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''Sivaji: The Boss'' is a 2007 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
-language action masala film directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. The film stars
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
and Shriya Saran, with Vivek, Suman, Manivannan and Raghuvaran playing significant roles. It revolves around a well-established
software systems architect The systems architect is an information and communications technology professional. Systems architects define the architecture of a computerized system (i.e., a system composed of software and hardware) in order to fulfill certain requirements. ...
, Sivaji, who returns home to India after finishing work in the United States. On his return, he dreams of giving back to society with free medical treatment and education. However, his plans face a roadblock in the form of the influential political leader Adiseshan. When corruption also arises, Sivaji is left with no option but to fight the system in his own way.
A R Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
composed the soundtrack and background music (in his 100th milestone composition), while Thota Tharani and
K. V. Anand Karimanal Venkatesan Anand (30 October 1966 30 April 2021) was an Indian cinematographer, film director and photojournalist, worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. After a short period as a journalist, he became a cinematographer in the e ...
were the film's
art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
and
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
respectively. The film, released on 15 June 2007 was positively received by critics and became a commercial success worldwide. It went on to win a National Film Award, three
Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
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 became the first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos surround sound technology.


Plot

Sivaji Arumugam is a rich 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 is to include a network of quality hospitals and educational institutions that serve the poor free of charge. A highly influential political leader and industrialist, Adiseshan, who runs profit-making educational institutions and hospitals sees Sivaji as his deadly competitor. In the process of establishing the Sivaji Foundation, Sivaji is forced to pay bribes to several government officials and ministers to get basic approvals and sanctions done, and is eventually forced to mortgage his property and sell his belongings when the bribes demanded become very high. Sivaji is dragged by the State Government (under political influence of Adiseshan) to court when he starts sabotaging the Sivaji Foundation through his political influence, but at the court, he is forced to admit that he paid numerous bribes. The judge declares the verdict in favour of Adiseshan and shuts down Sivaji Foundation. Meanwhile, Sivaji falls in love with Tamizhselvi, a demure and traditional girl. Initially, Tamizhselvi and her family are scared of Sivaji's advances, but Sivaji 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 further, 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. Sivaji, reduced to utter poverty, decides to play the game his own way. With the help of his uncle Arivu, he acquires evidence of 2 billion worth of illegal earnings in Adiseshan's possession and uses the documents to blackmail Adiseshan into giving him half the money. Adhiseshan traps Sivaji with 50 goons, but Sivaji trashes them and leaves with both money and documents. Using the amount, he further obtains details on people who have illegal earnings across Tamil Nadu and blackmails them to give him half of their illegal wealth. He then transfers the money to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, where he gives it to the bank accounts of his friends around the world by hawala forgery. They then deposit the money as donations to the ''Sivaji Foundation'', making the money usable and legitimate. Sivaji informs the Income Tax Investigation and Vigilance Department about the details of the illegal money held by the tax evaders (including Adiseshan) and gets them arrested on the same day. He blackmails the minister and legally reopens the foundation and soon is able to provide free, good quality education, infrastructure, services and employment to people in every district of Tamil Nadu. Led by Adiseshan, those who were blackmailed by Sivaji exploit Tamizhselvi's innocence to silence him. Fearing for Sivaji's life, she hands over Sivaji's laptop to the CBI and Income Tax officers hired by Adiseshan with all the information regarding the illegal money transactions. With presentable evidence, Sivaji is arrested. Adiseshan and the police order Sivaji to unlock his laptop through the voice-detection program, which only opens on a particular command in Sivaji's voice. When Sivaji refuses, Adiseshan tortures him so badly that he is almost killed. To cover this up, Adiseshan and the police organise for
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
to shoot at the police van that will carry Sivaji's body, making it look like a murder by a third party. Sivaji, however, is faking; 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 a
MMS MMS may refer to: Science and technology Network communication protocols * Multimedia Messaging Service for mobile phones * Microsoft Media Server, a content-streaming protocol (mms://) * Manufacturing Message Specification for real time proces ...
and replace Sivaji's body with a dummy before the mercenaries open fire. While everyone thinks that Sivaji is dead, Chezhian revives him using a defibrillator. Following Sivaji's "death", Adiseshan and the CBI still try to open Sivaji's laptop by trying to fool the voice-detection program; they fail and all the data in the laptop is erased. A few days later, while everyone wonders about the future of the ''Sivaji Foundation'', the revived Sivaji returns to take control of the foundation in the guise of an
NRI NRI or Nri may refer to : * Kingdom of Nri, an Igbo kingdom that flourished between the 10th century and early 20th century * National Radio Institute, a now defunct post-secondary vocational correspondence school * National Resources Inventory * N ...
friend, M. G. Ravichandran (MGR). Though Adiseshan immediately realises that Ravichandran is actually Sivaji, he is unable to prove this to the police due to the proof of Sivaji's "death" and Ravichandran's identity. Later, Sivaji confronts Adiseshan and the two fight atop the terrace of Adiseshan's medical college. During the fight, Adiseshan inadvertently strikes the campus's terrace roof causing money hidden in it to fly around the campus. The students spot the money and go after it, causing a stampede in which Adiseshan is trampled to death. ''Sivaji Foundation'' soon becomes a frontier for India's economic and industrial rise.


