Avan Ivan
Encyclopedia
Avan Ivan is a 2011 Tamil comedy-drama
film written and directed by Bala
, who with this project directs his fifth feature film. The film stars Vishal Krishna
, Arya
, Janani Iyer
and Madhu Shalini
in the lead roles. The film, produced by Kalpathi S. Agoram's AGS Entertainment
, features music by Yuvan Shankar Raja
, cinematography by Arthur A. Wilson
and editing by Suresh Urs. Set in the backdrops of Theni
, Avan Ivan illustrates the relationship between two boisterously playful half-brothers. The film, which was dubbed in Telugu as Vaadu Veedu, released worldwide on June 17, 2011, to mixed critical response.
) and Kumbudren Saamy (Arya
) are half-brothers, who constantly fight and try to outdo each other. Both brothers are pickpockets and get encouragement from their respective mothers. Walter's mother Maryamma (Ambika
) encourages her son to steal and continue their "family tradition". However, Walter, an aspiring actor with an effeminate touch, is rather interested in arts than committing crimes. The Zamindar
(G. M. Kumar), referred to as 'Highness' by the community, takes an affinity towards Saamy and Walter and treats them as his own family. He constantly encourages Walter to take up acting seriously and to be friendly towards his brother. Walter is smitten by a Police Constable Baby (Janani Iyer
) from whom he attempts to steal after being dared by his brother to prove himself. She finds him completely amusing and eventually falls for him. He returns several stolen goods from his home and from Kumbudren Samy to rescue her from being dismissed and goes to great lengths to impress her. Kumbudren Samy falls for a college student Thenmozhi (Madhu Shalini
) who is intimidated by his rough ways at first but reciprocates his love later on.
One day, a police inspector who had insulted the Zamindar is tracked down and punished by Kumbudren Samy and Walter. While Walter takes the police truck and dumps it in the forest, Kumbudren Samy is caught by the police inspector. He acts like he swallowed a blade so he can see Thenmozhi once before going to jail. He is rushed to the hospital sees her and fools the entire police force even though Baby is quite suspicious. Kumbudren Samy tries to bribe the doctor to lie but she tells the police constable who only pleads with the him but later gives up and releases him. Actor Suriya attends a school function in the town to promote educational awareness through his Agaram Foundation. Just as he is about to leave the Zamindar requests him to stay and witness Walter's acting skills, who shows off his depictions of the nine emotions (Navarasas) and impresses everyone, including Kumbedren Samy. A drunk Kumbredren Samy then reveals to a drunk Zamindar that he actually does love his brother and that all the anger and hate it is just an act.
Meanwhile, the Zamindar exposes the illegal activities of a cattle smuggler (R. K.
). The smuggler loses his animal farm and is taken into custody by the police amid media fare. Kumbudren Samy brings Thenmozhi to the Zamindar's house to introduce them to each other. Thenmozhi is identified to be the Zamindar's enemy's daughter, which Kumbudren Samy was unaware of. When the Zamindar tells him to break up with her, Saamy refuses and attacks him verbally, telling that he doesn't have a family and no one loves him so he would never understand. An angered Zaminder throws out Kumbudren Samy and Walter as well who tried to defend his brother and gets extremely drunk. Later that evening, both brothers make up with the Zamindar and invite him to their home. The Zamindar even signs over his land to Thenmozhi's father who was trying to get a hold of the land and organises for their marriage. Few days later, the smuggler returns, kidnaps the Zamindar and flogs him into unconsciousness, before hanging him to death from a tree. Walter and Kumbudren Samy are devastated and almost collapse with grief. While Kumbudren Samy fails in his attempt to take revenge, getting flogged and injured severely, Walter manages to bash up the smuggler and his men. The smuggler has been tied down under the platform with the Zamindar's body and is burnt to death along with the Zamindar, while both brothers dance madly.
in February 2009, Bala
, whose previous feature films had all been tragedy drama films dealing with serious and dark subjects, announced that for his next directorial, he would be moving away from such films and make a full-length light-hearted comedy film. He was working on its script in the following months, whilst declaring that it will be a double hero subject. Allegedly Bala had come to this decision, since his earlier films, despite receiving critical acclaim, garnered poor or only average box office returns. During the post-production
phase, Bala disclosed that the film was "fun till the last 15 minutes, after which it turns serious", adding that he decided to "change tracks", after several people including his mentor Balu Mahendra
adviced him to do so.
Though initially Soundarya Rajinikanth
's Ocher Studios were reported to be the producer of the film, Kalpathi S. Agoram finally took up the project and decided to produce it under the banner of AGS Entertainment
. On 25 January 2010, an official press meet was held, where the film's official title was finally revealed and the film's lead female actress as well as the technicians were announced, with which the project official commenced. During the launch, Bala told that unlike his earlier films, Avan Ivan would have an "extra dose of comedy, besides action and family sentiments." He had also disclosed that, unlike his earlier films, he will complete Avan Ivan within eight months of time and be ready for a release in late 2010. According to sources, Bala intended to name the film as Avana Ivan first, but as it was already registered by director Bharath, who was not willing to give away the title, he changed the title to Avan Ivan.
