Dasavatharam
Encyclopedia
Dasavathaaram is a 2008
Tamil
science fiction
disaster film
co-written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar
. Kamal Haasan
, who wrote the screenplay and story of the film, stars in ten distinct roles, including the lead character. Asin Thottumkal
appears in a dual role and Mallika Sherawat
plays a subsidiary role in the film. The film, which had been under production for nearly three years, was produced and primarily distributed by Venu Ravichandran
, who made the film with a budget of . The soundtrack to the film was composed by Himesh Reshammiya
. Cinematography and editing were conducted by Ravi Varman
and Ashmith Kunder
respectively, while Michael Westmore
was the chief make-up artist for the film.
The film revolves around bringing together the lives of several individuals during the week prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Primarily, the story revolves around a research scientist who loses a biological weapon of mass destruction in the United States. The weapon is also sought by a former Central Intelligence Agency
officer for his own use. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse
chase throughout several countries, as the scientist and the ex-CIA officer vie for the possession of the weapon. The proceedings are affected by several characters and their issues which disrupt the weapon from going to the hands of the former officer. The story occurs within a week building up to the tsunami of December 2004.
After post-production problems delaying release for one and a half years, it was released worldwide on June 13, 2008 in Tamil
, with simultaneous dubbed versions released in Telugu
. The film became a blockbuster despite mixed reviews in south India, the Hindi version Dashavatar which was released almost a year later was also a super hit.
filled with an audience, being hosted by Govindarajan Ramaswamy (Kamal Haasan
) with prominent personalities including Prime Minister of India
, Dr. Manmohan Singh
, President of the United States
George Bush
(Kamal Haasan
) and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
, seated on the stage, following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Govind explains the idea of the chaos theory
and its effects on the world. Govind begins by reciting events from Chidambaram
in the 12th century Chola empire of South India
. Kulothunga Chola II
, (Napolean
) the King of the empire is a Saivite, believing in the Hindu
deity, Shiva
. The King wants to get rid of all temples of the deity Vishnu
, followed by the Vaishnavites and intends to take a large idol of Vishnu
from a temple intent on disposing it in the Bay of Bengal
. However, Rangarajan Nambi (Tamil), Rangaraja Nambi (Telugu), a Vaishnavite, tries to stop the King from disposing his deity. Uncovering Nambi's plans to stop the idol’s disposal, the King tells him to renounce his belief or be destroyed along with his idol. Nambi refuses to bow to any other god, despite pleas from his wife, Kothai Radha (Asin Thottumkal
) and their son, and is subsequently tied to the huge idol and both are thrown in the Bay of Bengal.
The scene switches to the week preceding the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, beginning on December 20, 2004. Govindarajan Ramaswamy (Tamil), Govindaraju Ramaswamy (Telugu),Govind K.Somaiya(Hindi), commonly known as Govind, is a biotechnologist working at a lab in California
, USA. He works in an organization which had invented a deadly virus which has the potential to be the greatest bio-weapon ever made by man, with the actual matter being kept well protected. However during an announcement with George Bush, Govind's lab monkey breaches the security protecting the bio-weapon and swallows it, killing it and producing a devastating effect. Following this discovery, Govind wants to destroy it, with the only possible remedy being the mixing of the weapon with sodium chloride
. But his boss, Dr. Sethu (Rajesh Toleti) at the organization has a different idea and attempts to sell it to terrorist organizations. Upon the discovery of this, Govind makes off with the vial containing the virus and flees to his friend, Suresh's (Sanjay) home. Suresh betrays Govind and informs the boss that Govind is at his house.
Suddenly Christian Fletcher (Kamal Haasan), who is an ex-CIA officer, also appears in the scene wanting the vial for his own nefarious purposes. At Suresh's house, Govind manages to escape without harm but Suresh and his Japanese wife, Yuka (Ann), are murdered by Fletcher. The escaping Govind, finds himself in a car with another friend, Sairam (Chakri Toleti
), in whose belongings, the vial gets mixed up accidentally, sending the vial by mistake to Chidambaram in India. Unable to stop the flight, Govind finally manages to escape from the USA by sneaking aboard a cargo flight. Receiving intelligence on this issue, Fletcher decides to fly to India to recover the vial. Prior to leaving, he finds himself a translator
in the Las Vegas
pole dancer, Jasmine (Mallika Sherawat
); also getting married to her before leaving. In Japan, Shingen Narahashi (Kamal Haasan), a Japanese martial arts
expert and brother of Yuka, thinks it was Govind who killed his sister and comes to India, seeking revenge.
Upon arrival at Chennai
airport, the vial is transferred to another plane and Telugu intelligence officer, Balram Naidu (Kamal Haasan) intervenes and questions Govind, who insists on talking to higher authorities but to no avail. As Naidu walks out of the room briefly, Fletcher invades the building taking Govind and a police officer, Bharath (Akash) hostage. The trio along with Jasmine is stopped at immigration but mange to escape after a Punjabi
pop singer, Avtaar Singh (Kamal Haasan), faints and causes a frenzy at the airport. Eventually Akash gets shot and during this, Govind manages to escape from Fletcher and flees to Chidambaram in hope of finding the vial. Subsequently, Fletcher and Jasmine hire a driver, Broadway Kumar (M. S. Baskar
) to transport them to Chidambaram as well.
The vial ultimately ends up at the house of a Brahmin
family in Chidambaram. The vial, delivered in a parcel by the postman Prabhu (Vayapuri), is taken in by a 95-year-old, senile woman, Krishnaveni (Kamal Haasan), who lives in belief of receiving a parcel from her son, who perished. Govind pleads for it to no avail, but eventually changes the mind of Krishnaveni, after explaining the scientific threat to her granddaughter, Andaal (Asin Thottumkal). Krishnaveni responds by putting the vial inside the idol of the deity, Perumal, citing that God would destroy the weapon. Fletcher and Jasmine, eventually arrive in Chidambaram and Jasmine attempts to seduce Prabhu and Naidu's assistant, Ekambaram (Chitti Babu) to reveal Govind's location.
Govind tries to secure the vial before Fletcher and Jasmine reach them. Soon, Fletcher fires his gun near an elephant and it starts rampaging, with Jasmine getting badly hurt in the commotion. Lest she should say something, Fletcher shoots her dead. Govind tries to escape with the idol but Andaal, who worships the idol, tries to stop him. Eventually they both escape and after a long chase, they manage to reach the old Chola Temple, where the King watched the idol of Vishnu being thrown into the ocean in 12th century. Govind remembers that the vial should be kept cool so they bury the idol in cold sand and go in search of ice to maintain the temperature. As they stop to get ice, the pair find out they are being hunted by the police and that they are being portrayed negatively in the press
. When they return they find that the quarry sand, where they planted the statue, is being stolen by illegal sand miners. The miners capture the duo as they try to reclaim the idol. Furthermore, their leader (Santhana Bharathi
) attempts to rape Andaal when she shouts into darkness for help. Lights flash and Vincent Poovaraagan (Kamal Haasan), a Dalit
who was neglected by the society due to their caste arrive, along with a bunch of TV reporters, comes to question the theft of sand from quarries. Using this opportunity, Govind and Andaal escape with the idol.
They manage to escape using the sand Lorries and on the main road, they collide with a car which contains a Muslim
family within it. Govind helps the family out of the house, with the injured also including seven foot giant Kalifullah Mukhtaar (Kamal Haasan); furthermore they simultaneously escape from threats from Fletcher and Balram Naidu. Kalifullah's mother, Megha (K. R. Vijaya
) begins to bleed and Govind with Andaal take her to the local hospital. At the hospital Avtaar Singh rests with a tumour in his throat posing potential danger to his vocal cords and thereby, his singing career. He checks into a hospital and the doctor gives him some medicines in a cooler. Govind also gets a cooler, similar to the one of Avtaar Singh, to preserve the idol and hence, the vial. In a lift, the coolers of Govind and Avtaar Singh are mixed up, and Avtaar Singh sets off for his concert. Govind meets Bharath again, with the police officer instructing him to meet Balram Naidu. Govind picks up the cooler which actually contains the medicine and sets off to the police station, thinking that it has the idol inside. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Fletcher arrests Andaal at gun point and takes her to Kalifullah's home. He makes a phone call to Govind to get back along with the idol. Govind retreats from the steps of the police station, only to be spotted by Balram Naidu and Shingen Narahashi. The entire police force follow Govind to Kalifullah's home hoping to arrest Govind and Fletcher. When Govind and Fletcher meet, they are surprised to see that the cooler box does not have the idol in it and Govind guesses that it should be with Avtaar Singh. With assistance from Kalifullah's father, Sheik (Nagesh
), they escape to the concert hall. Balram Naidu brings the police and enquirers Kalifullah and the residents of the entire village regarding the escape of Govind. Subsequently he orders everybody to be stationed in a Mosque
to hasten the inquiry.