Cast


Production


Development

In 1996, following the release of his '' Indian'',
Shankar Shankar may refer to: People * Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist *S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar * San ...
approached and pitched three storylines to
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
to consider for his next venture. This included scripts which would later become ''Sivaji'' (2007), '' Enthiran'' (2010) and '' I'' (2015). Rajinikanth was skeptical and refused all three scripts at the time. 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 M. S. Guhan is an Indian film producer. He has been involved in hits such as '' Sivaji: The Boss'', '' Thirupathi'', ''Minsara Kanavu'', ''Leader (2010 film)'', and recently Ayan. He is the son of noted producer M. Saravanan, who owns the AVM ...
and M. Saravanan. This time Shankar was confirmed to be the film's director. After consulting Sivaji Ganesan's family to avoid any issues with the film's name, the project was subsequently announced on 24 August 2005. The film was titled ''Sivaji'', 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. In addition to being AVM Productions' 168th film, ''Sivaji'' was also Rajinikanth's 154th film, his 100th Tamil film and his ninth film with AVM Productions. According to Rajinikanth's biographer Naman Ramachandran, the film was also made to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the production company's founder,
A. V. Meiyappan Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (28 July 1907 – 12 August 1979), also known as A. V. Meiyappan, A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar or AVM, was an Indian film producer, director and philanthropist who established AVM Productions in Vadapalani, Chennai. He ...
. ''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 Chrome may refer to: Materials * Chrome plating, a process of surfacing with chromium * Chrome alum, a chemical used in mordanting and photographic film Computing * Google Chrome, a web browser developed by Google ** ChromeOS, a Google Chrome- ...
.