, as well as Jeeva and Githan Ramesh
were considered for the roles, which were at last bagged by Arya
, renewing his association with Bala after Naan Kadavul, and Vishal Krishna
. Vishal later creditted Arya, who were friends even before entering the film industry, for becoming part of the project. Both actors had to change their looks; they reportedly tonsure
d their heads for their roles, and kept their looks secretive, avoiding public appearances. Reports further suggested that Vishal played a transgender
in the film, which he went on to deny, while clarifiying that he sports a squint
and wore braces throughout the film. He reportedly became the first ever actor to attempt a squint look in a feature film, which was considered for an entry in The Guinness Book of World Records.
Regarding the lead female roles, Bala and his close associates had travelled across entire Tamil Nadu
, searching for the right person, who should be preferably a new face and fluent in Tamil language. In late November 2009 in association with Indiaglitz.com, a "heroine hunting" program was conducted through the internet
, where women, who were 18 year old and could understand Tamil, could apply for the role. In November 2009, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, daughter of actor Sarath Kumar
, who will debut in Podaa Podi
alongside Silambarasan Rajendar, was reportedly roped in for the role. However, at the official press meet in late January 2009, it was revealed that Janani Iyer
, a Chennai
-based model, who had appeared in several television advertisements, was chosen for the role. For another lead female character, Pooja Umashankar
, who was also part of Bala's Naan Kadavul, and Nivedhitha, who had starred in small-budget films Kadhai and Porkkalam were initially considered. Eventually, former Telugu VJ, model and actress Madhu Shalini
was finalised, to portray the role of a college student and the love interest of Arya's character, while she was also made by Bala to dub
for herself. Meanwhile, businessman-turned-actor R. K.
was roped in for to play a villainous role. In May 2010, Suriya was signed to appear in a guest role as himself. Reemma Sen was also reported to perform a cameo role, however shortly before release, this was revealed to be a false news.
Furthermore, Yuvan Shankar Raja
was announced as the music director of the film, joining Bala again after the successful Nandha
in 2001. About replacing his usual music director Ilaiyaraaja
by his son, Bala said that since it was a youth-centric film, Yuvan Shankar Raja can "bring the right feel". Suresh Urs, who had worked on all Bala films since Nandha, was roped in as the film's editor, while Arthur A. Wilson
remained the cinematographer. S. Ramakrishnan
was assigned to write the dialogues, after J. S. Ragavan and professor Gnanasambanthan were approached.
and Shenkottah and to be completed in two schedules, started with a slight delay nine days later in Courtallam
, where a major portion was shot. Almost the entire film was shot in and across Theni
, with minor portions being filmed in Ambasamudram
, and Chennai
at the Kilpauk Medical College
Hospital. The climax part was filmed at the last, which was completed by late January 2011 and with which Vishal had finished his portion. The entire shooting was completed in early February, with Vishal later confessing that he was the sole reason for the delay in completion. The film took almost 200 days to complete, but became Bala's fastest shoot nonetheless. From 10 February 2011, the dubbing
and post-production
works commenced.
and marks his second collaboration with Bala, following a highly critically acclaimed work in Nandha
. Deviating from his usual style of composing, he did not use any Western musical elements
such as synths
and auto-tune
, but only "pure ethnic (Indian) sounds", further disclosing that the entire album and score was recorded live
. Yuvan Shankar recorded the whole orchestra
in one take, after few rehearsal
s. In August 2010, an intense pathos
song was recorded in the voice of Vijay Prakash
, while the following month, he recorded several different Indian folk
drum
s with 40 people. Yuvan revealed that he was given over two months time for each song, while Bala later commented that Yuvan's job for Avan Ivan was of "international standard". The Master recording
was handed over by Yuvan Shankar Raja on March 18, 2011.
The soundtrack album was released exactly one month later, on April 18, 2011 by Bala's mentor Balu Mahendra
in a grand event held at the Residency Towers, Chennai. Controversially, the songs had been leaked to the Internet few days before the official release, after Sony Music had sent the master copies to abroad earlier. The album consists of 5 tracks, four songs and an instrumental, with lyrics penned by Na. Muthukumar
. The lyrics for the Telugu version of the soundtrack, which was released on 1 June 2011 at Taj Banjara Hotel in Hyderabad, were written by Ananth Sreeram and Chandrabose. The song "Oru Malayoram" featured vocals by children Priyanka, Srinisha and Nithyashree, who were participants in the second season of the reality-based singing-competition Airtel Super Singer Junior
. Only one songs from the soundtrack, "Dia Dia Dole", was used in its entirety, along with an altered shorter version of "Rasathi" and parts of "Mudhal Murai", while "Avanapathi" and "Oru Malayoram" were completely left out. The film however featured two additional tracks, not included in the soundtrack, which would be released in a second edition.