Avtaar Singh finishes his predicted last musical performance, vomiting a lot of blood while singing. At the end of the concert, Govind and Fletcher are waiting for him to exchange the cooler box. Fletcher shoots Avtaar Singh in the throat
and after little confusion, Govind and Andaal set off on a bike along with the idol and Fletcher continues to chase them. Govind and Andaal reach a construction site along with the idol. The sun dawns on December 26, 2004. Fletcher holds Andaal at gun point and Govind hands over the idol to Fletcher, only to confess later to Andaal that he had removed the vial from the idol. Balram Naidu reaches the spot in a helicopter and chases Fletcher. Govind and Andaal set off with the vial, with Govind realizing the urging need to preserve it.
Meanwhile, J. Raghavendra (P. Vasu
), head of the illegal sand miners tries to cajole Vincent Poovaragan to give up his activities and join his side. Most of Poovaragan's members have deserted him, however Poovaragan remains unchanged. At the same time, President Bush and few others come to know that NaCl
could destroy the weapon. Back in Tamil Nadu
, Govind notices a couple of drainage cleaners who coat their bare bodies with crystal salt before getting into the drainage holes. He gets an idea and runs toward the sea, only to be stopped again by Fletcher and Govind is no match for Fletcher and Fletcher succeeds in securing the vial. While Govind is hurt badly, Shingen Narahashi comes to his rescue and fights against Fletcher, after he understands Fletcher had killed Yuka. Govind watches Shingen Narahashi break Fletcher's arms and legs. Fletcher helplessly and in frustration, curses India and breaks open the vial and eats it despite pleas from Govind who shouts not to do it and at the same time asks Shingen Narahashi to back away. Balram Naidu, in his helicopter has followed Fletcher all the way through till the beach. As soon the vial is open, he zooms in with his binoculars and the virus starts replicating rapidly in the atmosphere.
Almost immediately, the tsunami
strikes. Balram Naidu flees away in his helicopter. Govind, Shingen Narahashi and Andaal take refuge in a small boat while the decaying Fletcher gets washed away. The Mosque
which hosts the inhabitants of Kalifullah's village does not get affected and the entire village is saved and they return the good will by helping the police in Tsunami relief. J. Raghavendra's house is struck and Poovaragan saves the children of Raghavendra, but gets himself killed in the fracas. During relief efforts, Krishnaveni believes Poovaragan to be her son and cries out of grief finally, breaking the barriers of her caste
. Andaal expresses her love for Govind and at the same time, praises God
who, according to her, has saved millions of lives through a tsunami in place of the vial. Govind questions her theory by asking if a God would kill thousands of lives. As Govind and Andaal set off from the beach, the idol of Vishnu
is shown to have been brought back to land from the sea by the tsunami. It is also indicated that the bullet that struck Avtaar Singh's throat cleared off the cancer
and he should be able to get back to singing in a span of six months.
The scene changes back to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai where President Bush is invited to deliver his speech. After speaking, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
is invited to speak and credits roll by concluding in the Ulaga Nayagan
song, in which K. S. Ravikumar
makes his special appearance.
was keen to break the record for an actor appearing in the most roles, so he came up with an original storyline and approached prominent directors, to direct it, when K. S. Ravikumar
accepted the offer. Dasavatharam began soon after the announcement of another magnum opus, Sivaji: The Boss
starring, the other major star of India, Rajnikanth
; the films, despite being released nearly a year apart, were built up to be rival projects. K. S. Ravikumar
and Kamal Haasan
came together for the fourth time following their three previous successful ventures, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali
and Panchathantiram
. Haasan announced he was set to play ten different roles in the film, making it the first time that an actor has appeared in so many roles in world cinema (this record was later broken in 2009 by Priyanka Chopra
who played 12 roles in What's Your Raashee?
). Venu Ravichandran
, who had a profitable 2006, signed up to produce the venture securing distribution rights in the process. Following nearly a year of pre-production, deciding the cast and the locations, the film began its first schedule on September 11, 2006.
, who was signed up and set to make her debut in the Tamil films, however due to the long inactivity of the film, Balan opted out citing date clashes with her Bollywood
project. Following the removal of Balan, it was reported that each of the ten characters portrayed by Kamal Haasan
in the movie, would have a female lead opposite them. Heroines who were reported to be a part of the film but failed to make the final shortlist were: Jyothika, Mumtaj, Kiran Rathod
, Meena
, Bhumika Chawla
, Sameera Reddy
, Nadhiya
, Kamalinee Mukerji, Nithya Das, Meera Jasmine
, Simran Bagga
and Vasundhara Das
. Moreover, few heroines, who were selected, opted out due to date clashes like Balan, Trisha Krishnan
and Nayantara
. Furthermore, Shriya Saran
was forced to opt out of the project by the producers of her other film Sivaji: The Boss
, a film built up as the rival to Dasavathaaram at the box-office. Finally, the major female lead role was given to Asin Thottumkal
, who was later assigned two distinct roles in the project.
The second lead female role in the film, went to Mallika Sherawat
, for whom Dasavathaaram is her first Tamil language
film. Over the course, of the production more supporting actors were added to the film, the first beingNapolean
, who was signed up to portray a king in the film. Other veteran actors, Jayaprada, Nagesh
, P. Vasu
, K. R. Vijaya and M. S. Baskar
were roped into essay other small roles in the film, as well as a bevy of American supporting actors. Actors, Jayaram
and Vadivelu
opted out of the film during the production of the project, citing date problems.
The film was originally announced with A. R. Rahman
as the music director of the film, however like Shriya Saran
, he was removed from the project as per the request of the producers of Sivaji: The Boss
. He was replaced by Himesh Reshammiya
, for whom Dasavathaaram became a debut in Tamil as a music composer. Due to inconsistency of dates for Reshmaiyya, Devi Sri Prasad
was roped into record the background music despite indications that Rahman would re-join the project to do so. Ashmith Kunder
was signed up to edit the film, despite early indications that A. Sreekar Prasad
would have landed the offer. The director, K. S. Ravikumar
also wrote the script for the film following negotiations with the late Sujatha Rangarajan
, who died before the release of the movie and Crazy Mohan
. Late Jeeva
was initially announced as the cinematographer of the film, who was then replaced by Ravi Varman
.
A preliminary schedule took place before the start of the film, which featured no filming, but only the make-up tests, which lasted 25 days in the USA. The filming of Dasavathaaram began on August 3, 2006 at Mahabalipuram in Chennai
, where a song was picturised on a set created by Sameer Chandra, an art director. The set resembled the Airavatheeswarar temple at Darasuram in Kumbakonam
and scenes with Kamal Haasan in an Iyengar
get-up and accompanied by over 750 extras were recorded. Asin Thottumkal
joined the team on September 11, 2006 for a shoot in Uthandi. However in late September 2006, Sameer Chanda was sacked from the project due to his tendency to employ only workers from Mumbai
and not Tamilians, prompting Haasan and Ravikumar
to remove him from the project, with his role being entrusted to Prabhakar of Virumaandi
fame. Shooting was held at Chennai Airport in November 2006, which cost the producer . Another team member was sacked in Chengelpet, when a stunt sequence was being captured by the camera; stunt master Kanal Kannan was reported to have used unparliamentarily words at the workers and that took over the public address system. Angered and humiliated by such remarks, the workers walked out of the sets refusing to work anymore. Finally they all resumed duty only after the elimination of Kanal Kannan. A new stunt master, Thyagarajan was given the opportunity to take over following the controversy caused by Kannan, who had a similar problem while shooting for Sivaji.
Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included America, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand
. A role of a foreigner, played by Haasan, was shot for in casinos in and around Las Vegas
and Orlando
. A song involving Kamal Haasan and Mallika Sherawat
that was to be shot in US was moved to Malaysia due to problems with Sherawat's visa deeming she could not join the crew. So the crew instead decided to shift the shooting to another destination in Malaysia and the song was shot in posh night clubs; furthermore scenes were shot at a lobby of a prominent Malaysian airport.
A large set was erected at the Taramani Film City in India which was a Replica of the White House
, with Haasan’s makeup for the role lasting six whole hours to obtain the desired outcome. For the climax scenes of the film, a tsunami effect was created in Mahabalipuram. The scene was shot at a 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) area of land in which a 100 feet (30.5 m) wall was created near Muttukadu. Six machines, which generated 20 feet (6.1 m) high waves, were imported from the US, for a total cost of . For the climax, another scene was shot dramatically above the Nehru Stadium
with the permission of the chief minister, Karunanidhi. The film’s final shoot occurred on October 8, 2007 at Uthandi, a coastal village.
