# Dasavathaaram

Dasavathaaram (transl. The Ten Avatars) is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language epic science fiction action film directed by K. S. Ravikumar, written by Kamal Haasan and produced by V. Ravichandran under Aascar Film Pvt. Ltd. It stars Kamal Haasan in ten distinct roles, alongside an ensemble cast of Asin (in her penultimate Tamil film appearance), Jaya Prada, Mallika Sherawat, K. R. Vijaya, Rekha Harris, Nagesh, P. Vasu, Raghuram, Napoleon and M. S. Bhaskar. In the film, a biotechnology scientist named Govind is forced to steal a vial containing a deadly bioweapon from his corrupt boss, who intended to sell it to a terrorist nation, and keep it contained. During that, Govind is hunted by an American mercenary named Christian Fletcher, an Indian police officer named Balram Naidu and a set of dark events. Several other people also get involved in Govind’s journey and all their stories connect after the striking of 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, thus bringing philosophical views into the picture. The film incorporates numerous themes and philosophies, including chaos theory, butterfly effect, existence of God, casteism, Islamophobia, Vaishnavism, and determinism.
The film, which had been under production for nearly three years, was distributed by V. Ravichandran. Primary filming locations included the United States and across Tamil Nadu in India. The songs were composed by Himesh Reshammiya, while the background score was composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The cinematography and editing were handled by Ravi Varman and K. Thanigachalam respectively.
After delays in post-production, Dasavathaaram was released on 13 June 2008 in around 1300 prints worldwide and received positive reviews from critics. Though its Hindi version was an average success, the film was a massive success at the box-office, grossing US$46 million worldwide against a budget of US$14 million, becoming the highest grossing movie in Tamil cinema at the time, also known as the Industry Hit. Dasavathaaram is the first South indian and Tamil movie to surpass ₹200 crore worldwide box-office gross.

