So much ink was spilled on big budget Tamil movie Kochadaiiyaan (Rajinikanth, Deepika Padukone) by fawning scribes and reviewers about how the motion-capture film heralded an epochal moment in Indian movie history.
Yet there’s nary a report on how much the Rs 150-crore film lost given its ho-hum response at the box office.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kochadaiiyaan turns out to be the biggest disaster in Indian movie history.
Conspiracy of Silence
After the endless pre-release hype, a conspiracy of silence clouds Kochadaiiyaan’s losses.
Why this strange silence?
Simple, kiddo – Because so many people now have egg on their faces that they’d rather not be reminded of their inane predictions about the movie!
Even Kochadaiiyaan’s producer Eros International has turned silent on its box office fate after prematurely ejaculating over the “Power of Thalaivar” and boasting that the “film has set a new milestone in the history of Indian cinema.”
Trumpeting a “blockbuster opening weekend” of Rs 42-crore of “an epic dramatization of good versus evil,” Eros claimed to be “seeing an overwhelming demand for a prequel or a sequel.”
After that, only radio silence from Eros.
Ha ha ha ha! 😉
Some Thalaivar. Some Milestone!
Eros and several of the smaller exhibitors must be singing a dirge now.
The big question now is whether Rajinikanth will compensate small-time theatre owners/exhibitors like he did a few years back when Baba sank at the box office.
Kochadaiiyaan debuted in 2D and 3D on May 23, 2014 in six languages on 3,000 screens worldwide.
Rajinikanth – Paper Tiger
Rajinikanth is indisputably a paper tiger whose talent and massive fan following have been wildly exaggerated by Tamil producers and distributors desperate to cash in at a fickle box office.
Most Rajini films I’ve seen are as trashy as any Tamil movie featuring Simbhu, Vombhu, Kombhu, Jeeva, Mava, Kova et al.
A mediocre actor at best, Rajinikanth’s fame owes in significant part to his humble origins. Movie fans love rags-to-riches stories since they ceaselessly fantasize of such improbable events changing their dreary lives.
Folks, given the conspiracy of silence on Kochadaiiyaan’s performance at the box office please vote your estimate of the film’s losses below.
[poll id=”12″]
Kochadaiiyaan – Conspiracy of Silence added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
All good things must come to an end.
Do you think this is the end of Thalaivar as the monarch of South Cinema?
It certainly seems like it.
This reminds me of the rabid fan following Chiranjeevi used to have in Andhra Cinema and he was considered infalliable as well. Well look at his situation now. May be they can get together and drown their sorrows in Whisky.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: All good things must come to an end.
Good Lord!
Since when has Rajinikanth been a ‘good thing’ to anyone except to himself.
2. http://www.searchindia.com/2008/04/24/rajinikanth-deserves-better-than-gayathri
You should add “Kocha is an all-time blockbuster! Are you out of your mind?” as an option.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I could have but I was concerned that Rajinikanth would keep hitting that option on his cell phone. 😉
I am a Rajini fan, and I have been following SI for a very very long time.
I agree with you and I continue to be his fan as well!
A strange feeling indeed!
On a different note, I would like to recommend a dedicated Polling section in your blog (perhaps somewhere on the right side of the home page) that allows readers to request SI for a movie review or something.
I want SI to review Illusionist.
SearchIndia.com Blog Responds:
You write: I want SI to review Illusionist.
In 2010 I went into the future (saw your July 2, 2014 comment) and reviewed Illusionist! Who says Time travel does not exist! 😉
http://www.searchindia.com/2010/02/23/illusionist-un-biel-ievably-beautiful/
Lol! I can’t believe I missed that!
Thank you SI for including my name! 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You’re welcome, sweetie!
I’ll probably re-watch Illusionist today.
Had the unfortunate experience of watching this movie.
It would have been so much nicer and costed so little money had they made a straight out cartoon movie and called it a cartoon movie rather than use all this motion capture claptrap to refer to what is essentially a poorly made cartoon.
The jerky movements of the characters takes away from the quality and the so called motion capture is actually a drag.
How they managed to get so many endorsements from so many people for such a rotten movie will always baffle me.
SearchIndia.com Blog Responds:
1. I think Rajini is back to his drinking! This is what he said pre-release:
Ha ha ha!
Whatever Rajini is drinking I want some of it!
2. Barely a month since the movie released and no one even remembers that junk now!
Must have been a mighty big disaster. 🙁
3. You write: How they managed to get so many endorsements from so many people for such a rotten movie will always baffle me.
Now you know why they call the nation Incredible India! 😉
Beware!
Lingaa will silence you all.
Rajini will prove again who has the biggest Lingaa.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
So Rajini still believes size matters, eh?
Not only Kochadaiiyaan, most of big star Indian Movies fade away from Memory of People in 2 or 3 months.
Big stars Act in movies to keep their sponsors Happy. For example, through my friends I came to know that in “Krish 3”, there were constant display of Sponsors in hoardings or in some way throughout Movie.
In Baba, there were constant reference to Mirinda carbonated drinks throughout the movie.
In Chandramukhi, there was always a hoarding of Ganguly shown throughout movie in reference to Movie Sponsor.
There is no need to say about SRK, Salman Movies.
When Vijay had tie up with Coca Cola, there were many references to the carbonated drinks throughout many of his movies.
In Past decade, Big star(!) Movies have constantly made movies for Sponsors and Satellite Televisions, not for CINEMAVIEWERS.
Big Budget Movie Makers were constantly able to fool Indian Cinema Viewers and still those Slaves support Big stars.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The Indian government has been doing an excellent thing in demonizing smoking displays in movies by insisting on strict warnings. They should do the same for carbonated drinks.