. He claimed to have created the story of Dasavathaaram, in a script titled, Ardhanari alias Clones, and that Kamal Haasan
and Venu Ravichandran
had stolen the script and left him out of the credits, violating the copyright act. On the basis of this complaint, Chennai police queried the actor and later they accepted his explanation with the high court sending notices to Kamal Haasan and the producer of the film, Venu Ravichandran announcing an interim stay on the release of the film. The film was allowed to continue with its schedules, but the case was delayed till later in 2007. However in September 2007, the Court dismissed the petition of Senthil Kumar against Kamal Haasan in the case, clearing the legal hurdles for the film.
Following the audio launch on April 25, 2008, Mallika Sherawat
received a police complaint against the issue of improper attire at a film function. Hindu Makkal Katchi
, a splinter group of the Hindu Munnani, lodged a complaint with the police, saying that Sherawat's attire at the function to release audio-CDs of Dasavathaaram, in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi
had been present, had "hurt the sentiments of Hindus". The actress was accused of wearing transparent, skimpy clothes and sitting crossed leg on the stage, revealing her lingerie. Sherawat, was later not asked, to apologize as she rarely visits Chennai
and her visit for the film launch was a one off.
In May 2008, the film was criticized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which claimed that the film has portrayed the clash between Saivism and Vaishnavism
which prevailed in the 12th century in the film in an objectionable manner. The organization reported that many statues of Hindu Gods have been shown to be destroyed which will be highly controversial and will hurt the sentiments of Hindus all over the world. While condemning such scenes, VHP leader, Vedantham, had stated that the scenes in question be removed soon, failing which they will be holding agitations in front of the theatres where the film would be screened. However, following the accusations, Venu Ravichandran
announced that the film contains no controversial scenes and added that the film, based around the Hindu
religion, will convert atheists to theists. The charges were cleared on May 29, 2008 insisting that Dasavathaaram did not portray Hindu culture in bad light.
. The soundtrackDasavathaaram was released on April 25, 2008 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
in Chennai
, which became the largest audio launch for a film in the world. Prominent film personalities across the world attended with Jackie Chan
, in his first such appearance, being Hollywood's ambassador for the function. Other prominent regional Indian artistes such as Amitabh Bachchan
, Mammooty, Vijay
and Madhavan
attended the launch, which was graced by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
. The event hosted by Shobana, was attended by all the artistes of the film apart from the producer, Venu Ravichandran
, who opts not to attend public events. The songs composed by Himesh Reshammiya
were acquired by Sony BMG, purchasing their first Tamil film, for a record of . The music was released in four languages: Tamil
, Hindi
, Telugu
and Malayalam.
at a screen. The first exclusive screening of the film, prior to release, was held on the morning of the audio launch on April 25, 2008, to visiting guests Jackie Chan
, Mammooty and Amitabh Bachchan
, all of whom were full of praise for the film. Distribution of the film worldwide, was sold to various companies with producer Venu Ravichandran
distributing the film around South India
. Sony India
distributed the film in North India
, whilst Ayngaran International
sold the film to cinema halls in the United Kingdom, Singapore
and the Gulf
. Canadian rights for the film were bought by Walt Disney
, becoming the first distributional venture of an Indian film by the production house. Narmadha Travels acquired the rights from Aascar Films to distribute the film in the United States Of America.
The film was shown subsequently to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
by the request of the producer on June 8, 2008. Furthermore, Ravichandran sold the television
rights for the film to Karunanidhi's Kalaignar TV
for a record, 4.5 crore rupees. Two days prior to the release, the film was shown to prominent film personalities of Indian cinema at Four Films Cinema in Chennai
, with the film receiving praise.
on the same date, with later release dates set for the Hindi
, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
and Bhojpuri versions. The Indian censor board
certified the movie, giving it a "U" (universal) rating, on April 24, 2008 after 9 cuts were made and letting the film run for 166 minutes. Dasavathaaram released worldwide with 1,300 prints in all the respective languages. For the Tamil version, Tamil Nadu
alone had 275 prints with Kerala
and Karnataka
accounting for 85 and 80 prints respectively, with 190 prints released overseas. The Hindi version had about 410 prints in North India. Moreover, the Telugu version of Dasavathaaram had as many as 260 prints in Andhra Pradesh
. According to The Times of India, Dasavatharam due to its big budget, just covered its cost and made a very small profit. The film grossed in Kerala in the first week. The film, also released in other parts of India, collected from outside Tamil Nadu. In Nizam territory, the film collected a share of more than in just 2 weeks of screening. In Seedead, the film collected more than in a fortnight. In the Krishna district, the film collected in 2 weeks and in Guntur it amassed a share of in a fortnight. In the East and West Godavari district, the film was able to collect in 2 weeks and in the district of Vizag, it amounted to in a fortnight. In four weeks, the global collections of the film reached .
In Malaysia, the film opened in second place for the period of June 12 to 15th having collected $601,000 from 58 screens on the opening weekend and $1,720,780 in nine weeks. The film completed a hundred day run on September 20, 2008. The film grossed in Malaysia as lifetime business.
The film was released in USA with 42 prints, an unprecedented record in US movie history for a South Indian film and with print sharing facility, the film was screened in 50 cities across the country. The collection on the opening weekend in the USA was $500,000. The film grossed in the USA as lifetime business.
In the UK box office, the film collected £126,747 from 19 screens on its opening weekend, debuting at number 12, the third highest position ever for a Tamil film. By its second weekend, the film grossed £216,000 at the UK box office. The film grossed in the UK as lifetime business.
In Canada
, the film was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
, the first Tamil film to be done so. The film ultimately grossed around - worldwide. making it the No.1 highest grossing Tamil film in the 80 years history of Tamil film. According to Box Office Mojo
, the film grossed $26,356,962 in first three weeks of release.
scene. The review adds that "it is not necessary to say how great an actor Kamal Haasan is but one thing has to be said; no other actor would have dared to take on these varied roles", praising his performances. Asin Thottumkal
was described as having the second best role of her career, only second to Ghajini, whilst K. S. Ravikumar
was "complimented for his handling of such a complicated but challenging subject". It adds that the film will "go down in the history of Indian cinema as a unique experiment in the commercial circuit". The only negative factor in the film is described as Himesh Reshammiya
whose music fail him but praise was addressed to Devi Sri Prasad
, the background music composer who was labelled "excellent", as was the camera work by Ravi Varman
.
In comparison, the film was labelled "average" by Sify
, who stated that Dasavathaaram fell short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated. Sify wrote that the "trouble with the format is that far too many characters of the actor criss-cross without any reason—or they don’t make any difference to the story". Claiming characters such as the “Punjabi
pop singer Avatar Singh, the tall Khalifullah Khan, the Japanese martial arts expert, etc., are unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10". It also criticizes the make-up, lamenting that "Kamal’s prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener" but praise Brian Jennings's special effects, mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are top class by Indian standards. As Rediff mentioned, Sify criticizes Himesh Reshammiya’s music as "nothing much to talk about other than Kallai Mattum
but Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is superb and makes up for everything". The reviewer praises cinematographer Ravi Varman, who they claim "may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb". The actors performances' were all praised especially Kamal Hassan, who "pitches in yet another fantastic performance" with special praise for the Balaram Naidu character. Asin Thottumkal is described as "cute as the chirpy Andal, but beyond a point her character irritates you with her frequent Perumale calls", her dubbing effort is praised as "top class and deserves special mention". Other actors are also appreciated, with Mallika Sherawat
in a brief role "sizzles", while M. S. Baskar
and Napolean
in small roles "shine". Despite these reviews, the film was declared a "blockbuster" due to its high box-office collections.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
Tamil
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
co-written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
. Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
, who wrote the screenplay and story of the film, stars in ten distinct roles, including the lead character. Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
appears in a dual role and Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
plays a subsidiary role in the film. The film, which had been under production for nearly three years, was produced and primarily distributed by Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films.-Career:...
, who made the film with a budget of . The soundtrack to the film was composed by Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya is an Indian music director, composer, singer and actor.-Music and film career:Himesh Reshammiya was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Vipin Reshammiya and Madhu Reshammiya. He had his first success as a music director of the 2003 film, Tere Naam...
. Cinematography and editing were conducted by Ravi Varman
Ravi Varman
Varman, ISC, is a celebrated Director Of Photography of India. He has shot many award-winning films in Indian languages of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English. Known for his realistic picturization and poetic framing sense, Ravi Varman began his career in Malayalam films...
and Ashmith Kunder
Ashmith Kunder
Ashmith Kunder is a film editor from India. His most prominent works have been Mumbai Express and Tees Maar Khan-Editor:* Tees Maar Khan - 2010* Lamhaa - 2010* Ghatothkach - 2008* Kabhi Socha Bhi Na Tha - 2008* Matrubhoomi - 2005...
respectively, while Michael Westmore
Michael Westmore
Michael George Westmore is an American make-up artist best known for his work in various Star Trek productions, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and four feature films.Born in Los Angeles, California, Westmore is the son of Monte Westmore,...
was the chief make-up artist for the film.
