A lot of expectations and hype surround the release of Sivaji in bay area. The preview shows are sold out, the T-shirts are sold out, the audio CDs are sold out, there is an enormous demand for the posters and people still want more! Shankar and Rajini have gone to great lengths to render a stylish look to Rajni’s character in this movie and it definitely shows in the enthusiasm and energy that the fans are displaying to watch this movie on the first day , first show!

The trade circle talk also indicates a strong storyline with a multi-layered plot and special, memorable characters for Suman and Nayantara (a sign of Rajini’s magnanimity in the wake of the recent controversies). It is no doubt widely accepted that Rajini is a super star not just because of how he competes but also how he goes out of his way to help people in testy times. He is a moving miracle of service and social interest, they say and Sivaji bay area fans as well as those around the world cannot seem to get enough of him at this point !

It remains to be seen how this film will perform at the box office but the people that made and distributed this movie have more than one reason to smile at this point. The long lines and sold out shows are proof of a well anticipated movie and that in itself is a joy and entertainment that these creators and distributors who worked day & night to get out one of the largest movies ever on the world screen!

Some Facts about the movie:

* If Casino royale went out with 3200 prints in 32 countries on its first day (a world record), SIVAJI is going out with 2900+ prints in 29 countries including places like Japan & china where Rajinikanth has equal number of fans as Jackie Chan.

* Out of all the movies that Shankar directed, this is the most expensive one. It cost a whopping 60 crore Indian rupees to make this movie. Rajini took home a meager 20 crores , which puts him right next to Jackie Chan as the second highest paid asian actor to date.

* About 68% of expenses were spent on location and settings, and surprisingly 12% on graphics in the movie ! 8% on salary (excluding rajini himself), 8% for costumes, 2% for a.r.rahman and other techincians, and the balance 2% wastages !

* For the first time in a tamil movie, Amitabh Bacchan is(was reported to be, in several internet portals) joining rajinikant in a cameo role. Similarly, malayam superstar Mamooty and Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi are (were reported to be, but Rajni did not disappoint, he mimicked them to perfection ) also playing parts for one scene. This round up of actors is a rare breed of ’super stars’, the never has been and will be of their kind, that the world of south Indian entertainment may not witness in its future. Reason? Rajini, Chiranjeevi, Mamooty, Amitabh & Shah rukh may be the last major actors of the Indian super star era.(This did not happen but Rajni was at his best, imitating them all )

* Sivaji movie distribution rights for kerala (where Tamil is not the first language) were bought by a movie actor, Vineeth (Kadal Desam fame) for 3.5 crores. Similarily, Andhra pradesh rights were bagged in for 14 crores and karnataka, 6.5 crores (In Rupees); while Aynkaran International bought the overseas distribution rights for an eye-popping 13.95 crores!

* Astonished by the rates, North American trade analyst, Prityush Jain told Behindwoods (US) correspondent that the rates are inconceivable for a Tamil movie. “Even Hindi movies are not sold at these rates. The rates are twice as high compared to the earlier Rajini movie”, he stated. But trade pundits like ‘Abirami’ Ramanathan, Chennai’s top exhibitor and President of Tamilnadu theatre owners association, a Rotarian and one of the best known faces in Chennai’s social whirl who has purchased the Chennai city theatrical rights of Rajnikanth’s Sivaji for an astronomical 6.5 crores, are confident that the Shankar-Rajini-Rahman team up will deliver the goods.

* A widely anticipated and closely watched rivalry for local distribution rights in Tamil nadu between sun-tv and reliance took the Tamil nadu rights to around 80 crores, while combining satelitte/dvd/audio rights with it. Finally when all parties gave up hope, AVM decided to split the rights and sell them to individual entities to lubricate the market. Kalaingar TV won the satellite rights for 6.5 crores. While the Tamil nadu rights deal numbers are not out on the Internet, they are rumored to be around 62 crores. I could not find the numbers on the DVD and Audio rights.

* AVM productions announced that they would give away 25% of their profit to the Sivaji foundation in charity, if the movie celebrates 50 days in theaters.

* For the first time in his movie career, rajini gave a personal interview and explained his work in this movie before its release !

* The popular Japanese magazine “tosho” is all raves about how this movie has crossed the hype surrounding “casino royale” and estimates that the total revenue for avm productions (if the movie successfully runs for 50 days in souther region)will be around 430 crores (Indian rupees).

* This movie is going to be dubbed into local languages in countries like turkey ,hausa, gonga(tribal language of southafrica) and kshinola(tribal language of argentina).

..and the list goes on!

Let us see what happens on the judgement day when this movie hits the theaters.