SUCCESS OF 7aam Arivu

RELEASE
7aam arivu made on budget 80 crores and 30 crores for its production work.
The film was the largest release in Suriya's career, opening with 1000 prints worldwide, with 400 prints in Tamil Nadu alone include 51 prints on chennai. The Telugu dubbed version, 7th Sense had the second largest release in Andhra Pradesh for a dubbed film by opening up in 400 screens across the state.

BOX OFFICE
World wide Gross Collections( Both Tamil and Telugu Versions)
Total First(1) Week Collections : Rs 54.9 Crore
Total First Two(2) Weeks Collections : Rs 67.5 Crore
Total First Three(3) weeks Collections: Rs 76.7 Crore
Total First Four(4) weeks Collections: Rs 86.1 Crore
Total First Five(5) weeks Collections: Rs 91.6 Crore
Total First Six(6) weeks Collections: Rs 95.7 Crore
Total 50 Days World Wide Gross Collections: Rs 98.9 Crore
Total 100 days World Wide Gross Collection: Rs 130 Crore
Box office over total run of movie: Rs 143 Crore

TOTAL BOX OFFICE
Tamil version: Rs 123 crores
Telugu version: Rs 20 crores

VERDICT
Tamil Nadu : HIT
Malayasia : HIT
Australia : HIT
Singapore : HIT
USA : HIT

India's First Performance Capture (Facial) - Srinivas Mohan

Srinivas Mohan who is taking care of Visual Effects in Maatraan revealed some interesting facts about the special effects in the movie today further heightening the curiosity among fans and industry people.

"In India, one more milestone in visual effects, happened today, i.e, Performance Capture (Facial) for Maatraan. It was made possible by team Maatraan. I;m happy and thank full for the support and the involvement of the Director K.V.Anand sir, Actor Surya sir, Dop Soundar sir and Producers of AGS Entertainment for making this possible. Cant reveal anything more at this stage about the project, or else I will have to face the wrath of K.V sir, to be exact, in his own words ,I will kill U" 

Rise and shine

When Saravanan received Rs 750 as his first month salary from a garment firm, his joy knew no bounds. For, it was his own hard-earned money. His biggest ambition then was to touch upon a four-digit salary. But destiny had other plans. Following the footsteps of his father, he made a debut in cinema as actor Surya. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Even after entering the cinema industry, his father’s fame did not help him much. Being the son of Sivakumar might have helped him bag his first offer, but after that, it was Surya’s hard work and dedication that took him to where he is now. The biggest turning point came in the form of Bala. When the filmmaker picked Surya to play the lead role in Nandha, not just Surya, but others too were doubtful as to whether he would fit the bill.

But the actor made a strong resolve to prove himself at any cost. And when the film hit the screens, Surya’s name was on everyone’s lips, as his stunning performance took the film to a new level. “I can never forget Bala and his Nandha. It is an important film in my career,” he says.

If the biggest turning point in Surya’s professional life was Nandha, the sweetest moment in his personal life was entering into wedlock with Jyothika. The hit-pair tied the knot with the blessings of both families in 2006. “Jyothika’s entry into my life changed many things. And the arrival of Diya and Dev made me a complete man,” says this loving husband and doting father.

As an ‘A-list’ actor in Tamil cinema, Surya has competition from within the family as well — in the form of Karthi Sivakumar, his younger brother. “Cinema has always been Karthi’s passion. He started his career as Mani Ratnam’s assistant director. But he too became an actor like me and our father,” says Surya.

Surya has another side too. His philanthropic activities, though not known to many, has acted as a catalyst in changing many lives. The Agaram Foundation he floated a few years back now provides education to hundreds, if not thousands. “Every individual has a responsibility to do something for society. Agaram Foundation is a small contribution from my side,” Surya says.

At present, Surya is busy giving finishing touches to Maatraan, a project where he teams up with director K V Anand once again, after the super hit Ayan. “Maatraan is a story with a difference. It will have all the commercial elements, but at the same time, things will be told from a different perspective. I love working with Anand.”

The movie is getting dubbed and released simultaneously in Telugu, under the title Duplicate. Interestingly, Surya himself will dub for the Telugu version. “Karthi dubs for his Telugu films and I would like to give him tough competition,” the elder brother says in a lighter vein.

This year also has Surya taking on another role as the host of Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi, the Tamil version of Kaun Banega Crorepati. “When I was approached by the producers of the show with the idea, I was little unsure about committing to it. Then I thought, why not to give it a shot? I am happy that things are going on the right track now, thanks to everyone’s support,” he says.

To get his act right in Neengalum Vellallam Oru Kodi, Surya had been to Mumbai and visited the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati. He even watched the way the show was being conducted there. And what’s more, the Big B, Amitabh Bachchan, also gave his blessing.

“Anyone can shine in life if they chase their dreams with passion,” says Surya. And, with a name like Surya, he can’t help but do so. 

Keeping the audience hooked

Neengalum Vellalaam Oru Kodi' is drawing quizzers with its mix of funny, bizarre and serious questions

After the first 12 out of 80 episodes rolled out in its first season, the makers of the Tamil KBC, “Neengalum Vellalaam Oru Kodi”, have gone in for a life-line — Audience Poll. Just to be sure that the show's working after the initial buzz and suggestions that some of the questions were too easy.