The film revolves around bringing together the lives of several individuals during the week prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Primarily, the story revolves around a research scientist who loses a biological weapon of mass destruction in the United States. The weapon is also sought by a former Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
officer for his own use. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse
Cat and mouse
Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom dating back to 1675 that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse", who despite not being able to...
chase throughout several countries, as the scientist and the ex-CIA officer vie for the possession of the weapon. The proceedings are affected by several characters and their issues which disrupt the weapon from going to the hands of the former officer. The story occurs within a week building up to the tsunami of December 2004.
After post-production problems delaying release for one and a half years, it was released worldwide on June 13, 2008 in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, with simultaneous dubbed versions released in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
. The film became a blockbuster despite mixed reviews in south India, the Hindi version Dashavatar which was released almost a year later was also a super hit.
Plot
The film begins showing the Jawaharlal Nehru StadiumJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a Chennai stadium and seats 40,000. It hosts football , and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multi purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8000 which hosts volleyball, basket ball, table tennis etc. The stadium is named after Jawaharlal...
filled with an audience, being hosted by Govindarajan Ramaswamy (Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
) with prominent personalities including Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, Dr. Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
(Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
) and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
, seated on the stage, following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Govind explains the idea of the chaos theory
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
and its effects on the world. Govind begins by reciting events from Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
in the 12th century Chola empire of South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. Kulothunga Chola II
Kulothunga Chola II
Kulothunga Chola II was a 12th century king of the Chola Dynasty of the Tamil people of South India. He succeeded his father Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II count his reign from...
, (Napolean
Napolean (actor)
Kumaresan Duraisamy , better known by his stage name Napoleon , is a Tamil film actor, politician and the founder and chairman of the Jeevan Technologies. As of 27 May 2009, He is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet...
) the King of the empire is a Saivite, believing in the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
deity, Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. The King wants to get rid of all temples of the deity Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, followed by the Vaishnavites and intends to take a large idol of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
from a temple intent on disposing it in the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. However, Rangarajan Nambi (Tamil), Rangaraja Nambi (Telugu), a Vaishnavite, tries to stop the King from disposing his deity. Uncovering Nambi's plans to stop the idol’s disposal, the King tells him to renounce his belief or be destroyed along with his idol. Nambi refuses to bow to any other god, despite pleas from his wife, Kothai Radha (Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
) and their son, and is subsequently tied to the huge idol and both are thrown in the Bay of Bengal.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA. He works in an organization which had invented a deadly virus which has the potential to be the greatest bio-weapon ever made by man, with the actual matter being kept well protected. However during an announcement with George Bush, Govind's lab monkey breaches the security protecting the bio-weapon and swallows it, killing it and producing a devastating effect. Following this discovery, Govind wants to destroy it, with the only possible remedy being the mixing of the weapon with sodium chloride
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
. But his boss, Dr. Sethu (Rajesh Toleti) at the organization has a different idea and attempts to sell it to terrorist organizations. Upon the discovery of this, Govind makes off with the vial containing the virus and flees to his friend, Suresh's (Sanjay) home. Suresh betrays Govind and informs the boss that Govind is at his house.
Suddenly Christian Fletcher (Kamal Haasan), who is an ex-CIA officer, also appears in the scene wanting the vial for his own nefarious purposes. At Suresh's house, Govind manages to escape without harm but Suresh and his Japanese wife, Yuka (Ann), are murdered by Fletcher. The escaping Govind, finds himself in a car with another friend, Sairam (Chakri Toleti
Chakri Toleti
Chakri Toleti is an Indian actor and film director based in the United States who recently made his directorial debut with the bilingual films Unnaipol Oruvan and Eeenadu . The film was a remake of Neeraj Pandey's 2008 Hindi film A Wednesday...
), in whose belongings, the vial gets mixed up accidentally, sending the vial by mistake to Chidambaram in India. Unable to stop the flight, Govind finally manages to escape from the USA by sneaking aboard a cargo flight. Receiving intelligence on this issue, Fletcher decides to fly to India to recover the vial. Prior to leaving, he finds himself a translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
in the Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
pole dancer, Jasmine (Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
); also getting married to her before leaving. In Japan, Shingen Narahashi (Kamal Haasan), a Japanese martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
expert and brother of Yuka, thinks it was Govind who killed his sister and comes to India, seeking revenge.
Upon arrival at Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
airport, the vial is transferred to another plane and Telugu intelligence officer, Balram Naidu (Kamal Haasan) intervenes and questions Govind, who insists on talking to higher authorities but to no avail. As Naidu walks out of the room briefly, Fletcher invades the building taking Govind and a police officer, Bharath (Akash) hostage. The trio along with Jasmine is stopped at immigration but mange to escape after a Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
pop singer, Avtaar Singh (Kamal Haasan), faints and causes a frenzy at the airport. Eventually Akash gets shot and during this, Govind manages to escape from Fletcher and flees to Chidambaram in hope of finding the vial. Subsequently, Fletcher and Jasmine hire a driver, Broadway Kumar (M. S. Baskar
M. S. Baskar
M. S. Bhaskar is an Indian actor. A former theatre artiste, he has appeared in supporting roles and as a comedian in Tamil TV series and more recently in Tamil films. He is probably best known for his performances in the series Chinna Papa Periya Papa and Selvi and in the films Sivakasi and Mozhi...
) to transport them to Chidambaram as well.
The vial ultimately ends up at the house of a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family in Chidambaram. The vial, delivered in a parcel by the postman Prabhu (Vayapuri), is taken in by a 95-year-old, senile woman, Krishnaveni (Kamal Haasan), who lives in belief of receiving a parcel from her son, who perished. Govind pleads for it to no avail, but eventually changes the mind of Krishnaveni, after explaining the scientific threat to her granddaughter, Andaal (Asin Thottumkal). Krishnaveni responds by putting the vial inside the idol of the deity, Perumal, citing that God would destroy the weapon. Fletcher and Jasmine, eventually arrive in Chidambaram and Jasmine attempts to seduce Prabhu and Naidu's assistant, Ekambaram (Chitti Babu) to reveal Govind's location.
Govind tries to secure the vial before Fletcher and Jasmine reach them. Soon, Fletcher fires his gun near an elephant and it starts rampaging, with Jasmine getting badly hurt in the commotion. Lest she should say something, Fletcher shoots her dead. Govind tries to escape with the idol but Andaal, who worships the idol, tries to stop him. Eventually they both escape and after a long chase, they manage to reach the old Chola Temple, where the King watched the idol of Vishnu being thrown into the ocean in 12th century. Govind remembers that the vial should be kept cool so they bury the idol in cold sand and go in search of ice to maintain the temperature. As they stop to get ice, the pair find out they are being hunted by the police and that they are being portrayed negatively in the press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. When they return they find that the quarry sand, where they planted the statue, is being stolen by illegal sand miners. The miners capture the duo as they try to reclaim the idol. Furthermore, their leader (Santhana Bharathi
Santhana Bharathi
Santhana Bharathi is a popular Tamil language film celebrity in Kollywood, the Tamil film industry in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He has directed several films such as Guna and the National Film Award winner, Mahanadhi...
) attempts to rape Andaal when she shouts into darkness for help. Lights flash and Vincent Poovaraagan (Kamal Haasan), a Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
who was neglected by the society due to their caste arrive, along with a bunch of TV reporters, comes to question the theft of sand from quarries. Using this opportunity, Govind and Andaal escape with the idol.
They manage to escape using the sand Lorries and on the main road, they collide with a car which contains a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
family within it. Govind helps the family out of the house, with the injured also including seven foot giant Kalifullah Mukhtaar (Kamal Haasan); furthermore they simultaneously escape from threats from Fletcher and Balram Naidu. Kalifullah's mother, Megha (K. R. Vijaya
K. R. Vijaya
K. R. Vijaya is a popular Indian actress who has starred in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She started her career in the 1960s. She has been acting for more than four decades now in South Indian cinema. K. R...
) begins to bleed and Govind with Andaal take her to the local hospital. At the hospital Avtaar Singh rests with a tumour in his throat posing potential danger to his vocal cords and thereby, his singing career. He checks into a hospital and the doctor gives him some medicines in a cooler. Govind also gets a cooler, similar to the one of Avtaar Singh, to preserve the idol and hence, the vial. In a lift, the coolers of Govind and Avtaar Singh are mixed up, and Avtaar Singh sets off for his concert. Govind meets Bharath again, with the police officer instructing him to meet Balram Naidu. Govind picks up the cooler which actually contains the medicine and sets off to the police station, thinking that it has the idol inside. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Fletcher arrests Andaal at gun point and takes her to Kalifullah's home. He makes a phone call to Govind to get back along with the idol. Govind retreats from the steps of the police station, only to be spotted by Balram Naidu and Shingen Narahashi. The entire police force follow Govind to Kalifullah's home hoping to arrest Govind and Fletcher. When Govind and Fletcher meet, they are surprised to see that the cooler box does not have the idol in it and Govind guesses that it should be with Avtaar Singh. With assistance from Kalifullah's father, Sheik (Nagesh
Nagesh
Nagesh , was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema....
