In the days leading up to August 24, nearly everybody was talking about Vivegam. Such was the buzz around this Ajith Kumar film that it was trending on social media a week before its release. So, in a bid to get more details about the film, we spoke to director Siva, who told us that he initially envisioned Vivegam as an international spy movie.
On the day the movie hit theatres, the fans did their best to make sure Vivegam was celebrated just like any other Deepavali release. And so, there were milk packets, young men with drums and of course, the all-important fire crackers.
The celebrations were not restricted to Chennai, though. Ajith fans in Bengaluru braved the monsoon rain to watch Vivegam at one of the city’s last remaining single screen theatres in Shivaji Nagar. Lavanya Theatre has no air conditioning, and the seats are not all that great. But this did not stop young men and women from cheering their star onscreen.
But Vivegam did not turn out as well as expected. The film, with its international villains and very foreign locations, had the look of a sophisticated spy film. But scratch the surface, and it was your usual masala film, full of Tamil tropes and stereotypes.
This led many online reviewers to criticise the film and its director Siva. Tamil Talkies’ Elamaran also did the same, and was roundly criticised in turn for his video review of the film. This raised a debate on social media, with many film celebrities demanding more accountability when it comes to reviewing films.
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The Vivegam fever was not all that was significant about the past week. ‘Madras Week’ was celebrated too, and so we explored the changing landscape of the city as immortalised on screen through songs. Also, in recent times, there isn’t an actor who embodies the …spirit of Chennai than Dhanush. From his debut in Selvaraghavan’s Thulluvadho Ilamai to his recent Velaiyilla Pattathari 2, the actor has continuously chosen films that reflect facets of the city – the perfect, and the imperfect.
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Meanwhile, Vishnu Vishal and Nivetha Pethuraj were more than obliging when we asked for a few minutes of their time. Vishnu told us that his character in Kathanayagan was a hero ‘in the truest sense of the word’, Nivetha confessed her desire to become a role model for young people who want to follow their dreams.
Also, we asked a few producers and PROs if the recent spate of success parties in Kollywood do reflect a film’s success at the box office. From what they said, it seems like there’s no denying that in film parlance these days, a success meet doesn’t really mean that a movie has had a great run at the box office. Riaz Ahmed, a popular film PRO, said that it is just something people do now. “It is expected, and so you do it,” he said.
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