipulation; that might be one reason for the extreme partisanship in Tamil film media circles, as the stakes are higher…

zero 7 December 2006
08:09:07 am

Q, ‘Varalaaru’ was a terrible film.

>>I don’t even think Ajith is in the same category as Vijay (it’s an insult to Vijay; Ajith needs a few more Varalaarus before I can seriously consider him a contender).

Ajith has had strings and strings of flop, alright. But, his equation with Vijay is a long established one. Ajith was an established star with a lot of hits before he had a big slump. (It’s the sustenance of the fan-frenzy that baffles me.)
So, Vijay would take it up as a challenge rather than an insult. There has been songs which they’ve been “dedicating” to each other in films for a while now.

qalandar 7 December 2006
08:12:04 am

The one thing both Ajith and Vijay have in common is that they find it very difficult to get buzz-friendly, high-prestige projects the way a Surya (Gautam Menon’s next) or a Vikram (Shankar’s last one; Linguswamy’s next) manage to. They are like Salman Khan, who can maintain his position or not, but finds it very difficult to break into the top league because the big filmmakers for the most part won’t take him.

Haven’t seen Varalaaru, but the album by ARR was a huge disappointment to me.

zero 7 December 2006
08:15:23 am

Q, I really agree on the Tamil industry being incredibly shy about releasing BO numbers. That’s why I really confess my ignorance on numbers rather than looking to quote a credible source. My opinion are formed from, if there’s a particular place to point at, the common junta’s opinion. “Go ask anybody in TN,” that’s all I’d say in case I make a statement.

And, talking about numbers, we can’t put Vikram in Rajini’s league (50 cr league or whatever) just looking at Anniyan’s figures. Majority of that kind of success should go to Shankar. Even his films with Prashanth made huge money that the biggest of stars (except Rajini, of course) can’t directly assume.

zero 7 December 2006
08:24:06 am

And, if ‘Arul’ worked just about fairly at the B.O., then one can say that even the biggest flops of Vijay since ‘Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai’ — Badri, Youth, Bhagavathi, Vaseegara, Sivakasi etc. — has done the same. They all ran for more than 50 days in the major areas, I believe. (Except Udhaya, which was a came-after-5-years no-starter which vacated the theatres as soon as it came!)

qalandar 7 December 2006
08:25:29 am

I haven’t put Vikram in Rajni’s league. Few people, if any, are in that league (only Amitabh post-Deewar is in that stratosphere; don’t know enough about Chiru’s career to estimate that); the other main reason I don’t rank Rajni is that he does very few films these days.

On the “go ask anyone in TN” test, that’s fair– except it doesn’t account for local variations. Thus Surya’s films are super in Chennai, but traditionally he has not made much of an impact outside the biggest urban centers; Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu was humongous in Kamal’s traditional Coimbatore stronghold, and in Chennai, but reports were not encouraging from elsewhere. Thambi was a non-event in Chennai, but a fair number of reports suggest it did pretty well out in the boondocks…I suspect even Rendu is going to do better in the smaller centers than in Chennai (that last is just a prediction/hunch)…

zero 7 December 2006
08:30:29 am

>>The one thing both Ajith and Vijay have in common is that they find it very difficult to get buzz-friendly, high-prestige projects

Q, totally agree. The rift between guarantee on quality and guarantee on B.O. has been so wide apart that neither do they care to act in such prestige projects nor are they sought for by these filmmakers at the risk of “diluting” the film. But, they can live with this because they generate buzz themselves for their films.

Btw, Vijay had once said he has always been ready to work with Mani Rathnam and the like, but it’s only that he was never asked by them to do so. Well, life wasn’t that wicked, you see!

Arun 7 December 2006
08:30:39 am

Although I dont think Vikram’s facing any crisis as such,all these problems dont really augur well for ‘Bheema’.

satyam 7 December 2006
08:33:46 am

On Ajith the one point to be made clear about him is that his films always open well. And then fade. So he does have a base. On Varalaaru though I have a strong suspicion that Sify is exaggerating the success of the film.