. It was reported to be distributed and marketed by Sun Pictures
, however following the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election, 2011
the production studio AGS Entertainment
decided to release the film directly. Initially planned to release in January 2011, the release was pushed to April, before eventually releasing on June 17, 2011. The film was released by GK Media in 20 screens in the United States
and reportedly became the biggest overseas release for Bala as well as Vishal and Arya. Owing to Vishal's popularity in Andhra Pradesh
, Vishal's brother, Vikram Krishna
, decided to dub the film into Telugu
as Vaadu Veedu and release it under his GK Films Corporation banner simultaneously with the Tamil version.
and Vishal Krishna
saying "Unlike Vishal, Arya doesn’t have much scope over performance, but manages to remain under spotlights with his rib-tickling comedy tracks and dialogue delivery. Although we have the signature as ‘A Film By Bala’ during final credits, it’s worth mentioning that the film completely belongs to Vishal." A reviewer from in.com gave three and half out of five and said that the movie is a "definite watch for Bala's followers and to watch the new Vishal emerge as a performer". Further praising Vishal, the critic stats, "there is no doubt that from the beginning of the making of the film, there has been so much riding on Vishal's character as he has been playing the role of a squint and has done a fab job." Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com gave it two out of five stars stating that "Avan Ivan, in the end, is Vishal and Arya battling for recognition in the acting arena." Supergoodmovies also gave three and a half stars and concluded that "Avan Ivan will not let down the audience. Though not a typical Bala film, a feel of joy creeps as we watch the film. It is one of the best technically made movies by Bala so far."
Rediff gave two and a half out of five and wrote that "Avan Ivan does have, at its heart, a nice storyline with plenty of comic elements. But director Bala doesn't really capitalize on its strengths, and never pulls you into the story except in parts which is disappointing, as he is among today's trend-setters in Tamil cinema." Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu
claimed that "the intermission leaves you wondering at the frivolousness and facileness of the story that's very much unlike Bala. Nothing much happens in the first hour or so. Thankfully, he makes amends with a riveting climax." A critic from Oneindia.in
cited: "Watch the film for the expression of ‘Nava Rasas’ just after the interval bang and the climax scene and you will get a feel that it is a 100 per cent paisa vasool." Chennai Onlines reviewer stated that Bala had "attempted to provide us with a film that has comical elements as its major strength. He has gone overboard and failed to present it with coherent script. As a result the movie turns out to be a disappointing experience despite having stunning performances", while Indiaglitz commented: "All said, Avan Ivan is not a typical Bala film, and it has its own dull moments, courtesy cliched scenes and dragging second half. But it also has many ingredients to entertain the masses." CNN-IBN wrote: "Overall Avan Ivan suffers from a sloppy script despite having some fine performances. The lack of balance between Bala's emphatic portrayal of different kind of life and his effort to provide fun is the major problem of the movie. The fun becomes farce and the seriousness turns out to be ineffective."
box office, scoring the largest opening weekend of 2011. According to Sify
, the film had earned a distributor share of 83 lakh from 18 Chennai screens. At the end of the third weekend, the film had earned 4.65 crore in Chennai alone. Its dubbed Telugu version, Vaadu Veedu released simultaneously with the Tamil version, and grossed an estimated 1.5 crores in the opening weekend in Andhra Pradesh
, while collecting around 50 lakh in Nizam
area only, which was considered a remarkable figure for a dubbed release. The dubbed version had reportedly earned 4 crores in Andhra Pradesh, outclassing original Telugu ventures. In the United Kingdom
, the film was released by Ayngaran International
across 14 screens and collected $49,921 in the first three days, opening at 15th place. At the end of the second weekend, the film had earned $80,933 overall in UK. FiveStar distributed the film in Malaysia in 32 theatres, where it grossed $232,781 in the first weekend, opening at fourth.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film written and directed by Bala
Bala (director)
Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, working in Tamil cinema. Bala is frequently credited with having "revolutionized Tamil cinema", through his realistic, dark and disturbing films that have garnered high critical acclaim...
, who with this project directs his fifth feature film. The film stars Vishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna is an Indian film actor who has appeared in primarily Tamil cinema. Often starring in his home productions, Vishal became an actor after a stint as an assistant director in films....
, Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
, Janani Iyer
Janani Iyer
Janani Iyer is an Indian film actress and model. Starting a modelling career, after her studies, she appeared in over 150 television advertisements, before getting signed by director Bala to essay the lead female role in the upcoming Tamil feature film Avan Ivan.- Early life :Janani was born in...
and Madhu Shalini
Madhu Shalini
Madhu Shalini is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. She has previously worked as a television anchor as well.- Career :...
in the lead roles. The film, produced by Kalpathi S. Agoram's AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment is a film production and distribution company in India. It was established in 2006 by three brothers Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S.Ganesh and Kalpathi S...
, features music by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
, cinematography by Arthur A. Wilson
Arthur A. Wilson
Arthur Wilson is a cinematographer from India. He has also worked in many Tamil films like Rhythm, Anbe Sivam,Panchathanthiram,Vanathai pola,V.I.P,Shajahan, Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi and Pammal K. Sambandam. He is well known in the movie Naan Kadavul. His latest movie is Bala's Avan-Ivan-References:...
and editing by Suresh Urs. Set in the backdrops of Theni
Theni
Theni is a town in the Western Tamil Nadu state of South India. It is the headquarters of Theni District. It is known for the large-scale trading of Cardamom, Cotton, Grapes, chilli and Textiles. It hosts the second largest weekly market in Tamil Nadu and the fourth largest in South India...
