Kandhasamy betters Sivaji, in 18 city theatres

Vikram-Shriya starrer Kandhasamy, it seems like, has overtaken the opening collection and release records that the superstar set with 'Sivaji The Boss'.

'Kandhasamy', which finally hit screens on Friday, created a record in Tamil cinema by being released in 18 theatres in Chennai alone. It also had a huge international release, covering over 900 theatres world-over (in Tamil and Telugu)!

Such a theatrical release, coupled with the overwhelming opening revenues it has generated, has so far remained the preserve only of Rajinikanth. It is for the first time that a Vikram film, despite the actor not having delivered a hit after 'Anniyan' in 2005, has received such a response. Produced by Dhanu’s V Creations, 'Kandhaswamy' is a superhero flick directed by 'Thiruttu Payale' fame Susi Ganeshan.

“For the first time in Tamil cinema’s history, a film has been released in 18 theatres in the city. The film which came closest to this was Rajini’s blockbuster 'Sivaji The Boss', which was released in 17 theatres in Chennai,” says popular distributor Abirami Ramanathan, who has bagged the city distribution rights for the film at a whopping Rs 4 crore. He had earlier bought the rights of 'Sivaji The Boss' as well, which also starred 'Kandhasamy’s heroine Shriya, along with Rajinikanth. 'Kandhasamy', which is being released extensively abroad as well, in Malyasia, USA, Dubai and Sri Lanka (in that order of importance), has been released with an eye to quickly retrieve the money spent on it.

Speaking to Express, producer Dhanu says “The distribution pattern is such that we can recover our production amount in two-and-a-half weeks.” Ask him for the money spent on making the film, and he says “It is definitely a higher budget film that Rajini’s 'Sivaji The Boss', where biggies like Rajinikanth, Shankar and AR Rahman were involved. We didn’t spend so much on the cast or technicians, but the film has been shot lavishly in Mexico,” Industry sources say the film has been made at a budget of over Rs 40 crore.

For Vikram fans, who’ve been a disappointed lot with no hit from him after 'Anniyan', it was a red lettered day. Though their actor couldn’t make it to Chennai at the time of the release, the fans let their adulation known by creating a record in the advance booking. “We opened bookings on Sunday for the film and in the next 12 hours, 1,40,000 tickets were sold, generating Rs 95 lakh. This is also a record in Chennai,” Ramanathan says. But the similarity and comparison with Sivaji seem to have extended to the audience too, who thought 'Kandhasamy' was pretty much like Sivaji, the story of a hero playing Robinhood.

For the producer, who says the film has been booked for a week, the next project is on: to release the film in Spanish, Italian and English, after trimming the movie to 1.5 hours.


Courtesy: expressbuzz.com