Cast and crew

The first choice for the role of the female lead was Aishwarya Rai. However, in October 2005, Shankar and Rajinikanth announced that actress Shriya Saran would play the female lead role. Saran's voice was dubbed by actress Kanika, who was selected after a successful voice test, thereby collaborating for the second time with Shankar. Actor Vivek was signed up for the role of Sivaji's maternal uncle, Arivu, in November 2005. Actress Sunaina made her acting debut through this film in a special appearance; the scene however was later removed from the final cut.
Nayanthara Diana Mariam Kurian, known professionally as Nayanthara, is an Indian actress and film producer who is known for her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She was in the ''Forbes India'' "Celebrity 100" 2018 list, with her total annual ...
, who had earlier worked with Rajinikanth in ''Chandramukhi'', was signed up to perform alongside Rajinikanth in the song "Baleilakka". Suman was confirmed in March 2006 to play the role of Adiseshan after
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
, Mohanlal and
Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...
were considered.
Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who has predominantly appeares in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema, Telugu Cinema. His 240 films also includ ...
, who acted with Rajinikanth in ''
Mr. Bharath ''Mr. Bharath'' is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by S. P. Muthuraman. The film stars Rajinikanth, Sathyaraj and Ambika. A remake of the Hindi film '' Trishul'', it revolves around a son's revenge against his father for cheat ...
'' (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. So I didn't accept ''Sivaji''." 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 Ray-Ban is an American-Italian brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is known for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses. In 1999, Bausch & Lomb sold the brand to Italian eyewear conglomerate ...
sunglasses. Prior to this, Suman had acted with Rajinikanth in '' Thee'' (1981).
Subbu Panchu Subramaniam Panchu Arunachalam, credited as Subbu Panchu or P. Ar. Subramaniam (born 16 February 1973) is an Indian actor and film producer. Son of noted writer-producer Panchu Arunachalam, Subbu first appeared as a child artist in the Malayala ...
dubbed for Suman. Debate speakers
Solomon Pappaiah Solomon Pappaiah (Tamil:சாலமன் பாப்பையா) (born 22 February 1936), also known as Solomon Pappiah and Salomon Pappayah is an Indian scholar and a television icon in Tamil Nadu, India. He is best known for moderating d ...
and
Pattimandram Raja Simson Raja, popularly known as Pattimandram Raja, is an Indian television personality popular for his speeches in Tamil-language talk shows (''Pattimandram''). His speeches in the debate talk shows, moderated by Solomon Pappaiah, made him famo ...
were selected to play supporting roles, with the latter making his cinematic acting debut. Vadivukkarasi and Manivannan were selected to play Sivaji's parents. Raghuvaran appeared in a small role as Dr. Chezhian. Shankar, who also wrote the film's story and screenplay, was paid a then record salary of 100 million ( Indian rupees) for the project.
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
, who was selected to compose the film's soundtrack and background score, was also paid 30 million. Sujatha was assigned to write the dialogues for ''Sivaji''. Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan, who would later direct the film ''
Karuppampatti ''Karuppampatti'' is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language film directed by newcomer Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan, a former associate of S. Shankar. It stars Ajmal Ameer and Aparnaa Bajpai in the lead roles, while M. S. Bhaskar, Jagan, Srinath, and Devadarsh ...
'' (2013), worked as an assistant director in this film. 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 ''Chandramukhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu. A remake of Vasu's Kannada film ''Apthamitra'' (2004), which itself loosely based on the Malayalam film ''Manichitrathazhu'' (1993), the fi ...
'' (2005).
K. V. Anand Karimanal Venkatesan Anand (30 October 1966 30 April 2021) was an Indian cinematographer, film director and photojournalist, worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. After a short period as a journalist, he became a cinematographer in the e ...
was hired as the cinematographer in August 2005. Manish Malhotra was responsible for designing the film's costumes, while Anthony and Thota Tharani were the editor and art director respectively. Additional make-up for Rajinikanth was done by make-up artist
Banu Banu or BANU may refer to: * Banu (name) * Banu (Arabic), Arabic word for "the sons of" or "children of" * Banu (makeup artist), an Indian makeup artist * Banu Chichek, a character in the ''Book of Dede Korkut'' * Bulgarian Agrarian National Union ...
.


