 1000 Rajini fans to watch Sivaji for free
Sivaji 4 Crores from 10 Days in Kerala
Sivaji the magnum opus by Rajnikanth has collected over four crores from its ten days run in Kerala. This amount is a share of around 2 crores to its distributor Johny Sagariga who acquired the films rights at around 3 crores.
The film which started in a record 86 centres in the state has now been reduced to 52 centres as, in around 28 centres the film was released in either two or more theatres.
In the Thiruvananthapuram city, the film is still attracting audiences in three release centres and it has grossed around 18 lakhs from the capital itself.
The highlight of the run is that for the first time in Kerala a Rajni film is attracting the family audiences who are pouring into the theatres in masses.
The heavy rain that the state, have these days have not made big differences in collections even though it could have made a deficit of 30-50 lakh in total collections.
The film will become a profit to its Kerala distributor just by a run of three weeks in Kerala.
http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/article/32000.html
Different type of Rajini fans at Mumbai
Dr S Natarajan, Chairman & Managing Director Of Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Pvt Ltd, Wadala, Mumbai Is A Fan Of Rajinikanth. He Saw The Movie On The First Show With His Tamil Friends And Hosted A Dinner. Not Only That, He Kept A Cut-Out At The Entrance Of Arora Theatre, King Circle, Mumbai With A Message To The Rajini Fans To "Pledge/Donate Their Eye Today"...& Created Eye Donation & Eye Care Awareness. Thiru D. Sivanandan Ips, Thane Police Commissioner Appreciated Dr Natarajan's Public Interest.
Thiru D. Sivanandan Ips, Thane Police Commissioner; Dr S Natarajan & Sivaji North India Distributor Thiru Nambi Rajan At Arora Theatre, King Circle, Mumbai)
Mr.D.Sivanandan Ips, Thane Police Commissioner Saw Sivaji Movie At Arora Theatre, King Circle, Mumbai & Enjoyed The Movie. Sivaji North India Distributor Thiru Nambi Rajan Presented A Bouquet To Mr.D.Sivanandan And Dr S Natarajan, Chairman & Managing Director Of Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Pvt Ltd, Wadala, Mumbai. Mr Nambi Rajan Said Sivaji Is A Grand Success In North India And Am Very Happy.
Dr S Natarajan, Thiru Nambi Rajan, Thiru D.Sivanandan & Mr Ganesh At Arora Theatre, King Circle, Mumbai.
Article from leading news paper in malaysia
Though the number of people outside south India who follow Tamil cinema is limited, the Rajni hysteria poured out of newspapers and magazines nationwide.
OH, WHAT a hysteria! And over a mere movie? Never before in living memory has any film obsessed so many Indians as has the latest Rajnikanth starrer Sivaji: The Boss.
Easily the most expensive movie ever made in India at a cost of about Rs80 crores (RM67.9mil), and starring the country's highest paid star, who pocketed nearly Rs20 crores (RM16.9mil) as his fees,
Sivaji opened to a great build-up mid-June in over 700 theatres across the country.
And immediately tens of thousands of Rajni fans, film trade pundits and ordinary cine goers declared in unison that it would be the biggest box-office grosser yet for Tamil cinema.
Weeks before the actual release of the movie on June 16, there was palpable excitement in Tamil Nadu and beyond. The print and television media noted how Rajni fans performed pujas, broke coconuts, and poured milk over large-sized wooden cutouts of the actor outside theatres slated to screen the movie.
And how the actor himself offered prayers at the historic Tirupathi temple along with the prints of Sivaji, carried on elephant-back in a procession as tens of thousands cheered the Boss, as the actor is popularly called by the fans.
Such unparalleled hysteria proved contagious for the mainline English language press, too. Though the number of people outside south India who follow Tamil cinema was expectedly limited, the Rajni mania poured out of newspapers and magazines which minutely noted the former Bangalore bus conductor's meteoric rise as south India's greatest actor.
Starring in his 100th Tamil film, Rajni tried his luck in Hindi cinema too in the 70s and 80s, though without much success. Overall, he has done about 170 films.
But the star, who was born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to Marathi parents, has emerged due to sheer good fortune, and some talent for gimmicky histrionics, as Tamil cinema's biggest money-spinning one-man industry.
Indeed, nobody in Bollywood, which has a bigger domestic and international market, commands the kind of fees the 57-year-old Rajni does.
Neither Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's highest paid actor, nor anyone in the Khan trio of Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman, gets paid over Rs15 crore (RM12.7mil) per film as Rajni does.
Bachchan gets up to Rs6 crores (RM5mil) per film. The fees of the Khan trio range between Rs3 crores and Rs5 crores (RM2.5mil and RM4.23mil) per film. But then Bachchan does about half a dozen films every year while Rajni's average now is about one film every two years.
