Kaththi Movie 2014
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| Kaththi | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | AR Murugadoss |
| Produced by | K. Karunamoorthy A. Subhaskaran |
| Written by | AR Murugadoss |
| Starring | Vijay Samantha Ruth Prabhu |
| Music by | Anirudh Ravichander |
| Cinematography | George C. Williams |
| Edited by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Production company | |
| Distributed by | Ayngaran International Eros International[1] |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 165 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget |  700 million(US$11 million)[2] |
| Box office | 710.5 million(US$12 million) (5 days)[3] |
Kaththi (English: The Knife) is a 2014 Indian Tamil action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. The film stars Vijay in a dual role alogside Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Neil Nitin Mukesh, Tota Roy Chowdhury and Sathish play supporting roles. Anirudh Ravichander composed the film's soundtrack and score. Cinematography was done by George C. Williams and the film was edited by A. Sreekar Prasad. Lyca Productions and Ayngaran Internationalbankrolled the venture and Eros International purchased the theatrical and audio rights for the film. The film opened to positive reviews from critics[4] and set the biggest opening for a South Indian film worldwide.[5]
Contents
[hide]Plot
At a Kolkata prison, Kathiresan "Kathir" (Vijay), a petty criminal, helps the police capture an escaping prisoner Vivek Banerjee (Tota Roy Chowdhury), but he himself escapes afterwards. He goes to Chennai and decides to escape to Bangkok with his friend and fellow-criminal Dhanu (Sathish). However, he drops this plan after meeting and falling in love with Ankitha (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) at the airport, who dupes him into believing that she wants to marry him after realising that he is having a crush on her. Later, Kathir and Dhanu notice a man who resembles Kathir named Jeevanandam "Jeeva" (Vijay), being shot by a group of thugs. They admit him to hospital, following which Kathir decides to impersonate the injured Jeeva to escape from the police. Under the name of his doppelgänger, Kathir and Dhanu enter an old-age home run by Jeeva with the aim of collecting 25 Lakhs (which is meant for the inmates of the old-age home) for their Bangkok trip, until he learns about his doppelgänger's mission. Jeeva is a communist ideologue and a post-graduate in hydrology from the arid village of Thanoothu in Tirunelveli districtwho had discovered groundwater under some lands of the village which could be used as an irrigation source not only for the village, but for the entire Tiruneveli district and the neighbouring Thoothukudi district as well. But, an MNC owned by Chirag (Neil Nitin Mukesh) cheated the villagers into giving their lands for the construction of a factory. Jeeva took the issue to court, whose verdict is to be decided within a couple of days. On learning of the plight of Jeeva and the villagers, Kathir decides to fight for their cause while still under the name of Jeeva.
25 Lakhs (which is meant for the inmates of the old-age home) for their Bangkok trip, until he learns about his doppelgänger's mission. Jeeva is a communist ideologue and a post-graduate in hydrology from the arid village of Thanoothu in Tirunelveli districtwho had discovered groundwater under some lands of the village which could be used as an irrigation source not only for the village, but for the entire Tiruneveli district and the neighbouring Thoothukudi district as well. But, an MNC owned by Chirag (Neil Nitin Mukesh) cheated the villagers into giving their lands for the construction of a factory. Jeeva took the issue to court, whose verdict is to be decided within a couple of days. On learning of the plight of Jeeva and the villagers, Kathir decides to fight for their cause while still under the name of Jeeva.
Meanwhile, the real Jeeva gains consciousness and finds himself in the Kolkata prison where Kathir was locked up. With the help of Vivek, who has heard his story and has plans to kill Kathir in revenge for getting him caught and thrown back into prison, he soon escapes along with Vivek's henchmen.
Not knowing that Jeeva and Vivek's henchmen are headed for Chennai, Kathir makes efforts to convince the media to bring the plight of the villagers to national consciousness, but the media is not interested as they feel that it is not a sensational news. A few days later, at the Madras High Court, the judge declares the verdict in favour of Jeeva and the villagers, but adds that Chirag has claimed that certain villagers who are working abroad have shown their support for the factory. If they cannot prove that their support was faked by Chirag within the next 5 days, the verdict will then go in favour of Chirag and the villagers will lose their lands. Since the villagers, who have denied supporting the factory, are abroad and cannot come to Chennai within 5 days to rebut Chirag's claims as their passports are held by their contractors, and the verdict is to be decided within 5 days, Kathir decides to take drastic measures to sensationalise the issue. He, Ankitha, Dhanu and the inmates of the old-age home block water supply to Chennai by sitting on the pipelines which carry water to Chennai from 5 lakes. With the plight of the Chennaites due to no water supply having gained national attention, Kathir comes out of the pipeline after a few days and highlights the villagers' plight in an emotionally-charged speech to the media, which is telecast nationwide and moves many people. By now, Kathir has discovered that Jeeva has escaped and is searching for him.