Filming

Principal photography commenced on 28 November 2005 with 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. The first schedule of ''Sivaji'' began on 14 December 2005 with the song "Vaaji Vaaji" featuring Rajinikanth and Saran being shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. 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 utilise his skills and experience as an art director. "Vaaji Vaaji" was picturised with an intention to showcase a
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ian palace setting when Shankar requested Tharani to show "a palace with lots of colour". Tharani created a four-storey Babylonian palace to accommodate 80 dancers and 100 junior artists for the number. Shooting of the number, which according to K. V. Anand was filmed in
Super 35 Super 35 (originally known as Superscope 235) is a motion picture film format that uses exactly the same film stock as standard 35 mm film, but puts a larger image frame on that stock by using the space normally reserved for the optical anal ...
motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
film format, was completed in eight days.
G. Dhananjayan G. Dhananjayan (born 14 May 1965) is a film producer, columnist, and author of four books on Indian films and also Won 2 National Film Awards. He has produced films in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi languages, including ''Sankat City'' ...
mentions in his book ''The Best of Tamil Cinema'' that 35 million was spent on the song's making. Tharani described the set designing for the song "Sahana", which was also shot at Ramoji Film City, as "extremely challenging". 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 In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
held in Japan. 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. 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. Construction of the set for the number was completed in 30 days. 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. 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. Filming of another action sequence in an open-air theatre, which was also designed by Tharani, took place for approximately 15–20 days. K. V. Anand used
balloon light Balloon lights (also called lighting balloons) are a specialized type of luminaire used primarily for lighting in the motion picture industry, night highway construction, incident management, and public security applications such as police chec ...
s brought from a French company Airstar Space Lighting for the sequence. The interior portions of Thamizhselvi's house was designed using clippings of flats constructed by the
Tamil Nadu Housing Board Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) ( ta, தமிழ்நாடு வீட்டு வசதி வாரியம்) is a government organisation in Tamil Nadu, India. History Formed in 1947 as a small organisation in the name of "City Impr ...
. The "Style" segment was filmed in May 2006 at the
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...
-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, as well as the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia and the
Kursaal Kursaal may refer to: *Kursaal (amusement park), an amusement park in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England * Kursaal Ward, a council ward in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England * Dome Cinema, Worthing, previously named the Kursaal * Royal Hall, Harrogate, ...
in San Sebastian. The fair look of Rajinikanth's character in the segment was created using
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
, which was performed by
V. Srinivas Mohan Vadlamudi Srinivas Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, coordinator and supervisor known for his works primarily in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. He is also known for his works in few Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada and Ma ...
, 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 4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 38402160 (4K Ultra-high-definitio ...
to enhance their clarity after which Jacky's skin colour was digitally implemented onto Rajinikanth's skin. French hair-stylist Sandrin Veriar Seth designed two distinct hair-styles for the entire film and 13 hair-styles for the segment alone. 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 A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...
near Pune with 500 people for eight days. To add more colour to the sequence, a 50-member team of
Puli Kali Puli kali (Meaning: Leopard Dance) is a recreational folk art from the state of Kerala, India. It is performed by trained artists to entertain people on the occasion of Onam, an annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly in the Indian state ...
artists from Thrissur were employed by Shankar as background dancers. In November 2006, sequences featuring Rajinkanth, Saran and Vivek were shot at the Pune Junction railway station. Filming of a key portion involving Rajinikanth and Vivek took place in the
Victoria Public Hall Victoria Public Hall, or the Town Hall, is a historical building in Chennai, named after Victoria, Empress of India. It is one of the finest examples of British architecture in Chennai and was built to commemorate the golden jubilee of Quee ...
building in Chennai. A fight sequence and the song "Athiradi" were filmed at
Binny Mills Binny and Co is a shipping, textile, banking and insurance firm based in the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest business firms in Chennai city. History Binny and Co was founded in Madras by John Binny as a general, clearing and ...
. The sets for the song were made bearing resemblance to the city of
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. For the climax scenes, which were filmed at the Magarpatta city SEZ towers, Rajinikanth tonsured his head. The scenes where Sivaji gets the money he transferred to his friends by forgery were filmed in New York City. The completion of those scenes in February 2007 marked the end of the principal photography. The climactic fight between Sivaji and Adiseshan was filmed at
Vels University Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies (VISTAS) is an institute of higher education located in Pallavaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1992 and granted Deemed University status in 2008 by University Grant ...
. K. V. Anand told
Shobha Warrier Shobha Warrier is an Indian journalist and author based in Chennai. She began her career as a creative writer, with publishing a number of short stories in Malayalam: "Ramakundam", "Meghana", and "Jalavidya". In 1996, she was awarded with the Lal ...
of
Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
that the portions other than the songs and action sequences were completed in 65 days.