, Avan Ivan illustrates the relationship between two boisterously playful half-brothers. The film, which was dubbed in Telugu as Vaadu Veedu, released worldwide on June 17, 2011, to mixed critical response.
Plot
Walter Vanangamudi (Vishal KrishnaVishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna is an Indian film actor who has appeared in primarily Tamil cinema. Often starring in his home productions, Vishal became an actor after a stint as an assistant director in films....
) and Kumbudren Saamy (Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
) are half-brothers, who constantly fight and try to outdo each other. Both brothers are pickpockets and get encouragement from their respective mothers. Walter's mother Maryamma (Ambika
Ambika (actress)
Ambika is an Indian film actress. She was worked in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu films. Ambika's sister Radha was also an actress. Both of them acted in a number of south Indian films in 80s and they have a movie studio called "ARS Studios"....
) encourages her son to steal and continue their "family tradition". However, Walter, an aspiring actor with an effeminate touch, is rather interested in arts than committing crimes. The Zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
(G. M. Kumar), referred to as 'Highness' by the community, takes an affinity towards Saamy and Walter and treats them as his own family. He constantly encourages Walter to take up acting seriously and to be friendly towards his brother. Walter is smitten by a Police Constable Baby (Janani Iyer
Janani Iyer
Janani Iyer is an Indian film actress and model. Starting a modelling career, after her studies, she appeared in over 150 television advertisements, before getting signed by director Bala to essay the lead female role in the upcoming Tamil feature film Avan Ivan.- Early life :Janani was born in...
) from whom he attempts to steal after being dared by his brother to prove himself. She finds him completely amusing and eventually falls for him. He returns several stolen goods from his home and from Kumbudren Samy to rescue her from being dismissed and goes to great lengths to impress her. Kumbudren Samy falls for a college student Thenmozhi (Madhu Shalini
Madhu Shalini
Madhu Shalini is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. She has previously worked as a television anchor as well.- Career :...
) who is intimidated by his rough ways at first but reciprocates his love later on.
One day, a police inspector who had insulted the Zamindar is tracked down and punished by Kumbudren Samy and Walter. While Walter takes the police truck and dumps it in the forest, Kumbudren Samy is caught by the police inspector. He acts like he swallowed a blade so he can see Thenmozhi once before going to jail. He is rushed to the hospital sees her and fools the entire police force even though Baby is quite suspicious. Kumbudren Samy tries to bribe the doctor to lie but she tells the police constable who only pleads with the him but later gives up and releases him. Actor Suriya attends a school function in the town to promote educational awareness through his Agaram Foundation. Just as he is about to leave the Zamindar requests him to stay and witness Walter's acting skills, who shows off his depictions of the nine emotions (Navarasas) and impresses everyone, including Kumbedren Samy. A drunk Kumbredren Samy then reveals to a drunk Zamindar that he actually does love his brother and that all the anger and hate it is just an act.
Meanwhile, the Zamindar exposes the illegal activities of a cattle smuggler (R. K.
R. K. (actor)
R. K. is an actor in Tamil Nadu, India. He was a prominent businessman before he broke into films.- Filmography :- References:...
). The smuggler loses his animal farm and is taken into custody by the police amid media fare. Kumbudren Samy brings Thenmozhi to the Zamindar's house to introduce them to each other. Thenmozhi is identified to be the Zamindar's enemy's daughter, which Kumbudren Samy was unaware of. When the Zamindar tells him to break up with her, Saamy refuses and attacks him verbally, telling that he doesn't have a family and no one loves him so he would never understand. An angered Zaminder throws out Kumbudren Samy and Walter as well who tried to defend his brother and gets extremely drunk. Later that evening, both brothers make up with the Zamindar and invite him to their home. The Zamindar even signs over his land to Thenmozhi's father who was trying to get a hold of the land and organises for their marriage. Few days later, the smuggler returns, kidnaps the Zamindar and flogs him into unconsciousness, before hanging him to death from a tree. Walter and Kumbudren Samy are devastated and almost collapse with grief. While Kumbudren Samy fails in his attempt to take revenge, getting flogged and injured severely, Walter manages to bash up the smuggler and his men. The smuggler has been tied down under the platform with the Zamindar's body and is burnt to death along with the Zamindar, while both brothers dance madly.
Cast
- Vishal KrishnaVishal KrishnaVishal Krishna is an Indian film actor who has appeared in primarily Tamil cinema. Often starring in his home productions, Vishal became an actor after a stint as an assistant director in films....
as Walter Vanangamudi - AryaArya (actor)Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
as Kumbudren Saamy - G. M. Kumar as ZamindarZamindarA Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
Thirthapathi (Highness) - R. K.R. K. (actor)R. K. is an actor in Tamil Nadu, India. He was a prominent businessman before he broke into films.- Filmography :- References:...
as the smuggler - Madhu ShaliniMadhu ShaliniMadhu Shalini is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. She has previously worked as a television anchor as well.- Career :...