## Plot

Relating to chaos theory and the butterfly effect, bio-technology scientist Govindarajan Ramaswamy alias Govind, addresses an event at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai. He details the Shaivite Chola emperor Kulothunga II's persecution of Vaishnavites in the 12th century Chidambaram. But a Vaishnavite priest named Rangarajan Ramanuja Nambi resists Kulothunga's attempts to demolish an idol of Lord Vishnu. The king drowns Nambi in the sea along with the idol.
On 20 December 2004, Govind is a bio-scientist at a US-based company researching on nanobiotechnology and pathogens. He witnesses Hanu, the lab monkey, swallowing a viral vector meant to be a bio-weapon, thinking that is a chocolate. Grieving Hanu's death, Govind quarantines the lab. He refuses to relinquish the main vial, having recognized its lethal potential misuse. Govind discerns the senior scientist Dr. Sethu's malicious plan of selling the vial to a terrorist organization and flees with the vial. He flees to the residence of his colleague Suresh, who deceives him. Christian Fletcher, a ruthless ex-CIA agent and mercenary working for a terrorist group murders Suresh and attempts to seize the vial. While Govind makes a quick exit with the vial, Yukha Narahazi, Suresh's wife fights Fletcher. Govind meets his friend Sairam, who inadvertently ships the package containing vial to India. Govind boards the aircraft carrying the virus, flies to India and discovers that the package is being delivered to Krishnaveni, an aged woman in Chidambaram.
In Japan, Yuka's brother Shingen, a skilled martial arts teacher, is notified of her death and sets out to avenge her. Balram Naidu, an unconventional Telugu Research and Analysis Wing officer, apprehends Govind in Chennai. Having arrived in India and married Jasmine, an assasin and translator. Fletcher abducts Govind and an official Bharath; the arrival of a renowned pop singer Avatar Singh at the airport eases their evasion. Midway, Govind escapes with Bharath's assistance and reaches Chidambaram. Fletcher follows him with Jasmine and an aide Kumar. Govind meets Krishnaveni and her granddaughter, Andal, to retrieve the package. After discovering the vial's potential, Krishnaveni puts it into an idol of Vishnu. At the same Balram arrives to arrest Govind, Fletcher and Jasmine. To scare him away, Fletcher shoots an elephant, which goes violent. When Jasmine tries to kill Govind, the elephant grabs her and throws to a blade, where she gets impaled. Having noticed Govind escape with the vial while Andal pursues him, thinking that he is stealing the idol, Fletcher kills Jasmine and chases them. Govind and Andal are seized by a mob of illegal sand miners, whose chief Sundaram tries to molest Andal. Vincent Poovaraghan, a Malayali social activist intervenes in the impending crime with a crowd, intent on exposing the mafia; Govind and Andal slip away with the idol and a truck.
Andal urges Govind to return to Chidambaram and in a scuffle that ensues between them, the truck hits the vehicle of a Muslim family; they rescue the family whose eldest son Khalifulla is gigantic. After Khalifulla's mother faints, they rush her to a hospital where Govind procures a chiller icebox to store the idol. Avatar Singh visits the same hospital to treat his throat cancer and stores his medicines in a similar box, prompting the boxes to get switched in the elevator. Fletcher spots Andal in the hospital and takes her and Khalifulla's family hostage, intimidating Govind to fetch the vial. After reaching Khalifulla's house, Govind ascertains that the boxes are swapped; the police surround the residence and requests them to surrender but Fletcher evades with Govind, Andal and Khalifulla's brother to Avatar's concert. Avatar gets shot in his throat while trying to assist Govind. Outraged Ranjitha, Avatar's wife, fights Fletcher while Andal escapes with the idol, Govind chases her and both runs away from Fletcher.
Next day, on 26 December 2004, Govind and Andal reach a construction site and the grappling causes the vial to slip out of the idol. Govind conceals the vial, handovers the idol to an unaware Fletcher and takes off with Andal, who is disappointed with Govind for giving away the idol. Govind intends to immerse the virus into the sea (as saltwater can deactivate the virus); Fletcher, nevertheless, combats him again, only to be resisted by Shingen. A fight occurs where Shingen overpowers and defeats Fletcher, but during the fight Govind gets stabbed by Fletcher. Subsequently, Balram arrives in his helicopter and threatens Fletcher to surrender. Caught between the duo, Fletcher swallows the virus and succumbs to its deadly communicable effects while the others stare helplessly. A tsunami strikes, which washes away and kills Fletcher, generating considerable destruction while simultaneously ceasing the impact of the virus. Govind, Balram, Narahazi and Andal survives the disaster while Vincent, who was invited to negotiate with Sundaram's brother-in-law Raghavendra, succumbs to the catastrophe in the process of rescuing Raghavendra and his wife Meenakshi's kids. As the disarray comes to an end ultimately, Krishnaveni mistakes Vincent for his long-lost son (who had died 50 years ago) and mourns. Khalifulla and his kin, who were gathered in a Mosque by Balram for investigation, get through the calamity. Narahazi immerses Yukha's ashes in the sea. Avatar's cancerous growth is removed due to Fletcher's shot. Andal, meanwhile, insists that God initiated the tsunami to cease the virus from causing destruction while Govind disagrees, stating that it was not fair to kill thousands to protect millions. They, however, unite and profess their feelings for each other while Nambi's remains, shackled to the idol of Vishnu, are on the banks (due to the tsunami).
In the end, Dr Govind is felicitated for his service at an event attended by USA President Bush, Indian PM Manmohan Singh and Tamil Nadu CM Kalaignar.