Zero, “go ask anyone in TN” is hardly a verifiable way of looking at things! As for Shankar getting the credit, his other blockbusters are not even in the same league in terms of gross as Anniyan! And the film actually grossed more than Chandramukhi which gave sites like Sify palpitations! A few admitted it to be fair but this wasn’t generally true. Saying Shankar deserves most of the credit for Anniyan is like saying Manmohan Desai deserves most of the credit for AAA (since he was making superhits without Bachchan!).

Vijay’s flops do not make as much as an Arul. In fact most of the time Vijay’s flops aren’t even news. With Vikram every failure becomes an event. There can be no greater testament.

zero 7 December 2006
08:35:46 am

Of course, the local variations should not be accounted for, and it can be easily perceived. Surya’s films work in the urban centres, alright. But the presence of the “bigger” heroes is always there even when the films work. It’s not as if he betters Vijay or Ajith somewhere.

The variation is significant only when the concerned two stars are equal overall and have their own “favourite areas”, whatever that meant! And, that’s why I don’t judge who’s bigger among such stars.

Even in the last long “argument”, I had said he’s on the same plan as Vijay. And, now when I just say he might have lost it since there’s no buzz being generated at all on his future works.

Hell, who cares! Time to go watch ‘Vattaaram’ which presumably is bad. How bad it is, I’ve to see.

qalandar 7 December 2006
08:50:59 am

Yes Arun, which is a pity as Bheema seemed like a promising actioner…

qalandar 7 December 2006
08:52:01 am

Re: “most of the time Vijay’s flops aren’t even news. With Vikram every failure becomes an event. There can be no greater testament.”

Well said indeed.

Arun 7 December 2006
09:17:06 am

“most of the time Vijay’s flops aren’t even news. With Vikram every failure becomes an event. There can be no greater testament.”
I dont rate Vijay very high.Not only because most of his hits are remakes,but also his limited acting skills.
If you happen to watch the originals of his remakes,you’ll realise that he just copies the original hero,blatantly may I add.
The best example being Khushi,copied Pawan Kalyan’s style totally and Pawan did a much better job,believe me.

qalandar 7 December 2006
09:21:39 am

The only Vijay remake I saw was Ghilli, and although I won’t say he copied Mahesh Babu, he was not a patch on the original.

BUT, Ghilli had one thing OKKADU did not (forgive my spelling):

“Ipdi poda kannale
Asthi poda kayyathe” rollicking song, insanely catchy!

Arun 7 December 2006
09:43:26 am

Absolutely!! Really catchy number.
Was the flavour of the season,I remember.

Appudi podu podu podu
Asathi podu kannaale
Ippudi podu podu podu
Izhuthu podu kayyaale

qalandar 7 December 2006
09:52:54 am

Thanks for the correction! Guarantee my tune is better than my transliteration…

qalandar 7 December 2006
12:25:25 pm

Case in point: while this author refers to MAJAA as a “colossal flop”, India glitz had a different take a year ago, referring to it as having a “decent showing”:

“Vikram ready for Bheema
IndiaGlitz [Saturday, December 17, 2005]

After the decent showing of his hilarious entertainer Majaa, Vikram is now taking time to set his next, Bheema, rolling.

Supposedly an action-filled entertainer, Vikram says, ‘Bheema would be a movie for my hard-core fans. Impressive story with pulsation action sequences would be its highlight.’

Speaking about Majaa, Vikram says, ‘it was not a Vikram’s film. It is certainly different from my style. But was a neat entertainer. I don’t have any regrets doing such films’.

‘It was a conscious decision by me to do such a lighter stuff after a movie like Anniyan where I play everything’.

Asked on his proposed remake of Dileep’s Chandupootu, Vikram, says, ‘yes, I was impressed with the film. A performance -oriented film is Chandupottu. Like Kasi, I believe it would provide me enough scope to act and emote’.

