Kollywood’s rising stars

Younger heroes like Dhanush and Sivakarthikeyan are breathing down the neck of superstars like Vijay, Ajith and Suriya

Dhanush in Maari

From time immemorial, the Kollywood trade has had different yardsticks and rules for the superstars and the rising stars. The superstars are those who have a strong fan base, solid openings and are rumoured to be getting a salary upwards of Rs. 15 crore. Currently, the five actors who are listed in the superstar category (or A-listers) are Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Ajith and Suriya. Vikram also fits into this list when he works with a big-budget director like Shankar.

Then there are the rising stars who can be classified as Kollywood’s B-list of actors, who will graduate to the A-list with more hits. Some of them are already putting tremendous pressure on the A-listers, giving them a run for their money at the box office. Leading this category are Dhanush, Sivakarthikeyan, Karthi, Vishal, Jayam Ravi, Silambarasan and Arya. A top financier and producer remarked: “Earlier, the barometer for a superstar was his opening and fan base, and the actor used to take a salary commensurate with these factors, which made the film commercially viable. But in the last few years, the salary taken by a superstar has no relation to the lifetime earnings from the film, which has made them highly risky. There is going to be a shake-up at the top, as return on investment on superstar films have come down drastically this year.” Dhanush is currently the hottest pick in the emerging stars list. The National Award-winning actor has recently had a hat-trick of hits — Velai Illa Pattathari, Anegan and Maari. What has made him hot in the trade is that his films are doing business in the Rs. 30-35 crore range, across India and overseas theatricals, and from satellite and audio rights. In addition, his involvement with the film and the way he promotes them has endeared him to the trade. Take Maari . The film faced a financial crunch at the last minute, and it would not have got a solo Ramzan-weekend release but for Dhanush’s decision to buy the satellite rights and a theatrical distribution area. The star went out of his way to promote the film, which carried average reports, but took a very good opening and proved to be a safe bet for the distributors.

Another actor who has made rapid strides within a short period is Sivakarthikeyan. He has done just eight films, but today, he is almost in the same bracket as Dhanush. His yet-to-be-released

Rajini Murugan has fetched a rumoured Rs. 25 crore from sale of theatrical rights. His last release

Kaaki Sattai was a hit, and he was offered a whopping Rs. 12 crore by a producer, who had initially worked with him for one-tenth the amount. However, Sivakarthikeyan is taking a leaf out of his one-time mentor Dhanush’s book and is now said to be producing his next film (the actor says his close friends are the producers). In this film which is under production, he is said to be doing the role of a lady, a la

Avvai Shanmughi or shall we say, Robin Williams of

Mrs. Doubtfire ? For this big-budget film directed by debutant Bakkiyaraj Kannan, he has signed P. C. Sreeram as cameraman, Anirudh as music director, Resul Pookutty for sound and Hollywood artist Sean Foot for make-up.

Today, most of the rising stars are producing their own films, be it Karthi, Vishal or Arya. This way, they can keep the cost of production low and make more money from the sale of rights than working for an outside producer, who will not spend money for promotions. Karthi has been regularly working under his Studio Green and Dream Warrior banner. Vishal has been doing films mostly for Vishal Film Factory, with his favourite directors.

Silambarasan aka Simbu has had no releases for the last two years due to financial problems faced by his Vaalu producer. Finally, his father T. Rajendar had to step in and take over the film from its existing producer. He has pumped in a lot of money and the film is gearing up for an Independence Day weekend release on August 14. The film will clash with the Arya-produced Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga ( VSOP ) on August 14. A lot is riding on VSOP , a typical Rajesh rib tickler, as Arya needs a hit badly. He has been aggressively promoting the film across all media platforms.

The younger lot knows that even one failure is a huge setback. Jayam Ravi, who was in the wilderness, made a successful comeback with

Romeo Juliet , which is one of the hits of the year. Ravi has not raised his salary and is looking more at “commercially viable scripts that work at the box office.” He has an impressive list of releases coming up; one among them may be his ticket to superstardom.

The stars knocking at the doors of superstardom are also very active on social media. Dhanush and Sivakarthikeyan have got a following of more than one million on Twitter. They interact directly with fans and this has also helped them crack the overseas market. The younger lot is also taking up social causes. Vishal participated in the hunger strike against the mass culling of dogs in Kerala. Last week, he also announced that he will be taking over the hospital expenses of Paravai Muniamma, who is now living in penury. Soon, Dhanush announced a donation of Rs. 5 lakh towards her treatment, and stole the thunder.

The younger stars are definitely breathing down the neck of established superstars, as they try to anoint themselves the next superstars. 2016 is surely going to be a momentous year for Kollywood.