as Thenmozhi - Janani IyerJanani IyerJanani Iyer is an Indian film actress and model. Starting a modelling career, after her studies, she appeared in over 150 television advertisements, before getting signed by director Bala to essay the lead female role in the upcoming Tamil feature film Avan Ivan.- Early life :Janani was born in...
as Constable Baby - AmbikaAmbika (actress)Ambika is an Indian film actress. She was worked in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu films. Ambika's sister Radha was also an actress. Both of them acted in a number of south Indian films in 80s and they have a movie studio called "ARS Studios"....
as Maryamma - Prabha Ramesh as Kumbudren Saamy's mother
- Ananth VaidyanathanAnanth VaidyanathanAnanth Vaidyanathan is a leading voice expert in India. As of 2010, he is a part of the Airtel Super Singer and Airtel Super Singer Junior shows, where he provides voice training to the contestants....
as Srikanth - T. Vignesh
- S. S. Raman
- Suriya as himself (guest appearance)
Development
After finishing and releasing his magnum opus Naan KadavulNaan Kadavul
Naan Kadavul is a 2009 Indian Tamil film co-written and directed by Bala, based on the Tamil novel Yezhaam Ulagam by Jayamohan who also penned the dialogues for the film. The film stars Arya and Pooja in the lead roles...
in February 2009, Bala
Bala (director)
Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, working in Tamil cinema. Bala is frequently credited with having "revolutionized Tamil cinema", through his realistic, dark and disturbing films that have garnered high critical acclaim...
, whose previous feature films had all been tragedy drama films dealing with serious and dark subjects, announced that for his next directorial, he would be moving away from such films and make a full-length light-hearted comedy film. He was working on its script in the following months, whilst declaring that it will be a double hero subject. Allegedly Bala had come to this decision, since his earlier films, despite receiving critical acclaim, garnered poor or only average box office returns. During the post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
phase, Bala disclosed that the film was "fun till the last 15 minutes, after which it turns serious", adding that he decided to "change tracks", after several people including his mentor Balu Mahendra
Balu Mahendra
Balanathan "Balu" Mahendran is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinematographer widely regarded as part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters from the Chennai film industry who revitalised Tamil cinema...
adviced him to do so.
Though initially Soundarya Rajinikanth
Soundarya Rajinikanth
Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin is a film graphic designer, producer and director in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India who has contributed in several Tamil films. Soundarya Rajinikanth is most popularly known for her work in Anbe Aaruyire...
's Ocher Studios were reported to be the producer of the film, Kalpathi S. Agoram finally took up the project and decided to produce it under the banner of AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment is a film production and distribution company in India. It was established in 2006 by three brothers Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S.Ganesh and Kalpathi S...
. On 25 January 2010, an official press meet was held, where the film's official title was finally revealed and the film's lead female actress as well as the technicians were announced, with which the project official commenced. During the launch, Bala told that unlike his earlier films, Avan Ivan would have an "extra dose of comedy, besides action and family sentiments." He had also disclosed that, unlike his earlier films, he will complete Avan Ivan within eight months of time and be ready for a release in late 2010. According to sources, Bala intended to name the film as Avana Ivan first, but as it was already registered by director Bharath, who was not willing to give away the title, he changed the title to Avan Ivan.
Casting
For the two lead male characters, who play step brothers in the film, several actors from the Tamil film industry were considered. Real-life siblings Surya and KarthiKarthik Sivakumar
Karthi is an Indian film actor, who works in the Tamil film industry. His father is Sivakumar, also a film actor. Karthi gained a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Industrial Engineering in the United States. Since he had always wanted to become a film director,...
, as well as Jeeva and Githan Ramesh
Githan Ramesh
Ramesh Choudary, also known by his stage name Jithan Ramesh, is a Tamil and Telugu film actor from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is the son of film producer R. B. Choudary and brother of actor Jeeva. He made his debut in the film Jithan and, as of 2010, he became a producer for the film Vaanam.-...
were considered for the roles, which were at last bagged by Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
, renewing his association with Bala after Naan Kadavul, and Vishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna is an Indian film actor who has appeared in primarily Tamil cinema. Often starring in his home productions, Vishal became an actor after a stint as an assistant director in films....
. Vishal later creditted Arya, who were friends even before entering the film industry, for becoming part of the project. Both actors had to change their looks; they reportedly tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
d their heads for their roles, and kept their looks secretive, avoiding public appearances. Reports further suggested that Vishal played a transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
in the film, which he went on to deny, while clarifiying that he sports a squint
Strabismus
Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other. It typically involves a lack of coordination between the extraocular muscles, which prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space and preventing proper binocular vision, which may adversely...
and wore braces throughout the film. He reportedly became the first ever actor to attempt a squint look in a feature film, which was considered for an entry in The Guinness Book of World Records.
Regarding the lead female roles, Bala and his close associates had travelled across entire Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, searching for the right person, who should be preferably a new face and fluent in Tamil language. In late November 2009 in association with Indiaglitz.com, a "heroine hunting" program was conducted through the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, where women, who were 18 year old and could understand Tamil, could apply for the role. In November 2009, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, daughter of actor Sarath Kumar
Sarath Kumar
Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian journalist, film actor, politician, body builder and the current president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He started his career in Tamil cinema playing negative roles, and later played minor roles in other movies. He was first chosen for the...