But it seems it would have to wait.”

satyam 7 December 2006
12:48:20 pm

There were many sites that accepted this sort of rating on the film Qalandar. Plus NO ONE in TN is looking to Bheema keeping Majaa in mind. Everyone knows it was a low key effort from Vikram. This is why Arul has been the one disappointment in his career after Sethu. Nothing else that was so masala was less than a hit. By the way people conveniently forget that Shankar was really panned after Boys and needed a big one here. And of course he went for the biggest star. A first for him by the way. Before this he had never gone for the biggest box office stars. Of course he’s repeated the formula with Rajni, going even bigger!

satyam 7 December 2006
12:50:31 pm

Incidentally Vikram is oddly enough the closest you get to Aamir in the current Tamil scenario. The man is obsessive about planning his films! He could have three or four mass releases every year but he’s never taken that route. Vijay meanhwile has half a dozen every year. One or two are above average and they’re called hits!

akshay shah 7 December 2006
04:13:03 pm

Vikram rocks! Totally love this guy, I dont know about BO for tamil films, but comparing Vikram and Ajith seems a bit outrageous to me! As for ANNIYAN…to give Shankar credit for its success is just nuts….that movie ran on Vikrams performance….

Have not seen Vijay films, and don’t plan to either. Few clips I saw, he seemed like a B grade hero. I doubt he can be compared to Vikram!

Excellent discussion btw Q, Sattu and Zero!

Qalandar 7 December 2006
04:33:45 pm

The thing about Anniyan is, of course Shankar is a hit machine, BUT he was coming off a disappointing Boys that saw unprecedented public criticism of him, with some going so far as to file onscenity cases. He needed a sureshot, and in that kind of big budget big film over the top masala paradigm, Vikram is about as sure as it gets. So of course Shankar is Shankar, but Vikram is also Vikram, meaning that the whole script and scene of Anniyan revolves around Vikram. i.e. Anniyan is not Amitabh’s Sholay but his AAA or Lawaaris; the latter two films were also directed by very successful directors (around the time of AAA Desai directed the huge hits Dharam Veer and Chacha Bhatija, neither fo which featured Bachchan), but AAA and Lawaaris and Suhaag NEEDED a Big B to pull ‘em off. Just as Anniyan needed a Vikram. So certainly he gets the credit for its success. None of Shankar’s previous hit films — Indian, Gentleman, Muthalvan, Jeans — enjoyed the success of Anniyan… and it’ll take the Thalaivar himself to top it when Shivaji rolls around…holy god, what a beast that is gonna be! ARR + Shankar + Rajni– WTF?!

Qalandar 7 December 2006
04:37:15 pm

Re: “Excellent discussion btw Q, Sattu and Zero!”

sung to the tune of: “ek jaga jab jamaa ho chaaron: Q sat-too, zero, aur CHEEYAN…”

akshay shah 7 December 2006
04:48:03 pm

Haha..well said! and BEAST is the right word for SHIVAJI!!!

shetty 7 December 2006
09:27:25 pm

Completly agree with zero

shetty 7 December 2006
09:30:03 pm

“Ajith by the way has tasted success for the first time since villain!”

Not true infact he had Sucess with PARAMASIVAM & ATTAHASAM but not as big as VARALAARU.

shetty 7 December 2006
09:33:01 pm

On the other hand if you call Vikram’s ARUL & MAJAA as above average going by that parameter VIJAY & AJITH have not had flop so far!!!!!!

shetty 7 December 2006
09:36:53 pm

Going by current trend its competition between Ajith & Vijay for top slot while Vikram is distant third. (Considering Kamal & Rajani beyond number games)

Qalandar 7 December 2006
09:37:39 pm

How can Ajith be ahead of Vikram after one hit Shetty?

shetty 7 December 2006
09:38:11 pm

“most of the time Vijay’s flops aren’t even news. With Vikram every failure becomes an event”

Just in NG

Qalandar 7 December 2006
09:38:19 pm

One Varalaaru cannot make a trend IMO; Vijay is significantly ahead of Ajith, let alone Vikram.

shetty 7 December 2006
09:44:14 pm

Q Bhai,

We will consider last three films of all three

1. Vikram
Arul: good opening & ends up with Flop
Anniyan: Block buster
Majaa: Flop

2. Ajith
Paramasivam: Historic Opening (HIT)
Thirupati: Great opening (Average)
Varalaaru:Super Hit

3.Vijay
Thirupachi:Superhit
Sivakaasi:(great opening) Above average
Aathi: Flop

Now you decide yourself

BTW I Like Vikram. Infact He is my 2nd fav after Kamal. But Fact is Fact

shetty 7 December 2006
09:48:13 pm

If a Crap Film like Varalaaru creates record imagine Ajit’s BO pull.

