One of Tamil cinema’s most popular heroes today is Sivakarthikeyan, who has a huge fan base among family audiences. The trade in Tamil Nadu loves his movies as it has a reach across Tier 1, 2 and 3 areas. However, his latest summer release, Mr Local, directed by Rajesh, did not perform as expected as it was formulaic and this has created a stir in the industry.
So much so that the star himself has confessed that it was a failure. An emotional Sivakarthikeyan, speaking at the launch function of his home production Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja (NNOR), said, “When you are successful, a lot of people support you, but at the time of failure, you stand alone. Failure or success does not matter... what is important is standing alone with the will power to continue. I know the film (Mr Local) definitely has not performed well, but in my next films, I will be far more careful in choice of scripts that will be realistic and entertaining.”
His speech has created tremors in an industry in which actors try to pass off even flops as hits. Sivakarthikeyan must have realised that he was slipping at the BO when exhibitors, who had in their internal memo initially ranked him among the top five stars, demoted him to Tier 2.
A leading theatre owner said, “Sivakarthikeyan used to attract the family audiences which made his films sail through even if they were average grossers. Both Velaikkaran and Seema Raja were just average but Mr Local was a total failure, which left us wondering about his star power.”
The actor seems to have taken stock of these and is currently restructuring his career and priorities. A source close to the development says he has reshuffled his films. He was shooting for Hero with PS Mithran, and there was break in between, and so, he decided to advance the shoot of his SK 16, directed by Pandiraj and produced by market leaders Sun Pictures. This film will be his next release. Tipped to be a rural romantic comedy, the film marks the reunion of Sivakarthikeyan and Pandiraj after two successful outings Marina and Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga (KBKR). The makers have already completed one schedule of this film, which has two heroines (Aishwarya Rajesh and Anu Emmanuel), who are said to have an equal footing.
The source added: “Sivakarthikeyan’s forte is rural comedy entertainers, laced with songs and dance. He is giving priority dates to Pandiraj, considered the king of feel-good rural entertainers like KBKR and Kadaikutty Singam, for SK 16.” This will be followed by Hero and he will then start shooting for Vignesh Shivan’s next film. There is also a buzz that Sivakarthikeyan might choose a script narrated by Nelson, who directed Kolamavu Kokila. Besides, he also has to complete SK 14, the sci-fi thriller directed by R Ravikumar.
Sivakarthikeyan wears two hats — one as actor and the other as producer (he runs SK Productions, which funds films with new talent). His first film as producer, Kanaa, turned out to be a sleepter hit and now, his second movie Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja (NNOR), is hitting screens this Friday. The film has an assortment of YouTube stars and is said to be a fun take on politics. His next production will be directed by Arun Prabhu of Aruvi fame. Trade analysts feel that Sivakarthikeyan is on the right track by not placing all his eggs in one basket and willing to experiment to stay relevant.