, who will debut in Podaa Podi
Podaa Podi
Podaa Podi is an upcoming Indian Tamil romance-comedy film written and directed by debutant Vignesh Shivan, featuring Silambarasan, Shobana and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar in the lead roles, while Meena Latchman playing a pivotal role and director Gautham Menon playing a cameo role...
alongside Silambarasan Rajendar, was reportedly roped in for the role. However, at the official press meet in late January 2009, it was revealed that Janani Iyer
Janani Iyer
Janani Iyer is an Indian film actress and model. Starting a modelling career, after her studies, she appeared in over 150 television advertisements, before getting signed by director Bala to essay the lead female role in the upcoming Tamil feature film Avan Ivan.- Early life :Janani was born in...
, a Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
-based model, who had appeared in several television advertisements, was chosen for the role. For another lead female character, Pooja Umashankar
Pooja Umashankar
Pooja Gauthami Umashankar is an actress of Kannadiga Lingayat origin who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam, Sinhala and Amateur films...
, who was also part of Bala's Naan Kadavul, and Nivedhitha, who had starred in small-budget films Kadhai and Porkkalam were initially considered. Eventually, former Telugu VJ, model and actress Madhu Shalini
Madhu Shalini
Madhu Shalini is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. She has previously worked as a television anchor as well.- Career :...
was finalised, to portray the role of a college student and the love interest of Arya's character, while she was also made by Bala to dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
for herself. Meanwhile, businessman-turned-actor R. K.
R. K. (actor)
R. K. is an actor in Tamil Nadu, India. He was a prominent businessman before he broke into films.- Filmography :- References:...
was roped in for to play a villainous role. In May 2010, Suriya was signed to appear in a guest role as himself. Reemma Sen was also reported to perform a cameo role, however shortly before release, this was revealed to be a false news.
Furthermore, Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
was announced as the music director of the film, joining Bala again after the successful Nandha
Nandha
The soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, son of noted composer Ilaiyaraaja, who usually scores the music for a Bala film. The soundtrack was released on 21 October 2001 at Hotel Connemara, Chennai by actor Kamal Haasan and director Bharathiraja. It features 6 tracks, out of which two were...
in 2001. About replacing his usual music director Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
by his son, Bala said that since it was a youth-centric film, Yuvan Shankar Raja can "bring the right feel". Suresh Urs, who had worked on all Bala films since Nandha, was roped in as the film's editor, while Arthur A. Wilson
Arthur A. Wilson
Arthur Wilson is a cinematographer from India. He has also worked in many Tamil films like Rhythm, Anbe Sivam,Panchathanthiram,Vanathai pola,V.I.P,Shajahan, Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi and Pammal K. Sambandam. He is well known in the movie Naan Kadavul. His latest movie is Bala's Avan-Ivan-References:...
remained the cinematographer. S. Ramakrishnan
S. Ramakrishnan
S. Ramakrishnan is a noted Tamil author and Tamil film dialogue writer. He was born in Mallankinaru, Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu. Ramakrishnan is noted for his column Thunai Ezhuthu in the magazine Ananda Vikatan. His short stories have been translated in German, French, Kannada, Hindi and...
was assigned to write the dialogues, after J. S. Ragavan and professor Gnanasambanthan were approached.
Filming
Bala, whose films usually take several years to get completed and released, disclosed that this film, however, would be finished in eight months time. The film's shooting, which was supposed to commence on 10 February 2010 in TenkasiTenkasi
Tenkasi pronounced as is a town and a municipality in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located in the foothills of the Western Ghats near the Courtallam Waterfalls.Tenkasi is also famous for saaral...
and Shenkottah and to be completed in two schedules, started with a slight delay nine days later in Courtallam
Courtallam
Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of on the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. Many seasonal and a few perennial rivers such as the Chittar River, the Manimuthar River, the Pachaiyar River and the Tambaraparani River originate in this region...
, where a major portion was shot. Almost the entire film was shot in and across Theni
Theni
Theni is a town in the Western Tamil Nadu state of South India. It is the headquarters of Theni District. It is known for the large-scale trading of Cardamom, Cotton, Grapes, chilli and Textiles. It hosts the second largest weekly market in Tamil Nadu and the fourth largest in South India...
, with minor portions being filmed in Ambasamudram
Ambasamudram
Ambasamudram is a taluk in Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The entire taluk had a population of 392,226 as of 2001, with 42.5% classified as rural. The taluk is named for the principal town with the same name...
, and Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
at the Kilpauk Medical College
Kilpauk Medical College
Established in 1960, the Kilpauk Medical College is one of the premier medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, India.- Introduction :Kilpauk Medical College is one of the premier government medical instituitions in India. Founded in 1960, the college has been instrumental in producing many world renowned...
Hospital. The climax part was filmed at the last, which was completed by late January 2011 and with which Vishal had finished his portion. The entire shooting was completed in early February, with Vishal later confessing that he was the sole reason for the delay in completion. The film took almost 200 days to complete, but became Bala's fastest shoot nonetheless. From 10 February 2011, the dubbing
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
and post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
works commenced.