Whatever may be the film But Ajit ensures Fabalous opening.

Qalandar 7 December 2006
09:56:15 pm

We agree to disagree Shettybhai, so let’s move on to a more fruitful discussion: Do you like Surya? what are your thoughts on him? and what about Mahesh Babu?

shetty 7 December 2006
10:01:08 pm

My Fav’s

Tamil: 1. Kamal
2. Vikram
3. Surya
4. Rajanikant
5. Ajith

Telugu 1.Cheeranjivi
2.Nagarjuna
3.Mahesh Babu
4.Venkatesh
5.Sumanth

shetty 7 December 2006
10:02:37 pm

Who are your fav’s Q bhai?

BTW have you seen Silanu oru Kadha

Qalandar 7 December 2006
10:04:58 pm

Thanks! I actually don’t know Venkatesh and Sumanth at all, and haven’t see much of Chiru…

My Tamil list (i.e. of my favorites) would be as follows:
1. Madhavan
2. Vikram (maybe 1 and 2 would be tied)
3. Surya
4. Kamal

Also, your thoughts on reports that Vijay and his dad try and bully theaters into retaining his films rather than replacing them with others? I ask because I remember back when AARU released I remember there was this controversy with some fans claiming that after AARU replaced SIVAKASI in 35 or so theaters Vijay threw a fit and put pressure (see e.g. the comments on this thread: http://bbthots.blogspot.com/20.....ml)– has anyone on NG ever heard of this?

Qalandar 7 December 2006
10:06:46 pm

I haven’t seen Sillunu oru Kadhal, the film got such frightful reviews and I was so irritated when I heard they mangled the videos of ARR’s great music here I decided to avoid it!

Maddy and Vikram are my favs, Surya is significantly behind at 3. Kamal I wouldn’t like to put on a list given his stature and seniority, but speaking as a PERSONAL fav I would put him at 4…

satyam 7 December 2006
10:07:01 pm

Shetty: Like all Ajith films after Villain Paramisvam got a good opening but sank after this. It wasn’t a hit by any stretch.

On Thirupachi check this out:

http://www.nowrunning.com/news/news.asp?id=2506

Again a lot of Vijay’s films open well and then fade. He doesn’t have a big one after Gilli. Ajith didn’t have won after Villain till now when he has Varalaaru (though this film isn’t creating any records!). Arul and Majaa did not do less then average. On the latter even Sify (usually anti-Vikram admitted as much)! Since Majaa did not open big like the usual Vikram masala films it actually stayed quite stable!

But as Qalandar said let’s move on. I can by the way produce links for all these claims.

Arun 7 December 2006
10:09:29 pm

Shetty..Sumanth????

I’d have Venkatesh above Mahesh and have Prabhas in Sumanth’s place.

Qalandar 7 December 2006
10:14:51 pm

Venkatesh over Mahesh? wow, must be good…for a newbie like me, could you guys recommend the BEST Chiru, Nagarjuna, and Venkatesh films to start out with?

How was Mahesh Babu’s dad Krishna?

shetty 7 December 2006
10:17:14 pm

Also, your thoughts on reports that Vijay and his dad try and bully theaters into retaining his films rather than replacing them with others? I ask because I remember back when AARU released I remember there was this controversy with some fans claiming that after AARU replaced SIVAKASI in 35 or so theaters Vijay threw a fit and put pressure (see e.g. the comments on this thread: …)– has anyone on NG ever heard of this?

Yes I read it in a newspaper. Actually Sivakasi had opened big But fell from 4th day and didnt pick up after that. (Majaa was a dud right from the word go) So theatre owners wanted to cash in by replacing both Sivakasi & Majaa with Aaru (which had carried a strong report & also Surya’s Previous Ghazni was Blockbuster)which came two weeks later.

But Vijay & his clan opposed this move bcos they thought SIVAKASI was running full house.

BTW Sivakasi completed 100 days in some 3 or 4 centres.