Meanwhile, Jeeva and Vivek's henchmen reach Chennai, but Jeeva is soon kidnapped by Chirag's henchmen. While in Chirag's custody, he sees Kathir's speech on television and is moved by the efforts made by his doppelgänger to help the villagers. On the night before the verdict, Kathir's bluff is exposed, but Kathir assures the old men that he is genuinely interested in their cause, that Jeeva is alive and that he will rescue Jeeva from Chirag and hand him back over to the villagers with the assurance of a positive verdict. Kathir goes to Chirag's office, where Jeeva is being held. He rescues Jeeva and fights Chirag and his henchmen, killing Chirag in the process.
The next day, the verdict is declared in favour of Jeeva and the villagers. Kathir, despite his efforts to thwart Chirag and the MNC, does not take part in the ensuing celebrations over the verdict and instead surrenders to the police and returns to the Kolkata prison, but not before promising Ankitha, who has now fallen in love with him, that he will marry her once he is released.
Cast
- Vijay as Kathiresan (Kathir)/Jeevanandham (Jeeva)
- Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Ankitha
- Neil Nitin Mukesh as Chirag
- Tota Roy Chowdhury as Vivek Banerjee
- Sathish as Dhanu
- R. Ravi as Collector
- Rupesh Gupta
- Veera Santhanam
- Sreerag Nambiar
- AR Murugadoss Cameo appearance
Production
Development
In 2012, it was reported that Murugadoss and Vijay would work together again.[6][7] Murugadoss confirmed the same on his Twitter page.[8] According to sources, the film was not a sequel to Thuppakki.[6] Ayngaran International and Lyca Productions were confirmed to be the producers and distributors of the film.[9]Murugadoss replaced his usual music director Harris Jayaraj with Anirudh Ravichander and signed George C. Williams as the cinematographer, who had filmedRaja Rani (2013) which was produced by Murugadoss himself.[10] Art director Lalgudi N. Ilayaraja, who had won the National Film Award for Best Production Designin Vishwaroopam (2013), was selected to handle the art direction for the film.[11] The film was earlier rumored to be titled as Dheeran.[12] Another potential title for the film was Vaal.[13] In March 2014, Murugadoss confirmed that the film would be titled Kaththi and that it was scheduled to be released on Diwali.[14]
Casting
In September 2013, Samantha Ruth Prabhu was selected as the lead female lead.[15] Bengali actor Tota Roy Chowdhury was signed for portraying the antagonist role, an international gangster named Vivek Banerjee.[16] In March 2014, Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukesh was selected to be a part of his project, thereby making his debut in Tamil cinema thorugh the film. Murugadoss also stated that Vijay would play a dual role.[17] Sathish was chosen to play a supporting role.[18] Sayaji Shinde and Subbu Panchu were selected to play pivotal roles in the film.[14]
Neil was inspired by his look in his debut film, Johnny Gaddaar (2007). He described his character as one who does not "fight the hero with physical power, but with intelligence".[19] He learned Tamil for his role, as he did not want to speak his dialogues without understanding their meaning.[20] Neil had lost weight for the role and modelled his looks to be along the lines of Brad Pitt and David Beckham.[21]
Filming
The film was launched in Kolkata on 3 February 2014 by its producers Ayngaran International with a pooja ceremony in front of the Kalighat Kali Temple, after which principal photography began.[22][23] The first schedule of filming was done on Kolkata and Hyderabad.[24][25] In between, Murugadoss, took a break to promote his then upcoming Bollywood film, Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014), the Hindi remake of Thuppakki (2012).[26] The film was then shot in Pushpa gardens inChennai, where a huge set which costed around 12.5 million (US$200,000) was erected and most of the indoor scenes were completed in this set.[27] Shooting continued for a 40 day long schedule in and around the city. By July 2014, 60% of the shooting had been completed and the team shot a few scenes in Kadapa.[28] The final leg of the film began on 1 August 2014 at Chennai.[29]
12.5 million (US$200,000) was erected and most of the indoor scenes were completed in this set.[27] Shooting continued for a 40 day long schedule in and around the city. By July 2014, 60% of the shooting had been completed and the team shot a few scenes in Kadapa.[28] The final leg of the film began on 1 August 2014 at Chennai.[29]
In late August 2014, 15 days of filming, including patch-work and a few fight sequences, remained.[30] Filming moved back to Hyderabad where the rest of the fight sequences were canned.[31] On 1 September 2014, the second half of the film was nearly completed.[32] Additional filming took place at the Chennai Central railway station.[33] On 4 September 2014, Neil Nitin Mukesh dubbed in Tamil himself for his role and completed his dubbing portions for the first half of the film.[34] The climax sequences were shot in Nellore on 23 September 2014.[35] The song "Selfie Pulla" was shot in Mumbai. About 100 dancers participated in the song sequence.[36] Filming of the song was completed on 30 September 2014, with the filming of the entire movie also being completed as a result.[37]