Soundtrack
Avan Ivans soundtrack is composed by Yuvan Shankar RajaYuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
and marks his second collaboration with Bala, following a highly critically acclaimed work in Nandha
Nandha
The soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, son of noted composer Ilaiyaraaja, who usually scores the music for a Bala film. The soundtrack was released on 21 October 2001 at Hotel Connemara, Chennai by actor Kamal Haasan and director Bharathiraja. It features 6 tracks, out of which two were...
. Deviating from his usual style of composing, he did not use any Western musical elements
Western music
Western music may refer to:* Classical music, a genre of art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music from the 10th century onward...
such as synths
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and auto-tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
, but only "pure ethnic (Indian) sounds", further disclosing that the entire album and score was recorded live
Live instrumentation
In music, live instrumentation is the use of acoustic and electronic musical instruments in live music and recording rather than DJing, sampling, and other recording techniques....
. Yuvan Shankar recorded the whole orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in one take, after few rehearsal
Rehearsal
For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...
s. In August 2010, an intense pathos
Pathos
Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
song was recorded in the voice of Vijay Prakash
Vijay Prakash
Vijay Prakash , is a playback singer from Mysore who moved to Mumbai in 1996. He has sung in Hindi films such as Blue, Yuvvraaj, Swades, Kaal, Lakshya, Matrubhoomi, Tere Naam, Cheeni Kum, Raavan and Force. He has also performed in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies...
, while the following month, he recorded several different Indian folk
Indian folk music
Indian folk music is diverse because of India's vast cultural diversity. It has many forms including bhangra, lavani, dandiya and Rajasthani. The arrival of movies and pop music weakened folk music's popularity, but cheaply recordable music has made it easier to find and helped revive the traditions...
drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s with 40 people. Yuvan revealed that he was given over two months time for each song, while Bala later commented that Yuvan's job for Avan Ivan was of "international standard". The Master recording
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
was handed over by Yuvan Shankar Raja on March 18, 2011.
The soundtrack album was released exactly one month later, on April 18, 2011 by Bala's mentor Balu Mahendra
Balu Mahendra
Balanathan "Balu" Mahendran is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and cinematographer widely regarded as part of the first in a wave of directors and screenwriters from the Chennai film industry who revitalised Tamil cinema...
in a grand event held at the Residency Towers, Chennai. Controversially, the songs had been leaked to the Internet few days before the official release, after Sony Music had sent the master copies to abroad earlier. The album consists of 5 tracks, four songs and an instrumental, with lyrics penned by Na. Muthukumar
Na. Muthukumar
Na. Muthukumar is a Tamil poet and lyricist, who writes lyrics for Tamil film songs.-Career:Muthukumar began his career wanting to be a director and worked under Balu Mahendra for four years. But then he became a lyricist, beginning with the lyrics for the songs of the Tamil film Veera Nadai,...
. The lyrics for the Telugu version of the soundtrack, which was released on 1 June 2011 at Taj Banjara Hotel in Hyderabad, were written by Ananth Sreeram and Chandrabose. The song "Oru Malayoram" featured vocals by children Priyanka, Srinisha and Nithyashree, who were participants in the second season of the reality-based singing-competition Airtel Super Singer Junior
Airtel Super Singer Junior
Airtel Super Singer Junior - Thamizhagathin Chellakuralukkana Thedal - is a reality show hosted by Vijay TV, a popular Tamil channel of the Star Network. It is a singing talent hunt for the children of age group 6-14. This is the junior version of the Airtel Super Singer show which premiered in 2006...
. Only one songs from the soundtrack, "Dia Dia Dole", was used in its entirety, along with an altered shorter version of "Rasathi" and parts of "Mudhal Murai", while "Avanapathi" and "Oru Malayoram" were completely left out. The film however featured two additional tracks, not included in the soundtrack, which would be released in a second edition.
Critical Reception
The album received positive reviews from music critics. Richard Mahesh from Behindwoods gave a 2.5/5 rating and said "Yuvan Shankar Raja has experimented with a new-dimensional music that sounds good on the whole. While ‘Avanapathi’ and ‘Rasathi’ turning us irresistibly addictive to its tunes, ‘Oru Malayoram’ will be a melodic hit of this season." describing the album as "different but a laudable show by Yuvan" Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff gave a 3/5 rating and said "When it comes to Avan Ivan, it looks like Yuvan has voluntarily tried to move out of his comfort zone, given up on his template and experimented, particularly with the instrumental arrangement and most times, it works. Go for it." Indiaglitz said "Songs from Bala's films never failed to disappoint us. The director has repeated the magic this time too and the credit goes to Yuvan Shankar Raja."Release
Prior to release, Avan Ivan was given a U/A (Parental Guidance) rating by the Central Board of Film CertificationCentral Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
. It was reported to be distributed and marketed by Sun Pictures
Sun Pictures
Sun Pictures is a film distribution and production studio unit of Chennai, based Sun Network owned by Kalanidhi Maran. Founded in 2008, it started distributing low-budget Tamil-language films, Kadhalil Vizhunthen being the first, and holds the credit of producing India's costliest film Enthiran...