Qalandar 7 December 2006
10:18:34 pm

RE: “Vijay and his clan”

Does Vijay come from a filmi family? i.e. his dad’s a producer?

shetty 7 December 2006
10:19:18 pm

Mahesh Babu’s Father KRISHNA was Like Jeetendra . Most of his films were Hit but the competition for top slot was between NTR & ANR.

shetty 7 December 2006
10:21:02 pm

Yes Vijay’s dad is producer cum Director (SA Chandrasekar)

Producer Kam Director zyaada.

BTW He gave vijay his biggest flop AATHI

shetty 7 December 2006
10:22:42 pm

“Shetty..Sumanth????”

Yeah arun he reminds me of Manoj Bajpai & I have seen his one film (i forgot the title) & enjoyed it

shetty 7 December 2006
10:24:05 pm

“could you guys recommend the BEST Chiru, Nagarjuna, and Venkatesh films to start out with?”

This Arun has to do.

Maximum i have watched 25 telugu movies

shetty 7 December 2006
10:27:13 pm

“I haven’t seen Sillunu oru Kadhal, the film got such frightful reviews”

On the contrary i thought it was okay. I watched this for surya’s sake & and he didnt disappoint

Arun 7 December 2006
10:30:09 pm

Here’s the Chiru list,Q Bhai.
Subhalekha,Chantabbai (watch this rightaway..a helluva entertainer), Swayamkrushi (One of his best ever),Rudraveena,Gang Leader ( a great masa;a movie),Aapathbandhavudu,Muta Mesthri,Mugguru Monagallu (another great comedy..had a triple role in this ), Hitler,Master,Bavagaaru Bagunnara,Choodalani Vundi,Sneham Kosam,Indra,Tagore.

Woot! That’s a big list . You can start out with either Chantabbai ( a total laugh riot ) or Swayam Krushi (a stunning performance by him,also a great movie )

shetty 7 December 2006
10:30:15 pm

“Like all Ajith films after Villain Paramisvam got a good opening but sank after this. It wasn’t a hit by any stretch.”

If you mean only in Chennai centre then i agree.

But overall PARAMASIVAM was a hit

shetty 7 December 2006
10:34:55 pm

Arun, you have forgot GHARANA MOGADU

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:38:29 pm

The discussion gets better each time I come..

My list for faves..

1) Kamal Hassan
2) Vikram
3) Surya
4) Maddy(small margin, though Surya and Maddy are always even in my books)
and thats it! I plan on seeing ALL Rajni films from 2007 onwards(been my dream to see Rajnis Tamil stuff since college days) to get a better idea.

Only seen a handful of dubbed movies from Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Nagarjun and ONE Mahesh Babu film so no comments yet on them.

Vijay=MEH! Dont think I could stand that guy. Ajith I like from what ive seen in VAALEE only…

A.Shah

shetty 7 December 2006
10:38:58 pm

Gangleader = Aaj Ka goondaraj
Hitler = Kroadh (suniel shetty)
Aapathbandhavudu = Hatya
Bavagaaru Bagunnara = Bandhan (salman)
Choodalani Vundi= Calcutta Mail (anil kapoor)

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:39:29 pm

The thought of Vijay vying for the top spot is kinda scary..that dude looks REALLY untalented!

Aside from Amitabh Bachcha, I would go as far as to say Vikram is the most “watchable” actor for me on a personal level apart from Sanjay Dutt! The guy is just so damn magnetic

A.Shah

Arun 7 December 2006
10:40:17 pm

Ohh Yeah,Shetty! Sorry..Thats also a classic Chiru.
There’s also Jwala,Khaidi No.786,Challenge,Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu and Im sure Im forgetting some,just soo many films

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:40:19 pm

Thanks Shetty! AAJ KA GOONDARAJ rocked! Didnt like KROADH much though I can see it working with a “massier” star!

BANDHAN sucked(though became a hit)

A.Shah

Arun 7 December 2006
10:42:46 pm

Yeah Shetty,But Guys Pls dont judge those films from their remakes..Go Watch the originals.
Bavagaaru Bagunnara = Bandhan (salman)
Choodalani Vundi= Calcutta Mail (anil kapoor)
Hitler = Kroadh (suniel shetty)

The originals was wayyy better than the remakes.