## Cast

* Kamal Haasan in ten roles as:
** Rangarajan Ramanuja Nambi, a 12th-century Vaishnavite priest who tries to prevent the destruction of the statue of Vishnu and got killed by Chola Emperor Kulothunga II (based on Matsya).
** Govindarajan "Govind" Ramaswamy, an Tamil American bio-scientist who discovers the bioweapon and whose sole mission is to protect it (based on Kalki).
** Balram Naidu, a Telugu high-ranking Research and Analysis Wing officer in India, who initially labels Govind as a terrorist and later pursues Fletcher to retrieve the vial (based on Balarama).
** Avatar Singh, a Punjabi pop singer, who suffers from advanced-stage throat cancer (based on Rama).
** Shingen Narahazi, a Japanese martial artist who wants to take revenge on Fletcher for killing his sister Yuka and protects Govind from Fletcher (based on Narasimha).
** Christian Fletcher, a White American ex-CIA agent and mercenary, who wants possession of the vial for bioterrorism (based on Parashurama).
** George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States (based on Kurma).
** Krishnaveni, an insane centenarian woman in Chidambaram, who is Andal's great-grandmother (based on Varaha).
** Vincent Poovaraghan a Malayali social activist, who is against a politically-backed sand mafia (based on Krishna).
** Khalifullah Khan Mukhtar, a Tamil Muslim tailor with gigantism, who helps Govind and Andal (based on Vamana).
* Asin in dual roles as
** Kodhai Radha, Nambi's wife
** Andal, Govind's fiancee and Krishnaveni's granddaughter
* Jaya Prada as Ranjita Kaur, Singh's wife
* Mallika Sherawat as Jasmine, a skilled assasin who marries Fletcher to become his translator
* Rekha as Meenakshi, Ragavendra's wife
* K. R. Vijaya as Begum, Mukhtaar's wife and Khalifullah's mother
* Napoleon as Kulothunga Chola II
* Raghuram as Appa Rao, Naidu's assistant
* Nagesh as Sheikh Mukhtaar, Khalifullah's father
* Chakri Toleti as Sairam, Govind's friend
* Shammu as Assistant Biotechnologist Dinesh
* Akash as Inspector Bharath
* Ramesh Kanna as Doctor Pradeep
* Raj Toleti as Dr. Setu, Govind's chief doctor
* M. S. Bhaskar as Broadway Kumar, Fletcher's assistant in India
* P. Vasu as J. Ragavendra
* Santhana Bharathi as Sundaram, Ragavendra's brother-in-law
* R. Sundarrajan as MLA Jeevan
* Kabilan as Kabilan, Vincent Poovaraghan's supporter
* Chitti Babu as Ekambaram, Balram's aide
* Vaiyapuri as Prabhu, courier man
* K. S. Ravikumar special appearance in the song "Ulaga Nayagane"
* Ravivarman special appearance in the song "Ulaga Nayagane"

## Production
### Pre-production

Kamal Haasan came up with an original storyline and approached a number of directors, including Gautham Vasudev Menon to direct it, when K. S. Ravikumar accepted the offer. It began soon after the announcement of Sivaji: The Boss starring Rajinikanth. Ravikumar and Haasan came together for the fourth time following their three previous successful ventures, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali and Panchatanthiram.

### Development

V. Ravichandran signed up to produce the venture securing distribution rights in the process. Pyramid Film Fund had an exposure of 50 percent in the project.
Following nearly a year of pre-production, deciding the cast and the locations, the film began its first schedule on 11 September 2006.

### Casting

Over the course, of the production more supporting actors were added to the film, the first being Napoleon, who was signed up to portray a king in the film. Other veteran actors, Jaya Prada, Nagesh, P. Vasu, K. R. Vijaya and M. S. Bhaskar as well as a bevy of American supporting actors were roped into essay other small roles in the film. Actors, Jayaram and Vadivelu opted out of the film during the production of the project, citing date problems.

### Filming

A preliminary schedule took place before the start of the film, which featured no filming, but only the make-up tests, lasting for 25 days in the USA. The make-up used for Kamal's characters proved to create difficulties. It took nine hours to implement the make-up and it failed to stay for a long period of time. To compensate for that, he had to rest and take fluids using a straw and at the same time, refrain from making movement in the facial muscles to make sure that it was not disturbed.
Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included the US, Tokyo, Malaysia and Thailand.
The film's final shoot occurred on 8 October 2007 at Uthandi, a coastal village.

## Music

The film was originally announced with A. R. Rahman as the music director of the film. However he opted out of the project owing to schedule clashes. Kamal, who quickly wanted the tunes, roped in Himesh Reshammiya, for whom Dasavathaaram became his Tamil film debut and only Tamil film to date. The background score was composed by Devi Sri Prasad. As the film demanded a "stylish and western" quality of music, two reels of music were initially composed and tested. A two-and-a-half-minute theme song was later composed for the promos. The background music in the second half consisted of extensive usage of violins and chorus and the entire score for the film was recorded over a period of one month, in Chennai.
The soundtrack was released on 25 April 2008 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, which became the largest audio launch for a south Indian film. Prominent film personalities across the world attended the event, with Jackie Chan, in his first such appearance, being Hollywood's ambassador for the function. Other prominent regional Indian artistes such as Amitabh Bachchan, Mammootty, Vijay and Madhavan attended the launch. The then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, attended the event. The event saw overcrowding and the Chennai Police employed lathi charge on the streets to regain control. The event hosted by Shobana, was attended by all the artistes of the film apart from producer V. Ravichandran, who avoids attending public events. The soundtrack album was acquired by Sony BMG, purchasing their first Tamil film, for a record of ₹20 million (US$230,000).
Rediff, however, gave 2 out of 5 stars and concluded that the album was "a mediocre listening experience."