“The ratings haven't fallen. In fact, we have grown in the third week even with these questions. And the questions were not silly, the options were mocking. The feedback we got was: Don't mock your own questions. We've taken it as constructive feedback and put it to the Big Synergy team,” says K. Sriram, Channel Head, Vijay TV.

“The characteristic of the show is that you play at the level of the contestant. If it's a chaiwala like in ‘Slumdog Millionaire', the questions are made at his level. It's partly science, partly art and it involves a little judgement and experience. The first few questions are meant to be icebreakers and people can slip even in the simplest of questions. Out of 19 people who have been on the show in the first 12 episodes, five have taken lifelines within the first five deceptively simple questions. The reason we employ simple or easy questions is also because it increases the ‘shoutability' factor. People sitting and watching the show shout out at the answer. The idea is not to put an organic chemistry formula question to trip everybody right at the start,” explains Siddharth Basu, one of the masterminds behind the Indian variants of the show.

Siddharth Basu, who runs Big Synergy, was in town to supervise the new schedule — Episodes 13 and 14 — shot on Friday, for Monday and Tuesday evenings.

“You can look up this video on YouTube when a contestant on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire' was asked ‘Which of the following is the largest: A. A Peanut B. An Elephant C. The Moon D. A Kettle... and still got it wrong after using a lifeline. That's part of what the show is supposed to be at the first level. It is supposed to be funny, bizarre and eventually get serious. Sometimes, even stupid questions get wrong answers.”

There has been no dumbing down for the South whatsoever, Basu insists.

“It has never entered our mind. Part of the format is to play at the level of the contestant. To give you an analogy, a show like ‘Mastermind' is like watching Sachin bat in full form. You admire a virtuoso. On KBC, anybody can put bat and ball. It could be your grandmother. Or to give you another analogy of high jump, let's say you can jump 3ft. Since the show is designed as a ladder, we would start easy to make you clear your level before pushing you to jump higher.”

“You will see more and more facets of Suriya during the season. He's making quite an effort, really reaching out to connect to the audience,” adds Basu. “He approached it very conscientiously and sincerity that comes off on screen. We did mock sessions for gameplay, techniques with him and different kinds of people. He hadn't done much real time interaction like theatre before and yet, he's managed that graph in quick time. The idea is to play to the strengths of the star. The idea is not to make him become Amitabh Bachchan or SRK, it has to be Suriya or Suriya plus.”

Last week, viewers got to see a very new side of the star when he danced with a contestant and went down on his knee to propose to her. “When he goes on to the floor, he surprises us,” says Sriram. 

Rajnikanth, surya, jackie chan for shankar movie

Singham adopts a lion

Surya adopts a lion from Vandaloor Zoo!
Actor Surya has come forward for a noble deed. Fans will know that the actor and his brother are fascinated like many, towards animals in the wild. Karthi who has already adopted a tigress from famous Vadaloor Zoo is now joined by his big bro.

Surya has taken up full responsibility to feed one of the lions in the Vadaloor Zoo for a full year. Spread over a sprawling 650 hectares, the zoo has elephants, lions, tigers, leopards, deers, chimpanzee monkeys, and camels is a haven for the animals and the visitors who come to see them. Back in October 2010, brother Karthi too adopted a tigress named Namratha from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur. The actor paid Rs.77,000 towards the feeding cost of the tiger for six months and said, “Protecting a tiger is like protecting the forest itself and I am happy to have the opportunity to sponsor a tiger” Every animal is fed a fully nutritious diet with special care given to hygiene. We found out that for a daily meal it’s Rs. 436 for camels, for rhinos it’s Rs. 373, elephants Rs. 520 , and Rs. 525 for lions and tigers, the last one being a fully non-veg affair. Others including Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss have offered to feed deer, tortoises and birds. The zoo officials have also invited the general public to come forward with their good gestures.

So the next time you make a visit to the zoos, you can always adopt one of ‘em right?

Power of Surya

Suriya Sivakumar ventured in small screen with 'Neengallum Vellalam Oru Kodi', a game show that graced the screens on February 27. As per sources the show which was aired on prime time on Vijay TV has received a phenomenal response from people across Tamilnadu. The show helped Vijay TV to swell its viewership by more than 200% on the prime time band in which it was aired as per a press note! "The initial response for the show has been overwhelming", quipped K.Sriram, Channel Head Vijay TV. "We have been thronged by congratulatory messages from viewers and advertisers. We are glad to know that the show has cut across audiences and markets. We have managed to seep through the smaller markets in Tamilnadu in a big way", continued Sriram. "Suriya's warmth and his down to earth behavior have charmed every contestant and it's evident on the show", said Siddharth Basu, Head, Big Synergy. This warmth is now felt across millions of viewers. The contestants who have come on to the show are from varied backgrounds. Small town contestants from Panruti, Kumbakonam, Kanyakumari feel that the show and the money that they managed to win on the game, have been life changers. "The show in its third week now has a lot of surprises in store for audiences. We have celebrities who would walk into the show soon. We have planned various CSR initiatives as part of the grand game show", concluded a beaming Sriram.