), they escape to the concert hall. Balram Naidu brings the police and enquirers Kalifullah and the residents of the entire village regarding the escape of Govind. Subsequently he orders everybody to be stationed in a Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
to hasten the inquiry.
Avtaar Singh finishes his predicted last musical performance, vomiting a lot of blood while singing. At the end of the concert, Govind and Fletcher are waiting for him to exchange the cooler box. Fletcher shoots Avtaar Singh in the throat
Throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...
and after little confusion, Govind and Andaal set off on a bike along with the idol and Fletcher continues to chase them. Govind and Andaal reach a construction site along with the idol. The sun dawns on December 26, 2004. Fletcher holds Andaal at gun point and Govind hands over the idol to Fletcher, only to confess later to Andaal that he had removed the vial from the idol. Balram Naidu reaches the spot in a helicopter and chases Fletcher. Govind and Andaal set off with the vial, with Govind realizing the urging need to preserve it.
Meanwhile, J. Raghavendra (P. Vasu
P. Vasu
P. Vasu is an Indian film director, writer, and actor who works in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu films and a few Malayalam films as well. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 50 films.-Personal life:...
), head of the illegal sand miners tries to cajole Vincent Poovaragan to give up his activities and join his side. Most of Poovaragan's members have deserted him, however Poovaragan remains unchanged. At the same time, President Bush and few others come to know that NaCl
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
could destroy the weapon. Back in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Govind notices a couple of drainage cleaners who coat their bare bodies with crystal salt before getting into the drainage holes. He gets an idea and runs toward the sea, only to be stopped again by Fletcher and Govind is no match for Fletcher and Fletcher succeeds in securing the vial. While Govind is hurt badly, Shingen Narahashi comes to his rescue and fights against Fletcher, after he understands Fletcher had killed Yuka. Govind watches Shingen Narahashi break Fletcher's arms and legs. Fletcher helplessly and in frustration, curses India and breaks open the vial and eats it despite pleas from Govind who shouts not to do it and at the same time asks Shingen Narahashi to back away. Balram Naidu, in his helicopter has followed Fletcher all the way through till the beach. As soon the vial is open, he zooms in with his binoculars and the virus starts replicating rapidly in the atmosphere.
Almost immediately, the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
strikes. Balram Naidu flees away in his helicopter. Govind, Shingen Narahashi and Andaal take refuge in a small boat while the decaying Fletcher gets washed away. The Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
which hosts the inhabitants of Kalifullah's village does not get affected and the entire village is saved and they return the good will by helping the police in Tsunami relief. J. Raghavendra's house is struck and Poovaragan saves the children of Raghavendra, but gets himself killed in the fracas. During relief efforts, Krishnaveni believes Poovaragan to be her son and cries out of grief finally, breaking the barriers of her caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
. Andaal expresses her love for Govind and at the same time, praises God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
who, according to her, has saved millions of lives through a tsunami in place of the vial. Govind questions her theory by asking if a God would kill thousands of lives. As Govind and Andaal set off from the beach, the idol of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
is shown to have been brought back to land from the sea by the tsunami. It is also indicated that the bullet that struck Avtaar Singh's throat cleared off the cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and he should be able to get back to singing in a span of six months.
The scene changes back to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai where President Bush is invited to deliver his speech. After speaking, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
is invited to speak and credits roll by concluding in the Ulaga Nayagan
Ulaga Nayagan
Ulaga Nayagan is a song from the Tamil film Dasavathaaram starring Kamal Haasan and Asin Thottumkal directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The music was composed by the Himesh Reshammiya, lyrics were written by Vairamuthu and sung by Vinit Singh.The song was inspired from the song "O Makhna ve" from the...
song, in which K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
makes his special appearance.
Cast
- Kamal HaasanKamal HaasanKamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
in ten roles as Rangaraja Nambi, Govindarajan Ramaswamy,George BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Avtaar Singh, Christian Fletcher, Shinghen Narahasi, Krishnaveni, Vincent Poovaraagan, Kalifullah Mukhtaar and Balram Naidu. In the Hindi version, He is from Patna, Bihar. For the first time in world cinemaFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Haasan portrayed ten distinct characters in a feature film. The shooting for the roles lasted for up to 3 years, with some roles taking up to 6 hours to apply make-up for. The final song in the film, Ulaga NayaganUlaga NayaganUlaga Nayagan is a song from the Tamil film Dasavathaaram starring Kamal Haasan and Asin Thottumkal directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The music was composed by the Himesh Reshammiya, lyrics were written by Vairamuthu and sung by Vinit Singh.The song was inspired from the song "O Makhna ve" from the...
shows how Haasan wore these synthetic make-up.
- Asin ThottumkalAsin ThottumkalAsin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
in dual roles as Kothai Radha and Andaal. After a major battle to land the role, Asin, for the first time in her career portrayed dual roles in the project. The film is Asin's largest release to date.
- Mallika SherawatMallika SherawatMallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
as Jasmine. Sherawat made her Tamil languageTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
debut with the film, playing a supporting role as Fletcher's love. Sherawat's role was cut by the censors due to her suggestive pole dancePole dancePole dance is a form of performing art, a combination of dance and gymnastics. It involves dancing and performing acrobatic tricks with a vertical pole and is an increasingly popular form of fitness and dance, practised by many enthusiasts in gyms or dedicated dance studios...
in the song Kaa Karuppanukkum. Apart from her on-screen presence, Sherawat was a key factor in bringing Jackie ChanJackie ChanJackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
to the audio launch of the film.
- Jayaprada as Ranjitha Singh. After several films with Haasan throughout the 1970s, Dasavathaaram saw Jayaprada reunited on-screen with him. She portrayed the caring wife of PunjabiPunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
pop star, Avtaar Singh.
- NapoleanNapolean (actor)Kumaresan Duraisamy , better known by his stage name Napoleon , is a Tamil film actor, politician and the founder and chairman of the Jeevan Technologies. As of 27 May 2009, He is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet...
as Kulothunga Chola IIKulothunga Chola IIKulothunga Chola II was a 12th century king of the Chola Dynasty of the Tamil people of South India. He succeeded his father Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II count his reign from...
. Napolean portrayed the KingKing- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
who lived in 13th century ChidambaramChidambaramChidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
during the Chola DynastyChola DynastyThe Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
, believing the rites of the HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
god, ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. The scenes with Napolean were among the first shot, additionally, Napolean's off-screen persona as a politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
helped the unit secure more relaxed rules for their shooting locations.
Development
Kamal HaasanKamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
was keen to break the record for an actor appearing in the most roles, so he came up with an original storyline and approached prominent directors, to direct it, when K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
accepted the offer. Dasavatharam began soon after the announcement of another magnum opus, Sivaji: The Boss
Sivaji: The Boss
Sivaji is a 2007 Tamil political thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran played the lead roles, with Suman, Vivek and Raghuvaran playing other significant roles in the film. A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack and background music,...
starring, the other major star of India, Rajnikanth
Rajnikanth
Rajinikanth is an Indian film actor, media personality, and cultural icon. He made his debut as an actor in the National Film Award-winning motion picture Apoorva Raagangal , directed by K. Balachander, whom the actor considers his mentor....
; the films, despite being released nearly a year apart, were built up to be rival projects. K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
and Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
came together for the fourth time following their three previous successful ventures, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali
Thenali
Thenali is a 2000 Tamil feature film directed and produced by K. S. Ravikumar and written by Crazy Mohan. The film featured Kamal Haasan playing the title role, and also starred Jayaram, Devayani and Jyothika. The film's music was composed by A. R. Rahman, whilst cinematography was handled by Priyan...
and Panchathantiram
Panchathantiram
Panchathantiram is a 2002 Tamil comedy film directed by K. S. Ravikumar and written by Crazy Mohan. The film features Kamal Haasan, Simran and Ramya Krishnan in the lead roles, with a large supporting cast including Jayaram, Ramesh Aravind and Nagesh...
. Haasan announced he was set to play ten different roles in the film, making it the first time that an actor has appeared in so many roles in world cinema (this record was later broken in 2009 by Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
who played 12 roles in What's Your Raashee?
What's Your Raashee?
What's Your Raashee? is a Hindi film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. The movie is based on the Doordarshan TV serial Mr...
). Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films.-Career:...
, who had a profitable 2006, signed up to produce the venture securing distribution rights in the process. Following nearly a year of pre-production, deciding the cast and the locations, the film began its first schedule on September 11, 2006.
Casting
Between the announcement of the project and prior to the launch a year later, several heroines were signed up and then either removed or opted out from the project. The first being Vidya BalanVidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....
, who was signed up and set to make her debut in the Tamil films, however due to the long inactivity of the film, Balan opted out citing date clashes with her Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
project. Following the removal of Balan, it was reported that each of the ten characters portrayed by Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
in the movie, would have a female lead opposite them. Heroines who were reported to be a part of the film but failed to make the final shortlist were: Jyothika, Mumtaj, Kiran Rathod
Kiran Rathod
Kiran Rathod is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi and Tamil films.-Early life:Rathod was born on 11 January 1981 in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh into a Rajput family. She is a graduate of Mithibai College in Mumbai...
, Meena
Meena
Meena Durairaj, mononymously known as Meena, born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is a South Indian film and television actress. Meena debuted as a child artist in Telugu and Tamil films and has later starred in films produced by various regional industries. She is one of the most established...
, Bhumika Chawla
Bhumika Chawla
Bhumika Chawla is an Indian actress. She made her film debut in the Telugu film Yuvakudu and has since then worked in various Indian film industries and appeared in over thirty films in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Malayalam...
, Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy
Sameera Reddy is an Indian film actress, primarily working in the Hindi film industry and Tamil industry. Apart from Bollywood, Reddy has also appeared in a number of Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam films.-Early life:...
, Nadhiya
Nadhiya
Zareena is a Malayalam and Tamil film actress who made her debut in a Malayalam movie named Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu, alongside Mohanlal and Padmini. This movie was re-made in Tamil as Poove Poochudava during the 1980s with Padmini and marked her debut in Tamil. She currently acts in...
, Kamalinee Mukerji, Nithya Das, Meera Jasmine
Meera Jasmine
Meera Jasmine is an Indian actress, who appears in regional Indian films that includes Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 and is a two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award, the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, as well as the...
, Simran Bagga
Simran Bagga
Rishibala Naval , better known by her Industry name Simran, is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films. She debuted in Bollywood and acted in several Hindi films, before starring in her first Tamil film V.I.P and her first Telugu film Abbai Gari Pelli in 1997...
and Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das born 1977, is an Indian singer and actress. She has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. She is the co-founder of world music band Arya. As a playback singer, she is best remembered for singing "Shakalaka Baby" from the Tamil film Mudhalvan, which was also her debut...
. Moreover, few heroines, who were selected, opted out due to date clashes like Balan, Trisha Krishnan
Trisha Krishnan
Trisha Krishnan is an Indian film actress and model, who primarily appears in Tamil and Telugu language films, but has also appeared in Hindi language films. She was noticed after winning several beauty pageants like the Miss Madras contest , which marked her entry into filmdom...
and Nayantara
Nayantara
Nayantara , is an Indian film actress. She made her acting debut in 2003 in the Malayalam film Manassinakkare. She debuted in Tamil cinema with Ayya and in Telugu cinema with Lakshmi , following which she starred alongside popular lead actors...
. Furthermore, Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran , also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada...
was forced to opt out of the project by the producers of her other film Sivaji: The Boss
Sivaji: The Boss
Sivaji is a 2007 Tamil political thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran played the lead roles, with Suman, Vivek and Raghuvaran playing other significant roles in the film. A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack and background music,...
, a film built up as the rival to Dasavathaaram at the box-office. Finally, the major female lead role was given to Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
, who was later assigned two distinct roles in the project.
The second lead female role in the film, went to Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
, for whom Dasavathaaram is her first Tamil language
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
film. Over the course, of the production more supporting actors were added to the film, the first beingNapolean
Napolean (actor)
Kumaresan Duraisamy , better known by his stage name Napoleon , is a Tamil film actor, politician and the founder and chairman of the Jeevan Technologies. As of 27 May 2009, He is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet...
, who was signed up to portray a king in the film. Other veteran actors, Jayaprada, Nagesh
Nagesh
Nagesh , was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema....
, P. Vasu
P. Vasu
P. Vasu is an Indian film director, writer, and actor who works in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu films and a few Malayalam films as well. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 50 films.-Personal life:...
, K. R. Vijaya and M. S. Baskar
M. S. Baskar
M. S. Bhaskar is an Indian actor. A former theatre artiste, he has appeared in supporting roles and as a comedian in Tamil TV series and more recently in Tamil films. He is probably best known for his performances in the series Chinna Papa Periya Papa and Selvi and in the films Sivakasi and Mozhi...
were roped into essay other small roles in the film, as well as a bevy of American supporting actors. Actors, Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
and Vadivelu
Vadivelu
Vadivelu , often referred to as Vadivel, is a Tamil film actor,comedian and playback singer. Since 2000, he has acted as a comedian in various Tamil films. During his career, Vadivelu has won several Filmfare Awards and Tamil Nadu State Film Awards...
opted out of the film during the production of the project, citing date problems.
The film was originally announced with A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
as the music director of the film, however like Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran , also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada...
, he was removed from the project as per the request of the producers of Sivaji: The Boss
Sivaji: The Boss
Sivaji is a 2007 Tamil political thriller film directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran played the lead roles, with Suman, Vivek and Raghuvaran playing other significant roles in the film. A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack and background music,...
. He was replaced by Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya is an Indian music director, composer, singer and actor.-Music and film career:Himesh Reshammiya was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Vipin Reshammiya and Madhu Reshammiya. He had his first success as a music director of the 2003 film, Tere Naam...
, for whom Dasavathaaram became a debut in Tamil as a music composer. Due to inconsistency of dates for Reshmaiyya, Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad is a music composer and playback singer in Telugu and Tamil films. His soundtracks have been dubbed or remade in several other languages as well.- Awards :...
was roped into record the background music despite indications that Rahman would re-join the project to do so. Ashmith Kunder
Ashmith Kunder
Ashmith Kunder is a film editor from India. His most prominent works have been Mumbai Express and Tees Maar Khan-Editor:* Tees Maar Khan - 2010* Lamhaa - 2010* Ghatothkach - 2008* Kabhi Socha Bhi Na Tha - 2008* Matrubhoomi - 2005...
was signed up to edit the film, despite early indications that A. Sreekar Prasad
A. Sreekar Prasad
Akkineni Sreekar Prasad better known as Sreekar Prasad is an National Award winning Indian film editor.-Brief lifesketch:He was born to editor A. Sanjivi. Veteran L. V. Prasad was his maternal uncle. He was a graduate in Literature and started his film editing career in Telugu films...
would have landed the offer. The director, K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
also wrote the script for the film following negotiations with the late Sujatha Rangarajan
Sujatha Rangarajan
Sujatha was the pseudonym of the Tamil writer S. Rangarajan, author of over 100 novels, 250 short stories, ten books on science, ten stage plays, and a slim volume of poems. He was one of the most popular writers in Tamil literature, and a regular contributor to topical columns in Tamil...
, who died before the release of the movie and Crazy Mohan
Crazy Mohan
"Crazy" Mohan is a popular Tamil comedy actor, script writer and playwright.He was a student at the College of Engineering, Guindy, where he graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in 1973. He wrote his first drama at College of Engineering, Guindy, when he was in the 4th year in 1972. His guide was...
. Late Jeeva
Jeeva (director)
Jeeva was a popular cinematographer and film director in Tamil cinema.-Career:The four completed films he directed, namely 12B, Run , Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, have become blockbusters. He died after suffering acute cardiac arrest in Russia on 25 June at the age of 43...
was initially announced as the cinematographer of the film, who was then replaced by Ravi Varman
Ravi Varman
Varman, ISC, is a celebrated Director Of Photography of India. He has shot many award-winning films in Indian languages of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English. Known for his realistic picturization and poetic framing sense, Ravi Varman began his career in Malayalam films...
.
Filming
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, where a song was picturised on a set created by Sameer Chandra, an art director. The set resembled the Airavatheeswarar temple at Darasuram in Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
and scenes with Kamal Haasan in an Iyengar
Iyengar
Iyengar or Ayyangar is a caste given to Hindu Brahmins of Tamil origin who follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil Nadu state of the Republic of India...
get-up and accompanied by over 750 extras were recorded. Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
joined the team on September 11, 2006 for a shoot in Uthandi. However in late September 2006, Sameer Chanda was sacked from the project due to his tendency to employ only workers from Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and not Tamilians, prompting Haasan and Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
to remove him from the project, with his role being entrusted to Prabhakar of Virumaandi
Virumaandi
Virumaandi is a 2004 Tamil film written and directed by, and starring Kamal Haasan. The film revolves around two criminals, Virumaandi and Kothala Thevar , being interviewed. They express how they feel about the direction their lives have taken and how they have ended up where they are. The film...
fame. Shooting was held at Chennai Airport in November 2006, which cost the producer . Another team member was sacked in Chengelpet, when a stunt sequence was being captured by the camera; stunt master Kanal Kannan was reported to have used unparliamentarily words at the workers and that took over the public address system. Angered and humiliated by such remarks, the workers walked out of the sets refusing to work anymore. Finally they all resumed duty only after the elimination of Kanal Kannan. A new stunt master, Thyagarajan was given the opportunity to take over following the controversy caused by Kannan, who had a similar problem while shooting for Sivaji.
Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included America, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. A role of a foreigner, played by Haasan, was shot for in casinos in and around Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
and Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. A song involving Kamal Haasan and Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
that was to be shot in US was moved to Malaysia due to problems with Sherawat's visa deeming she could not join the crew. So the crew instead decided to shift the shooting to another destination in Malaysia and the song was shot in posh night clubs; furthermore scenes were shot at a lobby of a prominent Malaysian airport.
A large set was erected at the Taramani Film City in India which was a Replica of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, with Haasan’s makeup for the role lasting six whole hours to obtain the desired outcome. For the climax scenes of the film, a tsunami effect was created in Mahabalipuram. The scene was shot at a 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) area of land in which a 100 feet (30.5 m) wall was created near Muttukadu. Six machines, which generated 20 feet (6.1 m) high waves, were imported from the US, for a total cost of . For the climax, another scene was shot dramatically above the Nehru Stadium
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a Chennai stadium and seats 40,000. It hosts football , and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multi purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8000 which hosts volleyball, basket ball, table tennis etc. The stadium is named after Jawaharlal...
with the permission of the chief minister, Karunanidhi. The film’s final shoot occurred on October 8, 2007 at Uthandi, a coastal village.
Controversies
In September 2006, an assistant director called Senthil Kumar filed a case against the film at the Madras High CourtMadras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
. He claimed to have created the story of Dasavathaaram, in a script titled, Ardhanari alias Clones, and that Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
and Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films.-Career:...
had stolen the script and left him out of the credits, violating the copyright act. On the basis of this complaint, Chennai police queried the actor and later they accepted his explanation with the high court sending notices to Kamal Haasan and the producer of the film, Venu Ravichandran announcing an interim stay on the release of the film. The film was allowed to continue with its schedules, but the case was delayed till later in 2007. However in September 2007, the Court dismissed the petition of Senthil Kumar against Kamal Haasan in the case, clearing the legal hurdles for the film.
Following the audio launch on April 25, 2008, Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
received a police complaint against the issue of improper attire at a film function. Hindu Makkal Katchi
Hindu Makkal Katchi
Hindu Makkal Katchi , is a Hindu political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. HMK was founded in the mid-1990s as a split from Hindu Munnani. HMK was founded by S.V. Sridhar. The party general secretary is Arjun Sampath....
, a splinter group of the Hindu Munnani, lodged a complaint with the police, saying that Sherawat's attire at the function to release audio-CDs of Dasavathaaram, in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
had been present, had "hurt the sentiments of Hindus". The actress was accused of wearing transparent, skimpy clothes and sitting crossed leg on the stage, revealing her lingerie. Sherawat, was later not asked, to apologize as she rarely visits Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and her visit for the film launch was a one off.
In May 2008, the film was criticized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which claimed that the film has portrayed the clash between Saivism and Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
which prevailed in the 12th century in the film in an objectionable manner. The organization reported that many statues of Hindu Gods have been shown to be destroyed which will be highly controversial and will hurt the sentiments of Hindus all over the world. While condemning such scenes, VHP leader, Vedantham, had stated that the scenes in question be removed soon, failing which they will be holding agitations in front of the theatres where the film would be screened. However, following the accusations, Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films.-Career:...
announced that the film contains no controversial scenes and added that the film, based around the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religion, will convert atheists to theists. The charges were cleared on May 29, 2008 insisting that Dasavathaaram did not portray Hindu culture in bad light.
Soundtrack
The songs of the film were composed by music director Himesh ReshammiyaHimesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya is an Indian music director, composer, singer and actor.-Music and film career:Himesh Reshammiya was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Vipin Reshammiya and Madhu Reshammiya. He had his first success as a music director of the 2003 film, Tere Naam...
. The soundtrackDasavathaaram was released on April 25, 2008 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a Chennai stadium and seats 40,000. It hosts football , and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multi purpose indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 8000 which hosts volleyball, basket ball, table tennis etc. The stadium is named after Jawaharlal...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, which became the largest audio launch for a film in the world. Prominent film personalities across the world attended with Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
, in his first such appearance, being Hollywood's ambassador for the function. Other prominent regional Indian artistes such as Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, Mammooty, Vijay
Joseph Vijay
Vijay is an Indian film actor and playback singer, who is based in the cinema of Tamil Nadu. He is the son of film producer and director S. A. Chandrasekhar. After performing uncredited roles as a child actor in films produced by his father, he made his debut in a lead role in the 1992 film...
and Madhavan
R. Madhavan
R. Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations...
attended the launch, which was graced by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
. The event hosted by Shobana, was attended by all the artistes of the film apart from the producer, Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films.-Career:...
, who opts not to attend public events. The songs composed by Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya is an Indian music director, composer, singer and actor.-Music and film career:Himesh Reshammiya was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Vipin Reshammiya and Madhu Reshammiya. He had his first success as a music director of the 2003 film, Tere Naam...
were acquired by Sony BMG, purchasing their first Tamil film, for a record of . The music was released in four languages: Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
and Malayalam.
| No. | Song | Singers | Length (m:ss) | Lyrics | Notes |
| 1 | "Ulaga Nayagan Ulaga Nayagan Ulaga Nayagan is a song from the Tamil film Dasavathaaram starring Kamal Haasan and Asin Thottumkal directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The music was composed by the Himesh Reshammiya, lyrics were written by Vairamuthu and sung by Vinit Singh.The song was inspired from the song "O Makhna ve" from the... " |
Vinit Singh Vinit Singh Vineet Singh is a Bollywood playback singer.-Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005:... |
5:34 | Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramaswamy Thevar is an award-winning Tamil poet and lyricist.Debuting in the film Nizhalgal with the lyrics for the song "Ponmalai Pozhudhu", he has now about 5800 songs to his credit as of January 2009. His partnership with the composers Ilaiyaraaja, and later A. R... |
Features K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the... dancing with the various avatars of Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting... in the background. |
| 2 | "Kallai Mattum Kallai Mattum Kallai Mattum is a song from the Tamil film Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan, Asin Thottumkal and Mallika Sherawat, directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The music was composed by the Himesh Reshammiya, lyrics were written by Vaali and sung by Hariharan. In Hindi, the lyrics were written by Sameer... " |
Hariharan Hariharan (singer) Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity... , Chorus |
5:28 | Vaali Vaali (poet) Vaali is a Tamil poet and lyricist who writes Tamil poetry and film song lyrics. Most recently he has extended lyrics for a couple of songs in Engeyum Kaadhal for the music of Harris Jayaraj. He has also acted in several films, most notably Hey Ram, Parthale Paravasam and Poi Kaal Kudhirai... |
Picturized as a 12th century episode with Haasan as Rangaraja Nambi, and Napolean Napolean (actor) Kumaresan Duraisamy , better known by his stage name Napoleon , is a Tamil film actor, politician and the founder and chairman of the Jeevan Technologies. As of 27 May 2009, He is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet... as Kulothunga Chola II Kulothunga Chola II Kulothunga Chola II was a 12th century king of the Chola Dynasty of the Tamil people of South India. He succeeded his father Vikrama Chola to the throne in 1135 CE. Vikrama Chola made Kulothunga his heir apparent and coregent in 1133 CE, so the inscriptions of Kulothunga II count his reign from... . |
| 3 | "Oh...Ho...Sanam" | Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting... , Mahalakshmi Iyer Mahalakshmi Iyer Mahalakshmi Iyer is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi and Tamil songs. She has sung over a thousand songs in many Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Assamese, Kannada and Malayalam.-Career:Mahalakshmi made her singing debut with Dus,... |
5:31 | Vairamuthu | Picturizes Kamal Haasan as Avtar Singh in concert with his onscreen wife, Ranjitha, played by Jayaprada. |
| 4 | "Mukundha Mukundha Mukundha Mukundha Mukundha Mukundha is a song from the Tamil film Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan, Asin Thottumkal and Mallika Sherawat, directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The music was composed by the Himesh Reshammiya, lyrics were written by Vaali ,... " |
Kamal Haasan, Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam is an acclaimed Indian playback singer. She is a recipient of the prestigious National Film Award and Filmfare Awards.Sargam has sung in many Indian languages for films, television serials and music albums. She is well known for her 90s Hindi songs and recent South Indian songs. She... |
6:32 | Vaali | Features Asin Thottumkal Asin Thottumkal Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood.... singing in praise of Vishnu Vishnu Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God.... , with Haasan lurking behind as an old woman. |
| 5 | "Kaa...Karuppanukkum" | Shalini Singh | 5:06 | Vairamuthu | Features Kamal Haasan dancing with Mallika Sherawat Mallika Sherawat Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol... in posh nightclubs. |
| 6 | "Oh...Ho...Sanam" (Re-Mix) |
Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya is an Indian music director, composer, singer and actor.-Music and film career:Himesh Reshammiya was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Vipin Reshammiya and Madhu Reshammiya. He had his first success as a music director of the 2003 film, Tere Naam... , Mahalakshmi Iyer |
3:47 | Vairamuthu | An extra track that was not a part of the film. |
Screenings
The film's trailer was released publicly on April 23, 2008, a day after it was shown to special guests, which included M. KarunanidhiM. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
at a screen. The first exclusive screening of the film, prior to release, was held on the morning of the audio launch on April 25, 2008, to visiting guests Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
, Mammooty and Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, all of whom were full of praise for the film. Distribution of the film worldwide, was sold to various companies with producer Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran
Venu Ravichandran is an Indian film producer and distributor in Chennai, India. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Aascar Films.-Career:...
