Pongal releases take good opening!

By Moviebuzz
Saturday, 15 January , 2005, 11:27

Finally only six movies made it to the theatres for Pongal- Aayudham, Ayyaa Dancer, Devathaye Kandein, Iyer IPS and Tirupachi .
Tirupachi with a record 207 prints released worldwide has taken a bumper opening with all tickets sold out for weekend and long queues were seen in front of ticket counters of theatres screening the film all over Tamilnadu.

Ayyaa and Devathaye Kandein carries excellent reports on the opening day. In Band C stations, Aayudham and Iyer IPS are being appreciated, but Dancer does not seem to lure the audience to the cinema halls.

It is too early to predict the winners, but the trade is happy with the Pongal releases. Watch this space for the a special Pongal Box-office report.

Latest ranking

Thirupachi - Just because of Vijay, since he has a good market in B&C. From collection point of view, he is next superstar

Ayyaa - In no 2 spot, but should be no 1. Typical Sarath-villiage-father-son forumla, but the screenplay made a big difference. Appreciated by all centers and hattrick for Kavithalaya

Aayudham, Devathaye Kandein, Iyer IPS, Dancer - Stay Away. Can not expect more than 25 days of running.

In general in TN all movies have good openings because of controlled video piracy. Believe me, it made a big difference in US market also. The pirated VHS which used to come to retail store with in a week, now takes between 2 weeks to 3 weeks.

We should really exect April 14th releases. My prediction

Chandramukhi - Rajini factor
Mumbai Express - negative Kamal factor. hope he doesnt sing all the songs. We need SPB atleast for a couple of them.
God Father - This will be a break for Ajith. This time he will top Vijay

Verditcs in - http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/jan/31spice.htm

I saw Thirupachi and had to stop it after 30 mins . It sucked big time..., stay far away from it.


However that said I did watch Kadhal recently and was emotionally blown away by this movie. Not since Seethu have I felt like this. This comes highly recommended ( esp. who can speak and understand Tamil without subtitle). I got to say that this films comes as a breath of fresh air (finally !) to Tamil Films with a love story at its core. Though the story is your typical rich girl/poor guy fable the way it comes across at your face and in to your heart is fresh and devastating ( all at the same time). From start to finish the use of Madurai landscape, its people ( dark, ugly, vibrant, - spot on casting) and its dialect flows freely. I came to know that this film is based on a true story ..., all the more reason to love the film and comprehend the downward spiral the film takes towards the ‘climax’. This is Shankar's first production and i am starting to love his taste-in-films . Good sensible start to the year, hoping to see at least a few more good releases this year. Thumps Way Up ...., Bravo .

Kadhal is extremely good.

Thirupachi, Aai, Neranja Manasu, Chatrapathy - Stay too far away

Iyya - Okay