Even in technological inputs, Rajni's films are often ahead of their Hindi counterparts. Sivaji: The Boss, for instance, was made in Super 35 cinemascope format with the latest processing and scanning skills, and with a very high-pixel resolution.
Produced by one of the oldest film companies, AVM Productions, no expense was spared to make the ageing star look much younger than his 57 years. The director of the movie, S. Shankar, had earlier directed Rajni in a hit movie.
Both Shankar and the music director of Sivaji, the celebrated A.R. Rehman, are highest paid in their respective lines in Tamil cinema. A French hair stylist was tasked to design Rajni's hair. A well-known Mumbai fashion designer was hired to design costumes.
The dark-skinned hero with a prominent paunch and a bald pate, was made to look like a western youth in Sivaji, thanks to superior technology and clever make-up. A substantial sum was spent devising different wigs for the balding Rajni to don in the movie.
Not unlike his earlier hits, the story line of his latest offering too is rather thin. Broadly, the plot runs something like this:
Sivaji (Rajni) is a successful IT professional in the United States who returns to India imbued with the ideal of sharing his immense wealth with the poor in his native land.
However his attempts to start an IT institute and a hospital with his own money are obstructed by a corrupt system with bureaucrats and policemen seeking bribes at every step. Inevitably, there is a foul villain.
But a determined Robin Hood-like hero vanquishes all that comes in his way so that he can lavish his own hard-earned money on the welfare of his compatriots.
Though by law the maximum price of a cinema ticket for a Tamil film cannot exceed Rs100 (RM8.49), there were reports galore of tickets selling in the black market at five times the actual price. The fact that both the Chief Minister M. Karnuanidhi and the Opposition leader, J. Jayalalithaa saw the film at separate screenings specially organised for them added to the fanfare around Sivaji.
According to trade pundits, Sivaji could end up making Rs150 crores (RM127.4mil) in the first three or four weeks alone. Of a total of 760 prints, 303 were released in Tamil, 300 in Telugu, 145 abroad, including Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and 12 in north India.
Distributors are said to have paid about Rs60 crores (RM50.9mil) while overseas rights were sold for Rs18 crores (RM15.2mil) and satellite television rights were sold for Rs4 crores (RM3.39mil). Sivaji is the most expensive film ever made in India, outstripping the highest Bollywood grosser Sholay of the mid-70s.
Rajni, his 1.5 million fans organised in over 15,000 fan clubs notwithstanding, is known not as much for his emoting skills as for his gimmicky mannerisms.
The front stalls swoon with delight when he spins cigarettes in the air � in deference to the health ministry, chewing gum replaced cigarettes in Sivaji � or performs humanly impossible feats like saving a damsel in distress by flinging a soda bottle which assumes a trajectory of its own to bend the curve before flattening the villain into a wobbly mess.
But most Indian films being far away from the bleak reality of everyday humdrum life, it is however Rajni's oeuvre on celluloid which is pure essay in escapism. You watch his films for thrills. And the star invariably does not let down his fans.
Most cleverly, anyone watching Sivaji is given a 45-second peek into his next film, Sultan, The Warrior. A 3-D animation film, it features Rajni playing a mythological hero vanquishing all evil in typical Rajni style.
It is the first ever animation film featuring an Indian actor and is set to enhance the filmy persona of Rajni.
The Boss rules the box office
Rajini, the Boss of South Cinema proves his supremacy at the box office every day. His blockbuster Shivaji has been nearing Rs.30 crores within 10 days in Tamil Nadu alone.
Film pundits claimed that this is an all time record in Indian cinema. In other states and abroad too, Shivaji has created many new records. Interesting,
most of the previous records were created by superstar Rajinikanth.
Shivaji, produced by prestigious production house AVM with superstar Rajini is said to be the most expensive film in Indian Cinema. The budget of the movie is nearly 80 crores including the cost of the superstar.
It was released all over the world with more than 1000 prints. Lakhs of Indians staying in different parts of the world celebrated the release of Shivaji like a festival. In USA, the response was amazing. In Germany, Shivaji is the first film which is shown for more than 100 shows. In Britain, it is the first Tamil film to make it to the UK Top 10 listed by BBC.
Now, the collection reports from all parts of the world have come. All the distributors invariably said that they have earned 100 percent profit from Shivaji.
In Tamil Nadu alone, the theatre collection of Shivaji is nearing Rs.30 crores in just 9 days. It stands high in the box-office list. It is expected to earn a
profit of Rs.140-150 crores in theatrical release alone.
Sivaji�s collection is more than the monsoon rain, in Kerala.
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/tamil/exclusive/shivaji-box-office-260607.html
"Sivaji" Still Going Great Guns Despite "Transformers" Fever
29 Jun ? While "Transformers" is the movie sensation this week, Tamil blockbuster "Sivaji: The Boss" is still going great guns, with many halls sold out at various cinemas both in the small towns and the Klang Valley.