Music
Main article: Kaththi (soundtrack)
The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Anirudh Ravichander. The soundtrack album consists of seven tracks.[38] The audio launch took place on 18 September 2014, at the Leela Palace Hotel in Chennai.[39]
Release
Jaya TV purchased the satellite rights.[40] T Shibu of Thameens Films promoted and distributed the film in Kerala.[41] The theatrical rights in Tiruchirappalli andThanjavur were sold to T. Siva.[42] Producer Tagore Madhu bought the film's Telugu dubbing rights.[43] MM Media, previously known as GK Media, acquired the film's theatrical rights in the USA.[44] The film released worldwide on 22 October 2014.[45]
Marketing
The first look motion poster teaser of Kaththi was released on 22 June 2014 on Vijay's birthday.[46] It crossed 2 million views on YouTube.[47] The motion poster teaser showed Vijay playing the role of a youth activist named Kathiresan and that he heads a youth brigade.[48][49] Two promotional posters were released on 22 August 2014.[50][51] One of the posters showed a still featuring the lead pair and the other had Vijay sporting the typical angry young man look.[52] The posters fetched positive feedback from fans and trended on social networking sites following their release.[52][53] To promote the song "Selfie Pulla", Anirudh started a selfie contest online, where fans were asked to post a selfie with the film's poster in the background.[54] A video of the making of a song sequence shot at the Chennai International Airport was released on YouTube on 15 September 2014.[55] A still featuring Vijay in the song "Pakkam Vanthu" surrounded by dance artistes, each of whom played different instruments, was released on 8 October 2014.[56] A 40-second song teaser of "Aathi" featuring Vijay and Samantha was released on 17 October 2014.[57] The song teaser of "Selfie Pulla" was released on 18 October 2014.[58]
The official teaser was unveiled at the audio launch of the film.[59] Behindwoods stated in its teaser review, "Sheer Mass is the word!"[60] Nivedita Mishra of theHindustan Times wrote, "It’s powerful and gripping, synthetic yet elemental: without doubt, one of the best for a crime thriller."[61] Indiaglitz, in its teaser review, asserted, "The 360 degree camera spin with the bombastic BGM of Anirudh; is sure to give goosebumps to the fans of Vijay."[62] The teaser crossed 1 million views 2 days after its release.[63] It crossed 2 million views in 3 weeks.[64]
The official trailer of the film was released on 19 October 2014. The trailer crossed 1 million views within a day and had gone viral after its release.[65]
Plagiarism allegations
The 41-second first-look motion poster the film drew comparisons with the popular minute-long advertisement campaign run by a Turkish newspaper, Sabah, to announce their distribution of the New York Times as a supplement. The original advertisement features iconic images of the cities of New York and Istanbul, designed using news articles and headlines from the newspaper to show the two cities in the form of newspaper clippings. The motion poster of the film showed prominent places in Chennai and the entire city itself in the form of newspaper clippings and headlines, just like the advertisement campaign, without an acknowledgement to the makers of the original.[66][67]
Minjur Gopi filed a case against Murugadoss, claiming that the plot of the film was copied from his novel Mootha Kudi. Responding to the issue, Murugadoss said that he was neither aware of Minjur nor that his story was a copy, further citing the allegation as a tactic by the plaintiff to garner free publicity. He, in turn, requested the court to dismiss the petition.[68] In late September 2014, the court declared the case in Murugadoss's favour citing lack of proper evidence found against him.[69]
Business link allegations
Subaskaran Allirajah, chairman of Lyca Mobiles, whose company Lyca Productions co-produces the film along with Ayngaran International, was claimed to have had business links with the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Murugadoss and Karunamoorthy of Ayngaran International met pro-Eelam leaders — P. Nedumaran, director Seeman and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s (VCK) Thol. Thirumavalavan — to explain their position regarding the allegation, but the talks proved to be inconclusive at that time.[70] A collective of four student bodies — Maatram Maanavar Ilaiyor Iyakkam, Free Tamil Eelam Students Organisation, Tamil Youth and Students association and Progressive Students Front — in Tamil Nadu called for a ban the film, stating the film promoted the economic and political interests of Sri Lanka. The students were willing to reconsider their position on the film, if Lyca Productions formally withdrew as producer.[71] In August 2014, directors Seeman and Vikraman showed support for the film.[72][73]
