Coming Soon - Sivaji

It shouldn't come as any surprise that this is a 'Coming Soon' post I've been waiting to write for the last 2 years. I've been counting the days ever since the movie was announced and after the long wait and false starts, it is now certain that the BOSS will arrive June 15 (June 14 if you are in the US!). To be honest, there's not much more I can write about the movie that hasn't been written earlier, either on this blog or elsewhere. So everything in this post will probably sound repetitive but that's not gonna stop me :-)

Everything about Sivaji is big. Pick any aspect of the movie at random and chances are that you will have a superlative associated with it. For starters, the movie stars Rajnikanth, Tamil cinema's biggest star. Shrugging off the Baba debacle, he has just delivered Tamil cinema's biggest hit ever in Chandramukhi and his stock is at an all-time high. His renumeration for Sivaji is rumoured to have made him the highest-paid actor in India and the second-highest paid actor in Asia after only Jackie Chan. Its been more than 2 years since Chandramukhi reached theaters and so his arrival is eagerly anticipated.

With only a movie every two years, it is a given that any Rajni movie is big. But what makes this one bigger than all his recent movies is the fact that he is teaming up with Shankar, arguably Tamil cinema's most successful director(atleast commercially) right now. Like Rajni, he recovered nicely from the critical and commercial flop Boys to deliver one of the biggest hits of his career in Anniyan. For some time now, Rajni has been working with middle-rung directors who had no individuality or special touch and so, could easily adapt to making a movie that fit Rajni's larger-than-life image. For the first time since Thalapathi, he has joined hands with a director who has made a name for himself and has developed his own style and so expectations are naturally sky-high.

Joining the two is A.R.Rahman, easily India's most popular music director. Shankar is one of the directors for whom Rahman has consistently delivered some of his best work and he has risen to the challenge once again, delivering an eclectic soundtrack that did the tough job of satisfying Rajni fans as well as Rahman fans. As expected, the album is a huge hit and primed the expectations for the film.

Shankar's films are expensive and so a producer with deep pockets is necessary to ensure that the film doesn't run into any issues. He had no such worries this time around with AVM as the production company. AVM has had a long and mutually beneficial association with Rajnikanth with hits like Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja and Nallavanukku Nallavan filling their coffers as well as helping Rajni in his ascent to the position of box-office king. He is back with the respected production company after a long gap and the movie has had a smooth flow without any of the hiccups that other big movies like Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu had.

A team like the above will make sure that they work only with the best talent around and a look at the rest of Sivaji's crew confirms that. Dialogs are by Sujatha, who has delivered some memorable dialogs for Shankar's previous films. Cinematography is by National award winner K.V.Anand and set design is by Thotta Tharani. Peter Hein is responsible for the stunts, a crucial part of Shankar's masala films and editing is by Anthony, who has done a terrific job in putting together the trailer.

Shreya is Rajni's heroine in the film. She was incredibly lucky to get the role inspite of having had a not-too-spectacular debut in Mazhai and if her upcoming films are any indication, she seems poised to reap the windfall from this incredible stroke of luck. Vivek, who was hilarious in Anniyan, is once again playing the comedian. Suman, who has acted in a few Tamil films long ago but had a much more successful career in Telugu after that, is the bad guy. Manivannan and Vadivukkarasi are apparently playing Rajni's parents while Raja, who is a regular on the pattimandrams telecast on festival days, is acting as Shreya's father.

With only 2 more days to go, the long, agonizing wait is finally coming to an end. Now its upto Rajni and Shankar to ensure that the year's biggest movie also ends up being its most entertaining...