Themes and influences

Many critics stated that the theme of ''Sivaji'' has been inspired from Shankar's previous films ''
Gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
'' (1993) and '' Mudhalvan'' (1999). 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. 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". 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". 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."


Music

After some re-recording of the background score in Paraguay,
A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
had been to London for additional re-recording. 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.


Release

The television rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV for 4 crore. The film's distribution rights, as distributed by AVM Productions to various companies are for the selling of rights to Kerala, for Andhra Pradesh and for the rights to
Ayngaran Ayngaran International is a film distribution and production company, based in the United Kingdom. Historically, Tamil films from India have been distributed to overseas theaters and for home media consumption by Ayngaran. The chairman of the ...
, an international Tamil film distributor. The trailer was released by CNN-IBN on 30 May 2007 lasting for three minutes. The official trailer was released by AVM to ''Galatta.com'', the official online sponsor and Ayngaran International. The film was supposed to be released on the
Tamil New Year Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cal ...
's day, 14 April 2007, but due to post-production delays, the film was released worldwide on 15 June 2007. On 15 July 2007, AVM Productions, the producers of the film, announced their decision to dub the film into Hindi. That version was released on 8 January 2010. 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 Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...
, and the then
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
,
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
. 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. Satyamoorthy also claimed in damages from the film's producer, director and lead actor to be paid to the Tamil Nadu section of the party. Jaya Rajadevan, one of the film's assistant directors, sought an
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
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. Although the court sent notices to Shankar, among others, the screening of the film was not stopped.


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 Pradesh Chief Minister,
Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu ( born 20 April 1950) is an Indian politician and current leader of opposition of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He was also the leader of the opposition of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 2004 to ...
, on 14 June 2007. At the screening, Rajinikanth told the media that he would invite the Chief Minister,
Rajasekhara Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (8 July 1949 – 2 September 2009), popularly known as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009. Reddy was elected to the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12 ...
, for a special viewing as well. Rajinikanth said that he had screened the film to current and former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers, Dr.
Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...
and
Jayalalitha Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
, respectively, and that India's Finance Minister,
P Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
, was also keen to watch the film. A private screening was also shown to
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
.
Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...
saw a special preview of the film at Shenoys theatre in
Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...
. 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."


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. ''Sivaji 3D'' is the first Indian film to be launched with the new Dolby Atmos platform. The trailer of 3D version was launched on 13 August 2012 at
Prasad Labs Prasad Studios & Prasad Film Labs are motion picture post-production studios headquartered in Hyderabad, India, founded by Prasad Group in 1956. The production house has produced over 150 movies in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. ...
along with Rajinikanth. The 3D version released on 12 December 2012, coinciding with Rajinikanth's birthday. The runtime of 3D version was shorter than original, cut to two hours and thirty-five minutes.


Box office

The theatrical rights of the film were sold for in Kerala and in Andhra Pradesh. Worldwide, the film was estimated to have been released in about 750 screens. The film opened to virtually full cinemas. ''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. It was released in 16 screens in Chennai and grossed within the first four days, at that point a new record for
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
cinema. The film also debuted well in Kerala and in Bangalore. Despite protests from pro- Kannada groups, the film debuted in 13 screens. In the national capital, New Delhi, the film debuted on 4 screens in
PVR Cinemas PVR Ltd (formerly Priya Village Roadshow Ltd), doing business as PVR Cinemas, is an Indian multiplex chain based in Gurgaon. PVR pioneered the multiplex revolution in India by establishing the first multiplex cinema in 1997 at Saket, New Delh ...
. 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. The film made a good debut in the nation's other metros as well such as Mumbai and Kolkata, as well as in other non-traditional markets for Tamil films such as Pune and Baroda. The film grossed 4.07 crore in two weeks; 8.5 crore in five weeks, and 10 crore in seven weeks in Chennai. ''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. grossing over US$2 million in Malaysia, ''Sivaji'' made a debut with 150 shows in Singapore. In Sri Lanka, the film debuted across 70 screens with all 700 shows virtually sold out. In the Persian Gulf that contains a sizeably large Indian diaspora, the film opened to a good response. 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. 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. 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. 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. Singapore Airlines bought a 3-month exclusive in-flight screening rights to the film, a first for the airline for any Tamil film. In the UK, 13 seconds of the film was cut. 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 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
High Definition Blu-ray disc. 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. ''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.