## Release
### Theatrical

The film was delayed for multiple times when scheduled for a release in 2007 and also in Pongal 2008, due to extensive post-production works and in February 2008, V. Ravichandran announced that Dasavaatharam will be released worldwide 08 in the eve of Tamil New Year weekend. But due to the success of inaugural Indian Premier League season, the release of the film along with Suriya's Vaaranam Aayiram, scheduled for May 2008 release, was put on hold till 1 June 2008, the date when the tournament is concluded. In late May 2008, the makers announced the release date as 13 June 2008 along with Telugu dubbed version, However, the Hindi dubbed version was postponed to 27 June 2008. The film was shown subsequently to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, by the request of the producer on 8 June 2008.

### Distribution

Sony Pictures India distributed the film in North India, whilst Ayngaran International sold the film to cinema halls in the United Kingdom, Singapore and the Gulf. Canadian rights for the film were bought by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, becoming the first distributional venture of an Indian film by the production house.
The film released worldwide with 1,300 prints in all the respective languages. Tamil Nadu had 275 prints, and Karnataka had 80, with 190 prints released overseas. The Hindi version Dashavtar had an unusually high 410 prints in North India. The Telugu version had 260 prints in Andhra Pradesh including 45 prints in Nizam region. The film opened in 25 screens in Hyderabad. The Malayalam version had 85 prints in Kerala.

### Marketing

The film's theatrical trailer was released publicly on 23 April 2008, a day after it was shown to special guests, which included M. Karunanidhi at a screen. The first exclusive screening of the film, prior to release, was held on the morning of the audio launch on 25 April 2008, to visiting guests Jackie Chan, Amitabh Bachchan, Mammootty and Vijay, all of whom were full of praise for the film.

### Home media

The satellite rights of Tamil version of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV for ₹ 4.5 crore.

### Legal issues

Assistant director Senthil Kumar filed a case against the film at the Madras High Court. He claimed to have created the story of Dasavathaaram, in a script titled, Ardhanari alias Clones, and that Kamal Haasan and V. Ravichandran had "stolen" the script and left him out of the credits, violating the copyright act. On the basis of this complaint, the Chennai police queried the actor and later accepted his explanation with the high court sending notices to Kamal Haasan and the producer V. Ravichandran announcing an interim stay on the release of the film. The film was allowed to continue with its schedules, but the case was delayed till in 2007. However, in September 2007, the Court dismissed the petition of Senthil Kumar in the case, clearing the legal hurdles for the film.
Following the audio launch on 25 April 2008, Mallika Sherawat received a police complaint against the donning of improper attire at a film function. Hindu Makkal Katchi, a splinter group of the Hindu Munnani, lodged a complaint with the police, saying that Sherawat's attire at the function to release audio-CDs of Dasavathaaram, in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had been present, had "hurt the sentiments of Hindus". The actress was accused of wearing a mini-skirt and exposing her back in front of the chief minister.
The charges were cleared on 29 May 2008 insisting that Dasavathaaram did not portray Hindu culture in bad light.

## Reception
### Box office
#### India

Dasavathaaram completed a 100-day run on 20 September 2008 in four screens in Chennai.
The Chennai Corporation had given the producer special permission to hold five shows daily, which helped the film to garner the extraordinary opening. In the second weekend too, the film registered at least 95% at multiplexes and 80% in single screens. The film grossed ₹96 lakh (equivalent to ₹2.7 crore or US$310,000 in 2023) from 17 screens in Chennai in the opening weekend. The film grossed ₹21 crore (equivalent to ₹59 crore or US$6.7 million in 2023) all over Tamil Nadu on its first weekend. It grossed ₹60 lakh (equivalent to ₹1.7 crore or US$190,000 in 2023) outside South India in the three-day weekend. The film grossed ₹91 lakh (equivalent to ₹2.5 crore or US$290,000 in 2023) in a fortnight in Mayajaal multiplex. In Sathyam Cinemas multiplex, the film grossed ₹90 lakh (equivalent to ₹2.5 crore or US$290,000 in 2023) in a fortnight. The film stayed at No.1 position in Chennai box office for five consecutive weeks.
The Hindi version Dashavtar, that was released after almost one year opened to a 5–10% response. Dashavtar netted ₹1.93 crore (equivalent to ₹5.4 crore or US$620,000 in 2023) in six weeks in North India and was declared as an average success. The Malayalam version of the film grossed ₹2 crore (equivalent to ₹5.6 crore or US$640,000 in 2023) in Kerala in the first week.