distributing the film around South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. Sony India
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
distributed the film in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, whilst Ayngaran International
Ayngaran International
Ayngaran is a film distribution and production company of Tamil films, based in the United Kingdom. The company has distributed various Indian-produced Tamil films in Europe and North America. It is also responsible for the production of Tamil films into home media, such as VHS, DVD, and blu-ray...
sold the film to cinema halls in the United Kingdom, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and the Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. Canadian rights for the film were bought by Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, becoming the first distributional venture of an Indian film by the production house. Narmadha Travels acquired the rights from Aascar Films to distribute the film in the United States Of America.
The film was shown subsequently to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
by the request of the producer on June 8, 2008. Furthermore, Ravichandran sold the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
rights for the film to Karunanidhi's Kalaignar TV
Kalaignar TV
Kalaignar TV is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India.-History:After disputes between Kalanithi Maran and M. K. Azhagiri, Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi launched this channel on September 15 2007...
for a record, 4.5 crore rupees. Two days prior to the release, the film was shown to prominent film personalities of Indian cinema at Four Films Cinema in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, with the film receiving praise.
Domestic
The Tamil film, upon release, was dubbed and released in TeluguTelugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
on the same date, with later release dates set for the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and Bhojpuri versions. The Indian censor board
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
certified the movie, giving it a "U" (universal) rating, on April 24, 2008 after 9 cuts were made and letting the film run for 166 minutes. Dasavathaaram released worldwide with 1,300 prints in all the respective languages. For the Tamil version, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
alone had 275 prints with Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
accounting for 85 and 80 prints respectively, with 190 prints released overseas. The Hindi version had about 410 prints in North India. Moreover, the Telugu version of Dasavathaaram had as many as 260 prints in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. According to The Times of India, Dasavatharam due to its big budget, just covered its cost and made a very small profit. The film grossed in Kerala in the first week. The film, also released in other parts of India, collected from outside Tamil Nadu. In Nizam territory, the film collected a share of more than in just 2 weeks of screening. In Seedead, the film collected more than in a fortnight. In the Krishna district, the film collected in 2 weeks and in Guntur it amassed a share of in a fortnight. In the East and West Godavari district, the film was able to collect in 2 weeks and in the district of Vizag, it amounted to in a fortnight. In four weeks, the global collections of the film reached .
Overseas
After the opening weekend, Dasavathaaram was placed 7th in the overseas weekend box office for the week ending June 13–15, becoming the first Tamil film to be in the Top 10 at the International Box Office with a total collection of US$4,632,719, equivalent to approximately for 3 days.In Malaysia, the film opened in second place for the period of June 12 to 15th having collected $601,000 from 58 screens on the opening weekend and $1,720,780 in nine weeks. The film completed a hundred day run on September 20, 2008. The film grossed in Malaysia as lifetime business.
The film was released in USA with 42 prints, an unprecedented record in US movie history for a South Indian film and with print sharing facility, the film was screened in 50 cities across the country. The collection on the opening weekend in the USA was $500,000. The film grossed in the USA as lifetime business.
In the UK box office, the film collected £126,747 from 19 screens on its opening weekend, debuting at number 12, the third highest position ever for a Tamil film. By its second weekend, the film grossed £216,000 at the UK box office. The film grossed in the UK as lifetime business.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the film was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
, the first Tamil film to be done so. The film ultimately grossed around - worldwide. making it the No.1 highest grossing Tamil film in the 80 years history of Tamil film. According to Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...
, the film grossed $26,356,962 in first three weeks of release.
Critical response
After release, Dasavathaaram received generally mixed reviews at the box office. Behindwoods gave a 3.5 on 5 and stated that "Dasavatharam is a make-up magic show that disappoints as drama and satisfies as a technical showpiece." Rediff praised the film as "spectacular" and a "super human effort" on the way to giving it a very high rating of 4 out 5 stars. The reviewer claims its "very difficult to single out the best sequence of the film, yet the tsunami episode is perhaps the outstanding presentation mainly because of the top class visuals backed by a superb background effort", in praise of the much hyped TsunamiTsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
scene. The review adds that "it is not necessary to say how great an actor Kamal Haasan is but one thing has to be said; no other actor would have dared to take on these varied roles", praising his performances. Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
was described as having the second best role of her career, only second to Ghajini, whilst K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar
K. S. Ravikumar is an Indian film director and actor, primarily working in Tamil cinema. He has directed numerous films ranging from comedy and drama to action thrillers. His film Dasavathaaram went on to gross $16 million worldwide in the first four weeks and eventually became one of the...
was "complimented for his handling of such a complicated but challenging subject". It adds that the film will "go down in the history of Indian cinema as a unique experiment in the commercial circuit". The only negative factor in the film is described as Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya
Himesh Reshammiya is an Indian music director, composer, singer and actor.-Music and film career:Himesh Reshammiya was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to Vipin Reshammiya and Madhu Reshammiya. He had his first success as a music director of the 2003 film, Tere Naam...
whose music fail him but praise was addressed to Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad is a music composer and playback singer in Telugu and Tamil films. His soundtracks have been dubbed or remade in several other languages as well.- Awards :...
, the background music composer who was labelled "excellent", as was the camera work by Ravi Varman
Ravi Varman
Varman, ISC, is a celebrated Director Of Photography of India. He has shot many award-winning films in Indian languages of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English. Known for his realistic picturization and poetic framing sense, Ravi Varman began his career in Malayalam films...
.
In comparison, the film was labelled "average" by Sify
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
, who stated that Dasavathaaram fell short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated. Sify wrote that the "trouble with the format is that far too many characters of the actor criss-cross without any reason—or they don’t make any difference to the story". Claiming characters such as the “Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
pop singer Avatar Singh, the tall Khalifullah Khan, the Japanese martial arts expert, etc., are unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10". It also criticizes the make-up, lamenting that "Kamal’s prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener" but praise Brian Jennings's special effects, mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are top class by Indian standards. As Rediff mentioned, Sify criticizes Himesh Reshammiya’s music as "nothing much to talk about other than Kallai Mattum
Kallai Mattum
Kallai Mattum is a song from the Tamil film Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan, Asin Thottumkal and Mallika Sherawat, directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The music was composed by the Himesh Reshammiya, lyrics were written by Vaali and sung by Hariharan. In Hindi, the lyrics were written by Sameer...
but Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is superb and makes up for everything". The reviewer praises cinematographer Ravi Varman, who they claim "may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb". The actors performances' were all praised especially Kamal Hassan, who "pitches in yet another fantastic performance" with special praise for the Balaram Naidu character. Asin Thottumkal is described as "cute as the chirpy Andal, but beyond a point her character irritates you with her frequent Perumale calls", her dubbing effort is praised as "top class and deserves special mention". Other actors are also appreciated, with Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
in a brief role "sizzles", while M. S. Baskar
M. S. Baskar
M. S. Bhaskar is an Indian actor. A former theatre artiste, he has appeared in supporting roles and as a comedian in Tamil TV series and more recently in Tamil films. He is probably best known for his performances in the series Chinna Papa Periya Papa and Selvi and in the films Sivakasi and Mozhi...
and Napolean
Napolean (actor)
Kumaresan Duraisamy , better known by his stage name Napoleon , is a Tamil film actor, politician and the founder and chairman of the Jeevan Technologies. As of 27 May 2009, He is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet...
in small roles "shine". Despite these reviews, the film was declared a "blockbuster" due to its high box-office collections.