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:45:20 pm

Thanks Arun…CALCUTTA EXPRESS was a pretty good movie I thawt!

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:49:07 pm

BTW–Please dont tell me Chiranjeevis name in the movie HITLER, was HITLER?????

shetty 7 December 2006
10:50:08 pm

But there are two Chiru movies i hated most

1. Bigboss
2. Rikshavodu

Arun 7 December 2006
10:52:35 pm

Nope It Wasn’t

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:53:41 pm

Bigboss?LOL….and why was the movie called HITLER then?

Arun 7 December 2006
10:57:07 pm

Cuz he was a Hitler-ish guy

akshay shah 7 December 2006
10:59:07 pm

Lol…k..some of these Telugu titles crack me up! STALIN…HITLER..hehe

Arun 7 December 2006
11:02:36 pm

Hitler was a remake of a Malayalam film with the same title.So,You’ve to lodge ya’ complaints there

shetty 7 December 2006
11:10:24 pm

Hitler was a remake of a Malayalam film with the same title.So,You’ve to lodge ya’ complaints there

Arun,I was typing the same reply you beat me

Qalandar 7 December 2006
11:24:11 pm

Thanks a lot guys! I am bookmarking this thread so I’ll have a ready list of chiru films to attack during the holiday season!

akshay shah 7 December 2006
11:39:37 pm

I remember Chirus GENTLEMAN with Shankar at helm..wicked film..superb music!

zero 7 December 2006
11:48:13 pm

Just a clarification on where I stand. I don’t think Vikram’s career is in an acute crisis or something. My point was only that he’s definitely not the sole superstar in Kollywood.
But, ‘Bheema’ certainly seems to be deep soup, if you ask me. That’s where I concur with this article.

On Chiranjeevi, I haven’t watched too many Chiru movies, but I’m curious about ‘Choodalani Vundi’ which Sudhir Mishra remade in Hindi. I thought Sudhir Mishra inverted the quintessential hero-based theme to a film noir of sorts rather very well. If not for the songs and Rani Mukherjee, I think it would have been really good.

Arun 7 December 2006
11:52:44 pm

Choodalani Vundi was a very good movie with some great performances by Chiru and Soundarya (Man! I miss her ).It was also shot in Calcutta.Some sequences between Chiru and Soundarya at the chawl there were really good.

shetty 8 December 2006
12:15:16 am

Exactly my point zero

shetty 8 December 2006
12:19:06 am

Re “But, ‘Bheema’ certainly seems to be deep soup,”

‘Bheema’ ka Kheema Banadaala

Sameer 8 December 2006
12:48:06 am

AS: Chiru’s GENTLEMEN with Shankar? Shankar made Gentleman with Arjun in Tamil and Mahesh Bhatt did the remake in Hindi. He literally used some action scenes directly from Tamil movie and far off shots to save cut down his budget,lol. Chiru never worked with Shankar.

Arun: I guess you know that Choodalani Vundi is the same movie later remade in Hindi as Calcutta Mail with Anil and Rani. But, Sudhir (Mishra) made some changes.

Arun 8 December 2006
12:54:23 am

Yep,Sameer.I do know that and though the movie was okay,I do prefer the original

Sameer 8 December 2006
01:01:54 am

I believe everyone hated Choodalani Vundi when it released and yet it became a huge hit. Also, is Stalin flop now? Is Chiru still at top? How is Mahesh babu’s Sainikudu doing?

Arun 8 December 2006
01:21:13 am

Chiru is still at top,more so after Stalin’s success (Yeah,It is a hit.Has grosses about 30 cr in 3 weeks).
Sainikudu isn’t doing well at all and will most probably be a flop.Even Mahesh’s fans havn’t liked the movie and that isn’t good for the movie’s fate at BO.

akshay shah 8 December 2006
03:15:30 am

Sameer: Thanks for the correction. I never knew Mahesh Bhatt directed THE GENTLEMAN!!! I always thought it was S.Shankar who did both..did the Hindi version of the movie work at the BO?

Arun: STALIN is a success? Whoa! It got slammed by critics from what I read. I haven’t heard good things about Mahesh Babus SAINIKUDDU, I just saw my first Mahesh Babu movie the other day-OKKADDU and it rocked!