, however following the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election, 2011
Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election, 2011
The fourteenth legislative assembly election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members from 234 constituencies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Results were released on 13 May 2011...
the production studio AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment
AGS Entertainment is a film production and distribution company in India. It was established in 2006 by three brothers Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S.Ganesh and Kalpathi S...
decided to release the film directly. Initially planned to release in January 2011, the release was pushed to April, before eventually releasing on June 17, 2011. The film was released by GK Media in 20 screens in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and reportedly became the biggest overseas release for Bala as well as Vishal and Arya. Owing to Vishal's popularity in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Vishal's brother, Vikram Krishna
Vikram Krishna
Vikram Krishna is a film producer and a former Tamil film actor. He is the brother of noted actor, Vishal Krishna, and Vikram is married to actress Sriya Reddy.-As actor:-As producer:- External links :...
, decided to dub the film into Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
as Vaadu Veedu and release it under his GK Films Corporation banner simultaneously with the Tamil version.
Critical response
The film received mainly mixed reviews from critics. Behindwoods gave two and a half out of five stars citing that the film had a "loose screenplay" but was compensated by a "power packed performance" by the actors. The reviewer compared AryaArya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
and Vishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna
Vishal Krishna is an Indian film actor who has appeared in primarily Tamil cinema. Often starring in his home productions, Vishal became an actor after a stint as an assistant director in films....
saying "Unlike Vishal, Arya doesn’t have much scope over performance, but manages to remain under spotlights with his rib-tickling comedy tracks and dialogue delivery. Although we have the signature as ‘A Film By Bala’ during final credits, it’s worth mentioning that the film completely belongs to Vishal." A reviewer from in.com gave three and half out of five and said that the movie is a "definite watch for Bala's followers and to watch the new Vishal emerge as a performer". Further praising Vishal, the critic stats, "there is no doubt that from the beginning of the making of the film, there has been so much riding on Vishal's character as he has been playing the role of a squint and has done a fab job." Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com gave it two out of five stars stating that "Avan Ivan, in the end, is Vishal and Arya battling for recognition in the acting arena." Supergoodmovies also gave three and a half stars and concluded that "Avan Ivan will not let down the audience. Though not a typical Bala film, a feel of joy creeps as we watch the film. It is one of the best technically made movies by Bala so far."
Rediff gave two and a half out of five and wrote that "Avan Ivan does have, at its heart, a nice storyline with plenty of comic elements. But director Bala doesn't really capitalize on its strengths, and never pulls you into the story except in parts which is disappointing, as he is among today's trend-setters in Tamil cinema." Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
claimed that "the intermission leaves you wondering at the frivolousness and facileness of the story that's very much unlike Bala. Nothing much happens in the first hour or so. Thankfully, he makes amends with a riveting climax." A critic from Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in
Oneindia.in is an Indian online portal owned by Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which provides news updates, sports news, travel, entertainment, videos, and classifieds. Alexa Traffic Rank of Oneindia.in is ranked number 525 in the world and Google page rank of Oneindia.in is 7...
cited: "Watch the film for the expression of ‘Nava Rasas’ just after the interval bang and the climax scene and you will get a feel that it is a 100 per cent paisa vasool." Chennai Onlines reviewer stated that Bala had "attempted to provide us with a film that has comical elements as its major strength. He has gone overboard and failed to present it with coherent script. As a result the movie turns out to be a disappointing experience despite having stunning performances", while Indiaglitz commented: "All said, Avan Ivan is not a typical Bala film, and it has its own dull moments, courtesy cliched scenes and dragging second half. But it also has many ingredients to entertain the masses." CNN-IBN wrote: "Overall Avan Ivan suffers from a sloppy script despite having some fine performances. The lack of balance between Bala's emphatic portrayal of different kind of life and his effort to provide fun is the major problem of the movie. The fun becomes farce and the seriousness turns out to be ineffective."
Box-office
Avan Ivan had a solo release on June 17, 2011. The film opened across 350 screens in Tamil Nadu and collected 89,03,727 in the opening weekend at the ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
box office, scoring the largest opening weekend of 2011. According to Sify
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
, the film had earned a distributor share of 83 lakh from 18 Chennai screens. At the end of the third weekend, the film had earned 4.65 crore in Chennai alone. Its dubbed Telugu version, Vaadu Veedu released simultaneously with the Tamil version, and grossed an estimated 1.5 crores in the opening weekend in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, while collecting around 50 lakh in Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
area only, which was considered a remarkable figure for a dubbed release. The dubbed version had reportedly earned 4 crores in Andhra Pradesh, outclassing original Telugu ventures. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the film was released by Ayngaran International
Ayngaran International
Ayngaran is a film distribution and production company of Tamil films, based in the United Kingdom. The company has distributed various Indian-produced Tamil films in Europe and North America. It is also responsible for the production of Tamil films into home media, such as VHS, DVD, and blu-ray...
across 14 screens and collected $49,921 in the first three days, opening at 15th place. At the end of the second weekend, the film had earned $80,933 overall in UK. FiveStar distributed the film in Malaysia in 32 theatres, where it grossed $232,781 in the first weekend, opening at fourth.