Checks with cinema managers in the Klang Valley revealed that there are still many Rajinikanth fans clamouring to catch the movie.
A patron, who wished to remain anonymous, said he came all the way from Kajang to GSC Mid Valley for Sivaji tickets tonight because he could not get any tickets to the movie in Klang, Federal KL or Coliseum KL. Waving his prized ticket to this reporter, he said: "You won't stand a chance to get this ticket today, because I had been waiting for hours to get it!"
However, Coliseum cinema manager Sofie Babu told Cinema Online that although "Sivaji" is still doing well at his outlet, there should be tickets available during the weekdays. "We get full houses in the weekend," he said, adding that the movie will probably be showing for another two weeks to cater to the demand.
Mohd. Zaheer seen on the second screening day at Coliseum Ayub Khan doing the 'Rajni' sign beside his stall
Two roti canai makers from Section 17, Petaling Jaya, shared their "Sivaji" sentiments with Cinema Online. Speaking on the phone, Mohd. Zaheer said, "I'm now currently based in Singapore but I'm so glad to have caught the show at Coliseum KL when it opened. Many of my friends have still not seen it because they are only free on weekends and that's when it's always a full house!"
Ayub Khan said "...this is 'Rajni', for an Indian it is very exciting to see this film. I have seen it and it's very, very good! I want to see it again but it's always so crowded."
"Sivaji: The Boss" opened nationwide on 15 June, amidst reports of unruly crowds causing damage to cinemas in Klang, Rawang and Coliseum KL.
Cinema Online, 30 June 2007
http://www.cinemaonline.com.my/news/news.asp?search=sivaji_strong
Sivaji is the boss in Delhi too!
NEW DELHI: The Periya Thalaivar (the Big Boss) of Tamil cinema Rajnikant has created a record of sorts, his phenomenal popularity spilling out from the southern belt and sweeping the capital if the number of theatres screening his latest blockbuster is any indication.
Sivaji-The Boss which was released in only two multiplexes in Delhi and one in Gurgaon last week is now being screened in more than 12 halls across the capital.
Shalu Sabharwal, vice president, sales and marketing, PVR Cinemas says "It is the huge demand from the audience that prompted us to release Sivaji in more halls. The film is really good. I watched the film and liked it very much."
Produced at a whopping 90 crores, Sivaji, the most expensive Indian film was in news for quite some time and analysts point out that the coverage given to the film by the North Indian media has played a pivotal role in its huge success here.
Cutting across language barrier North Indians too are coming in large numbers to catch the action. Even though the film is being screened without subtitles the non-Tamilian audience is not missing much.
Some scenes of the film were shot in Chhattarpur and R K Puram areas. "I remember Rajanikant fans flocking in from different parts of the capital during the film's shooting here," says M Natesan, general secretary of the Tamil Youth Cultural Association, a wing of Delhi Tamil Sangam.
"Almost all of the 11 lakh Tamilians in Delhi have watched the film in the first week itself" he adds.
The antics of style mannan, king of style, Rajanikant seems to have gone down well with the North audience. "Rajanikant is a phenomenon. There is a sizeable chunk of fan following for the star in North India too" says PVR's Shalu.
Moreover the lacklustre performance of the much anticipated film Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom has added to the success of Sivaji, she adds.
The story of Sivaji-The Boss revolves around Sivaji (Rajani), an NRI computer wizard, who comes back to his homeland with a dream to set up free educational and medical institutions.
He has to confront the vile ways of a scheming politician, Adhiseshan (Suman) who creates all sorts of problems for him and even manages to turn Sivaji into a pauper. How Sivaji rises from the ashes and metes out his revenge is all what the film is about.
Vinod Babu, MD, Inox, Chennai says "The combination of Rajanikant, director Shankar and A R Rahman had made Sivaji-The Boss the most anticipated film of the year. And it has lived up to the hype."
The film has been released in 20 theatres including multiplexes in Chennai alone. It has registered the biggest ever opening for any Tamil film.
"It is still very early to say whether Sivaji will surpass the record of Rajani's prior release Chandramukhi which is still running successfully after 800 days of its release" Babu says.
"Sivaji has registered 80 percent collection in the very first week of its release" says Ashish Saxena, COO, films division, PVR Cinemas. "Owing to its good show we have increased the number of screens and number of shows in the northern region" he adds.
The overwhelming response to the film is also viewed as an opening up of the North Indian viewers to the films from South. "If films like Sivaji comes we will certainly consider releasing it in Delhi" says Shalu.
"Sivaji has come as a great recognition to the iconic star whose fan following cannot be matched by any other actor in the world.
This film has compelled the sceptical audience of North India to stand up and take notice of this star, Rajanikant, and give him his due that was long eluding him" says Natesan
Source : http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEL20070624032245&Page=E&Title=Startrek&Topic=-497
Sivaji making record in Mayajaal
Hong Kong Screening Sivaji The Boss
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