A.Shah

shetty 8 December 2006
04:29:53 am

“did the Hindi version of the movie work at the BO?”

It ended Cheeranjivi’s Hindi carrer.

akshay shah 8 December 2006
05:28:00 am

LOL…thanks Shetty! Though a few Chiru movies did get DUBBED Into hindi right? like INDRA-THE TIGER?

A.Shah

shetty 8 December 2006
07:47:42 am

Yep Akshay Bhai

Qalandar 8 December 2006
08:03:10 am

I try and avoid these dubbed films altogether, they do a really bad job…subtitling is just sooooo much better…

shetty 8 December 2006
08:05:57 am

“subtitling is just sooooo much better…”

They did it (subtitling) for Kandukondein kandukondein and the movie became HIT in Mumbai

Qalandar 8 December 2006
08:08:15 am

Yeah I heard about that! Plus Kannathil Muthamittal was played with subtitles from the NFDC at 1-2 cinemas in Mumbai too…

shetty 8 December 2006
08:14:51 am

Guess what Kannathil Muthamittal was played with Subtitles Even in Chennai

Qalandar 8 December 2006
08:16:26 am

wow, that’s pretty cool…

007 8 December 2006
08:36:27 am

I wish they did the same here in NY. As I am not a Tamil or Telegu speaker, I always have to wait for the DVD. I wish I could watch some of those in the theater.

zero 8 December 2006
08:38:45 am

Not to forget that we don’t get to hear the actual dialogue that’s being spoken in the actual voice. It makes a lot of difference to me.

Qalandar 8 December 2006
08:40:51 am

Absolutely agree zero. The sound of the original language is a must IMO, not only to gauge the performances but also as part of the film’s feel. I cannot imagine watching a Virumaandi or a Pithamagan and hearing Hindi!

007 8 December 2006
08:41:04 am

zero: yes, you are absolutely right as sometimes you miss even in translations.

Qalandar 8 December 2006
08:41:16 am

007: Re: watching in cinemas: you and me both bro! It’s very frustrating I must say…

007 8 December 2006
08:41:59 am

Q: agreed

007 8 December 2006
08:43:29 am

Q: I could only watch the first half of Athadu last night. So far it’s pretty interesting. Mahesh Babu is a bit wooden though. I think he is best at beating the hell out of others and he dances with great energy as well

007 8 December 2006
08:45:59 am

Q: The other thing I wanted to tell you was I have been listening to the Guru CD every single day for the last one week. I think the more you listen to it the more you get “into” it. I think most Allah Rakha’s songs are like that.

Qalandar 8 December 2006
08:49:33 am

I liked Athadu more than Pokiri, although the middle section (reminiscent of A Walk in the Clouds is pretty flat)…

shetty 8 December 2006
08:51:00 am

Planning to watch King(vikram) today that too with subtitles.

shetty 8 December 2006
08:52:40 am

Re:”I liked Athadu more than Pokiri”

I liked Okkudu more than Pokiri & Athudu.

shetty 8 December 2006
08:54:09 am

Some years back I watched One movie of Mahesh Babu (Cowboy style) I forgot the name but enjoyed that movie

007 8 December 2006
08:57:34 am

shetty: Please let us know if you like King. I would love to watch it.

shetty 8 December 2006
09:01:57 am

007: I have already watched it two years back (without subtitles offcourse) nothing special in it.

BTW have you watched Vikram’s Pithamagan(excellent) Saamy (good) Dhool (good masala entertainer) Samurai, Kadhal sadugudu, Gemini, Dil ???

Qalandar 8 December 2006
09:06:24 am

Shetty: me too: My ranking Is OKKADU, followed by ATHADU followed by POKIRI.

007 8 December 2006
09:21:10 am

I have only seen Samurai and Saamy form that list. I enjoyed both.

Qalandar 8 December 2006
09:24:56 am

007: if you enjoyed those you will 100% enjoy DHOOL and DHILL as well. Check out GEMINI too…

But drop everything and watch Bala’s films: PITHAMAGAN, NANDHA, and SETHU. Intezaar kis ka hai jaani?

007 8 December 2006
10:05:36 am

Q: Jab haan keh day gi meri Raani

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