#### Other territories

Dasavathaaram grossed $4,632,719 and was ranked No.7 in the opening week, becoming the first Tamil film to reach the Top 10 at the International box office. In Malaysia, the film opened in second place, having collected $601,000 from 58 screens on the opening weekend and $1,720,780 in nine weeks.
The film grossed ₹200 crore (US$45.97 million) worldwide, and is currently one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time.

### Critical response

Dasavathaaram received positive reviews from critics, with critical acclaim on the performances of Kamal Haasan as the ten characters, script, music, narration, and concepts used in the film. Although some critics felt that the plot was little bit confusing and that Kamal Haasan's ten roles were forced, with only four or five relevant to the plot and the film's CGI received mixed response.
On the contrary, Rediff praised the film as "spectacular" and a "superhuman effort", rating it with 4 out of 5 stars. The reviewer concluded that the film will "go down in the history of Indian cinema as a unique experiment in the commercial circuit". Sify called the film "average", stating that it would "fall short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated." The reviewer also criticised the make-up, lamenting that "Kamal's prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener" but claimed that Brian Jennings's special effects, "mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are a top-class by Indian standards". The reviewer praised cinematographer Ravi Varman, noting: "[He] may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb", but noted that some of Haasan's characters like Avatar Singh and Khalifullah Khan were "unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10."
T S Sudhir of NDTV wrote, "Dasavathaaram, unfortunately, remains just a film with its USP of 10 Kamals. This Kamal does not blossom the way he did in Indian or Nayakan, Appu Raja, Mahanadi, Avvai Shanmughi or in Thevar Magan" and further stated, "One of the best in the business falters with the film's story and screenplay." Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and said, "EXPERIMENTS aren't always successful. Like Dasavatharam, Kamal Haasan's ambitious venture sees him playing ten roles which include a take on George Bush too. Daring, we'd like to insist; only the make-up and the fake appearance borders more on the comic." The Deccan Herald said, "The ten roles are awfully disparate: they are more like pantomime characters. Kamal appears too flabby and jaded. Sorry, Appu Raja (or shall we say Michael, Madana, Kamarajan) it's time you start being your age. From start to finish there is a severe decibel assault aided and abetted by Himesh Reshammiya."
Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu said, "The film would have worked even better had the narrative been tauter and more purposive post-interval" but concluded, "All in all, Dasavathaaram shows that Kamal Haasan has once again taken great pains to make his cinematic projects convincing. The effort has paid off." Ananda Vikatan rated the film 43 out of 100.

### Accolades

List of awards and nominations :
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 28 September 2009 | Best Film Award | V. Ravichandran | Won |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 28 September 2009 | Best Actor Award | Kamal Haasan | Won |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 28 September 2009 | Best Lyricist Award | Vaali | Won |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 28 September 2009 | Best Make-up Artist Award | Michael Westmore, Kothandapani | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Comedian | Kamal Haasan | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Villain | Kamal Haasan | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Story, Screenplay Writer | Kamal Haasan | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Vijay Award for Favourite Hero | Kamal Haasan | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Costume Designer | Gautami | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Art Director | Samir Chanda, M. Prabhaharan, Thota Tharani | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Actor | Kamal Haasan | Won |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Actress | Asin | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Cinematographer | Ravi Varman | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Lyricist | Vaali | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Stunt Director | Thyagarajan, Kanal Kannan, Joop Katana | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Best Make Up Artistes | Michael Westmore | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Vijay Award for Favourite Film | Aascar Films Pvt. Ltd. | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Vijay Award for Favourite Director | K. S. Ravikumar | Nominated |
| Vijay Awards | 13 June 2009 | Vijay Award for Favourite Song | Himesh Reshammiya - 'Kallai Mattum' from Dasavathaaram | Nominated |
| V. Shantaram Awards | January 2009 | Best Sound Award | H. Sridhar | Won |
| V. Shantaram Awards | January 2009 | Best Actor | Kamal Haasan | Nominated |

## Cancelled spin-off

A spin off film Sabaash Naidu, based on this film's character Balaram Naidu, the police officer, was planned but eventually dropped due to financial issues.