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Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email ‘Sivaji’ likely to break box-office records
Riots are unlikely to stop Sivaji the Boss from being a big winner at the local box office.
Pyramid Saimira Group owns the rights to the movie, starring Rajnikanth, in Malaysia and Coimbatore and Hyderabad in India. It expects to gross RM15 million in royalty payments in this country.
Pyramid Saimira Theatre Chain (M) Sdn Bhd head of distribution Boban Balakrishnan said the company paid RM15 million for the rights.
This is the highest distribution fee for an Indian film after Chandramukhi ( RM1.5 million) in 2005.
"The feedback we are getting is that the movie has surpassed viewers’ expectations. So we are looking at collecting up to RM15 million in another five or six weeks’ time," said Boban, adding that the movie could well be the highest grossing Indian film of all time.
The movie, which broke box office records in India prior to its worldwide release, created high expectations among Malaysians.
So great was the hype that when technical glitches occurred in two cinemas in Klang and Ipoh, viewers rioted, vandalising cinema property. Police had to quell the disgruntled fans.
The movie is now screening in Japan, China, the US, the UK, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Boban said the cinemas were packed, while tickets in India have been sold out for a fortnight.
At RM60 million, Sivaji is the costliest Indian film to date. The previous record was held by Hindi movie Devdas (2002), which had cost RM50 million.
Rajnikanth, known to fans as "Superstar Rajnikanth", also became the highest-paid lead actor in India with a salary of RM16 million, beating other well-known names such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.
The film, which concerns the obstacles facing a youth on a crusade to provide free education and medicine to the poor, was directed by S. Shankar.
Besides Rajinikanth, it also stars Shriya, Vivek, Suman, Nayantara, Manivannan and Raghuvaran.
The film’s score and soundtrack is by acclaimed composer, A.R. Rahman.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Tamil movie, Sivaji – The Boss has raked in takings of RM560,000 on its opening day, setting a new record in the Tamil film industry in Malaysia.
S. Vell Paari, the chairman of the movie distributor, Pyramid Saimira Theatre Chain (M), said that the highest takings on Thursday night was due to the overwhelming demand.
This broke the previous record high of RM300,000 for the film, Jeans starring Prasanth and Ashwarya Rai in 1997.
He said that the movie, starring South Indian superstar Rajinikanth, opened in 40 theatres throughout the country on the opening day and 53 theatres from Saturday.
Vell Paari said that the delay in getting the prints for the movie had resulted in the confusion in some theatres, which had to reschedule their screening times.
He also said that a 26-year-old accountant was detained for attempting to download the film with his handphone in a theatre in the Klang Valley on Friday.
He said that his company had also received information that a print of the film had been smuggled out of India and brought to Malaysia where attempts were being made to sell it to a company in Kepong.