Despite clarifications, as many as 65 Tamil groups came together to oppose the film, leading to speculations regarding Lyca stepping down as producer, thereby handing the reins to another production group.[74][75] Karunamoorthy, however, again denied that Allirajah had business links with either Mahinda Rajapaksa or his family in any way, further saying that a press meet would be held where all doubts and suspicions regarding Lyca Productions would be clarified and that the film would be released under the Lyca Productions banner.[76]
As per Karunamoorthy's statement, a press meet was held on 16 September 2014, where the vice-chairman of Lyca Productions, Premananthan Sivasamy, Subaskaran and Karunamoorthy were present. A statement with a detailed clarification was shown in which it was mentioned that Lyca did not have any business links with Rajapaksa or anyone else related to him, thereby confirming the planned release of the film on Diwali.[77]
Reception
Critical reception
Kaththi opened to highly positive reviews from critics.[4] OnlyKollywood gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated Kaththi makes a sweeping statement on the most alarming issue in the country without going over-the-top : 'Agriculture' in a neatly packaged commercial drama!".[78] Moviecrow gave 3.75 out of 5 and stated the movie is smart sharp as its title.[79]
Behindwoods gave 3 out of 5 and stated "Murugadoss delivers a strong commercial movie with a nice social angle, in true Vijay style".[80] Iflickz gave 3.35 stars out of 5 stars and over viewed that "'Kaththi' is very sharp and hits you with indigestible facts. Vijay and AR Murugadoss create a different kind of magic this time around".[81]Sify.com gave 4 out of 5 and stated the movie is a well made entertainer with a powerful message.[82]M. Suganth of The Times Of India gave 3.85 out of 5 and wrote "'kaththi' will definitely be picked up by a big Bollywood star for a remake. For, the knife which was bang on target.[83]
International Business Times gave 4 out of 5 and stated "Kaththi" is a message-oriented and highly entertaining commercial movie.[84]S.Saraswathi of Rediff stated "Kaththi entertains with a message" and rated 4/5 as well.[85]Indiaglitz said "A very sharp solid commercial entertainer movie packaged by Vijay and AR Murugadossand rated 3.25 stars out of 5[86]TruthDrive said "the movie has received a grandeur response from the audience" and stated "Vijay does justice to his role as we can clearly distinguish the different roles he is enacting and rated 4/5 as well"[87]Cinemalead.com stated "the knife shines on both the sides" and rated 3.85/5.[88]
Box office
Kaththi collected about 238 million (US$3.9 million) worldwide in its first day.[5] The film went on to collect around 710.5 million (US$12 million) in its extended first weekend,[3] including a distributor share of around 420 million (US$6.8 million) worldwide.[89]
238 million (US$3.9 million) worldwide in its first day.[5] The film went on to collect around 710.5 million (US$12 million) in its extended first weekend,[3] including a distributor share of around 420 million (US$6.8 million) worldwide.[89]India
Kaththi had the biggest opening for a South Indian film as it collected around 154 million (US$2.5 million) in India in its first day.[5] The film set records for a Tamil film in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where it collected 125 million (US$2.0 million) nett and 15 million (US$240,000) nett respectively in its opening day.[45][90] The film collected around 515 million (US$8.3 million) nett in India in its first five days.[89] The film collected around 360 million (US$5.8 million) in Tamil Nadu, 70 million (US$1.1 million) in Karnataka and 65 million (US$1.1 million) in Kerala in five days.[91] The film also opened in the number one position in Chennai, where it grossed around 31 million (US$500,000) in the extended weekend.[92]
154 million (US$2.5 million) in India in its first day.[5] The film set records for a Tamil film in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where it collected 125 million (US$2.0 million) nett and 15 million (US$240,000) nett respectively in its opening day.[45][90] The film collected around 515 million (US$8.3 million) nett in India in its first five days.[89] The film collected around 360 million (US$5.8 million) in Tamil Nadu, 70 million (US$1.1 million) in Karnataka and 65 million (US$1.1 million) in Kerala in five days.[91] The film also opened in the number one position in Chennai, where it grossed around 31 million (US$500,000) in the extended weekend.[92]Overseas
The film earned $142,805 in its USA premier and also became the biggest opener for a film starring Vijay.[93][94] In France, Kaththi has collected about 3.1 million(US$50,000) which is a new record for an Indian film. Kaththi's distributor Ayngaran confirmed that Kaththi had the biggest opening for a Tamil film in UK since it released in over 70 screens there and is also on track to top the Weekend Box office on Malaysia. It also has set new records in Singapore grossing over $201,408.[95]
3.1 million(US$50,000) which is a new record for an Indian film. Kaththi's distributor Ayngaran confirmed that Kaththi had the biggest opening for a Tamil film in UK since it released in over 70 screens there and is also on track to top the Weekend Box office on Malaysia. It also has set new records in Singapore grossing over $201,408.[95]
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