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365
days and beyond: Films that ran for more than
a year and their success stories!! |
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There
are films and then more films made with
each passing year. Along comes one movie
which rewrites all rules of box office performance.
It acts as the benchmark which everyone
aspires to emulate but rarely equals. The
key players in such a film are placed in
a rarified realm in the minds of the audience.
The affection showed by the audience is
just overwhelming. The fact that the film
has crossed the golden milestone of having
a continuous run for a year – yes,
365 days and still counting – just
stupefies us. Ladies and gentlemen, please
raise a toast for Chandramukhi, which has
achieved this unique record. |
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Let
us see the evolution behind this achievement.
When Chandramukhi was launched last year,
there were several doomsayers who thought
that it would be a wasted effort. Superstar
Rajinikanth was licking the wounds of failure
in Baba while P. Vasu was also in the red.
Sivaji Productions had not had significant
success and were in a limbo after the patriarch’s
death. The three decided to get together
and prove that their combined experience
would charter a new course for all of them.
They chose a fantasy theme as the plot and
created an almost flawless screenplay. For
a change, Rajini’s persona was realistically
tailored and he seemed so much the man-next-door
trying to help his friend. Rajini performed
his role with subtle underplaying and he
received excellent support from other members
of the cast. |
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Tuneful
music, meaningful lyrics and song sequences, excellent
technical work and above all the commitment of
every artiste right from Superstar helped in shaping
the final product. Savvy marketing ensured that
the film received adequate media coverage(not
that being a Rajini film was reason enough). Chandramukhi
was released on Tamil New Year’s Day last
year and today, a year later is still grossing
good collections in theatres in Tamil nadu. So,
folks put your hands together once again and congratulate
thalaivar and wish him many more years of such
crowning glories. |
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If
we trace similar films which enjoyed such
success over the years the underlying reason
for their success has three main ingredients.
They have a humanistic element in their
central plot namely, romance, friendship,
patriotism, betrayal and so on. Second is
that the protagonists did not have extra-human,
larger-than-life powers. Instead they were
simple human beings like you and me. The
period of social churning contributed a
lot to the zeitgeist of these films. Love
was portrayed in a bold and ahead of time
manner. Similarly, new thoughts about screen
romance and how and why a man and woman
fall in love or separate led to fresh thinking
on these topics. |
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These
films brought about an awakening and questioning
attitude towards social mores on love, courtship
and marriage. Similarly, friendship, betrayal,
patriotism and triumphing over odds were dealt
with in a realistic manner. The packaging of all
the elements of storytelling, like dialogues,
music and lyrics was near perfect in these films
and that is why there is no single discordant
note and these films are evergreen hits. |
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Chandramukhi
has satisfied these ingredients and yet
its achievement is unique because it has
stood its ground in this era of DVDs, pool
games and amusement parks. Audiences those
days did not have such options and hence
turned to movies for repeat viewings as
well. Having compelled families to come
back to theatres especially for repeat viewings
in this ultramodern age is a singular record
of Chandramukhi. A careful plot, a neat
screenplay, absence of blood and gore, Vadivelu-Rajini
duo’s comedy, excellent songs by Vidhya
Sagar, a total package which attracted family
audiences with their children – everything
paved the way. The climax was the high point
in which Rajini and Jothika tried to outperform
each other. |
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Let
us go back in time and see other films, which
have achieved this special milestone of running
non-stop for a year. |
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Baasha
- 1995
If you ask any Rajini fan which movie of
his thalaivar he likes the most, the answer
mostly would be Baasha. It’s the overall
choice of the fans. Suresh Krishna portrayed
Rajini in two opposite characters - as a
calm auto driver and a don who was the terror
in Mumbai. Baasha used his unlimited powers
for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden
and gave up his kingdom when he had to protect
and nurture his family. The two figures
of Manickam and Baasha were portrayed excellently
by Rajini. The film’s strength is
the gripping screenplay without a hint of
boredom setting in. So, any time you watch
it, you are glued to it. Deva’s super
hit songs and Raja’s stunts also helped
the movie become a super hit. |
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Karagaattakaaran
- 1989
This movie had a late pick up. The initial
buyers were not able to spot the gold mine
it held inside and those who second released
and shifted this movie benefited a lot.
Gangai Amaran’s classy direction,
a simple and neat story, good performance
of Ramarajan and Kanaga, believable stunt
scenes, Ilayaraja’s excellent songs
and finally Goundamani Senthil’s comedy
made this movie a block buster. Though,
the story resembled Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan
– Padmini’s Thillana Mohanambal,
people didn’t care that and made this
movie to run a full year. The movie was
also showed in Russian cinema houses to
a packed audiencel. |
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Payanangal
Mudivadhillai - 1982
And then in 1983, the Mohan – Poornima Jayaram
starrer Payanangal Mudivadhillai also showed for
a year. Classy songs by Ilayaraja and Silver Jubilee
hero Mike Mohan’s simple but great performance
made this movie a super hit. S Ve Sekhar’s
comedy also helped a lot. R Sundararajan the Silver
Jubilee director directed this. It almost ran
for 65 weeks. A record of its kind.
Nenjatthai Killaadhae - 1980
This is also a Mohan film but the heroine
is Suhasini. It is a Lovely film, with very good
camera work and mind blowing music by Raja. It
was about a young modern girl, struggling to live
with her crude sister in law, despite having a
loving brother. She falls in love with a guy who
ditches her. She marries another man but is not
able to reconcile herself. The husband goes through
emotional upheavals himself and the film ends
with how both of them find their true love for
each other. A very different film from Mahendran,
probably a trendsetter for later films like mouna
ragam. All the actors/actress(s) in the film did
a good job, though sharat babu deserved special
mention. |
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Oru
Thalai Raagam – 1980
Oru Thalai Raagam re-defined romance in
Tamil cinema. Shankar-Rupa were the lead
pair. T Rajendar’s direction and music
helped very much. This movie is also a late
pick up. It was the songs that helped this
movie to pick up. Even if you listen TMS
voice in this film’s songs, you will
forget yourself. |
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Kizhakae
Poghum Rail– 1978
After Padhinaaru Vayadhinilae, Bharathiraaja,
Ilayaraja duo made everyone sit and up and
take notice of them in this film. Radhika
made her debut as the simple village girl.
S A Rajkannu of Sri Amman Creations produced
this film. The songs of the movie were super
hits and an excellent climax gave it good
support.
Some movies like Kilinjalgal, Moondram Pirai,
Munthanai Mudichu also had an excellent
run but just missed the 365 days mark.
Way back, the biggest hit of them all was
the Thyagaraja Bagavathar film Haridas.
It ran for three years continuously. For
three Deepavalis it was a mega hit. But
then, those were bygone days and a bygone
milieu |
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Our
own Kamal Hassan has a unique record in this regard
as well. He has also offered a film which ran
for 365 days. But the unusual thing about it is
that it was in another language – Telugu,
Marocharitra – and it ran for full house
here in Tamilnadu. You can always look up to Kamal
to come up with something spectacular.
Will Shankar’s Rajini starrer Sivaji set
another record for the superstar? The fans hope
so and so does the industry. For the industry
it would be a victory over pirated CDs and DVDs.
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