Reception


Critical response

Malathi Rangarajan of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', 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. 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. 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. '' 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. R G Vijayasarathy of
Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
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. Sify wrote: "There is only one hero here, .nbsp;– 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". '' Ananda Vikatan'' rated the film 41 out of 100.


Accolades

; 2007 National Film Awards * Won – Silver Lotus Award for Best Special Effects – M.S. Indian Artists, Chennai ;2008
Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...
* Won – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director –
A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
* Won – Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer –
K. V. Anand Karimanal Venkatesan Anand (30 October 1966 30 April 2021) was an Indian cinematographer, film director and photojournalist, worked mainly in the Tamil film industry. After a short period as a journalist, he became a cinematographer in the e ...
* Won – Filmfare Best Art Director Award – Thotta Tharani * Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actor –
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
* Nominated –
Filmfare Award for Best Film The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. E ...
 – ''Sivaji'' * Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer Female –
Chinmayi Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company ...
;2007 Vijay Awards * Won – Vijay Award for Favourite Hero –
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
* Nominated –
Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine Winners Winners and nominations *2007 Nayanthara - ''Billa'' **Asin - ''Pokkiri'' **Shriya Saran - '' Sivaji: The Boss'' **Jyothika - '' Mozhi'' **Trisha - '' Kireedam'' *2008 Nayanthara - ''Yaaradi Nee Mohini'' **Asin - ''Dasavathaaram'' * ...
 – Shriya Saran * Won –
Vijay Award for Best Music Director The Vijay for Best Music Director is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. Nominations *2007 A. R. Rahman - ...
 –
A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
* Nominated – Best Playback Singer Female –
Chinmayi Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company ...
* Nominated – Best Playback Singer Male – Udit Narayan 2007 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards * Won- Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film – First Prize


Legacy

Sunil Sunil (सुनील) is a first name for males, often found in the South Asian community. The Sanskrit word ' means "dark", "very blue", and is also an epithet of Krishna. Notable people * Sunil (actor), Indian Telugu film actor * Sunil (d ...
,
M. S. Bhaskar Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar (born 13 September 1957) is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil films. Before entering the film industry, he was a theatre artist, he made his film debut in 1987 in a small role in the film ''Thirumathi Oru Vegumathi' ...
, and Komal spoofed the character M. G. Ravichandran in '' Kantri'' (2008), ''
Maasilamani ''Maasilamani'' is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language romance action comedy film directed by R. N. R. Manohar and distributed by Sun Pictures. It stars Nakul and Sunaina and in their second collaboration after ''Kadhalil Vizhunthen'', while Pawan, S ...
'' (2009), and ''
Thipparalli Tharlegalu ''Thipparalli Tharlegalu'' is a 2010 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu starring Ambareesh, Komal, S. Narayan, Om Prakash Rao and Brinda Parekh in lead roles. The film was released on 2 April 2010 alongside ''Premism'' a ...
'' (2010), respectively.


Notes


References


Sources

* * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivaji 2007 action films 2000s Tamil-language films 2007 films Films scored by A. R. Rahman Films about corruption in India Films directed by S. Shankar Films set in Chennai Films shot in Andhra Pradesh Films shot in Maharashtra Films shot in New York City Films shot in Spain AVM Productions films Indian 3D films Indian vigilante films 2000s masala films Films set in New York City Films shot in Chennai Indian political films Indian action films Films involved in plagiarism controversies Films that won the Best Special Effects National Film Award 2000s political films