Dasavathaaram

Dasavathaaram () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Kamal Haasan, who also wrote the script, in ten distinct roles. Asin, Jaya Prada, Mallika Sherawat and K. R. Vijaya play subsidiary roles. The film focuses on scientist Govind, who's forced to steal a vial containing a deadly virus from his corrupt boss who intended to sell it to a terrorist nation, all the while he's hunted by an American mercenary named Fletcher. Several other people also get involved in the process and all their stories connect after the striking of 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, thus bringing philosophical views into the picture.

The film, which had been under production for nearly three years, was produced and primarily distributed by V. Ravichandran. Primary filming locations included the United States and across Tamil Nadu in India. The soundtrack to the film's songs was composed by Himesh Reshammiya and the background scores was done by Devi Sri Prasad.

After delays in post-production, the film 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  million worldwide against a budget of  million.

Plot 
Relating to chaos theory and the butterfly effect, geneticist Govindarajan Ramaswamy aka Govind addresses an event at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai and details the Shaivite Chola emperor Kulothunga II's persecution of Vaishnavites in the 12th century Chidambaram. Rangarajan Ramanuja Nambi resists Kulothunga's attempts to demolish an idol of Vishnu and offends the king, prompting the latter to drown him in the sea along with the idol and what follows is the suicide of Nambi's wife Kodhai. 

On 20 December 2004, Govind, a scientist in BEAGLE II, aUS-based corporate company researching on nanobiotechnology and pathogens, witnesses Hanu, the lab monkey, swallowing a viral vector intended to be a bio-weapon for defending further terrorist actions after September 11 attacks as per the orders of the President of United States George W. Bush. Grieving Hanu's death, Govind quarantines the lab and fills it with concentrated salt solution to deactivate the virus; he refuses to relinquish the main vial, having recognized its lethal potential and dreading misuse. Govind discerns the senior scientist Dr. Sethu's malicious plan of selling the vial to a terrorist organization and absconds with the vial while the guards and officials pursue him. He flees to the residence of his colleague Suresh, who deceives him. Christian Fletcher, a ruthless ex-CIA agent, fast-ropes down to Suresh's apartment with a crossbow, murders Suresh and attempts to seize the vial. While Govind makes a quick exit with the vial, Yukha Narahazi, Suresh's wife and an Aikido champion from Hiroshima, fights Fletcher and protects Govind only to be killed ultimately. 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, Shingen Narahazi, a skilled martial arts teacher, is notified of his sister Yukha's death and sets out to avenge the tragedy. Balram Naidu, an unconventional Telugu police officer, apprehends Govind in Chennai and adamantly insists that he is involved with the terrorists. Having arrived in India and married Jasmine, a 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 clumsy granddaughter Andal to retrieve the package; after discovering the vial's potential, Krishnaveni puts it into an idol of Vishnu, asking Him to protect it from exploitation while the idol is being carried in a festive procession. Fletcher provokes an elephant to create chaos, amidst which Jasmine is impaled on an iron rod on the wall. Having noticed Govind escape with the vial while Andal pursues him for 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 an extended 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 home, 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, where amidst a clash between Fletcher and Govind for the idol, Avatar is shot in his throat while trying to assist Govind. Outraged Ranjita, Avatar's wife, fights Fletcher for wounding her husband while Andal escapes with the idol and Govind chases her. Govind and Andal, while being hunted by Fletcher, 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. 

Next day, on 26 December 2004, Govind intends to immerse the virus into the sea (which obviously consists of salt) to destroy it; Fletcher, nevertheless, combats him again, only to be desisted by Narahazi, who seeks apology from Govind for mistaking him to be Yukha's murderer. 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 washes Fletcher away and generates considerable destruction while simultaneously ceasing the impact of the virus, which had the prospects of destroying the entire state. Govind, Andal, Narahazi and Balram survive 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 while Khalifulla and his kin, who were gathered in a Mosque by Balram for investigation, get through the calamity and Narahazi immerses Yukha's ashes in the sea. Avatar's cancerous growth is taken away due to Fletcher's shot, rescuing him from death. 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). 

Currently, following Govind's speech in the stadium, George Bush takes over.

Cast

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 

Kamal was set to play ten different roles in the film, making it the first time that an actor has appeared in so many roles in world cinema. 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.

Ashmith Kunder was signed up to edit the film, despite early indications that A. Sreekar Prasad would have landed the offer. Haasan also wrote the script for the film following negotiations with Sujatha, who died before the release of the film, and Crazy Mohan. Jeeva was initially announced as the cinematographer of the film, and he had taken over the role for a day of the shooting. However, the shots taken by him did not appear in the film and Ravi Varman became the director of photography.

Casting 
Between the announcement of the project and prior to the launch a year later, several actress were signed up, who then either opted out or were removed from the project. Vidya Balan was first signed up and set to make her debut in Tamil films, however due to the long inactivity of the film, Balan opted out citing date clashes with her Bollywood project. Following the removal of Balan, it was reported that each of the ten characters portrayed by Kamal Haasan in the film, would have a female lead opposite them. Actresses who were considered but failed to make the final shortlist were: Meena, Mumtaj, Kiran Rathod, Nadhiya, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Nithya Das, Meera Jasmine, and Vasundhara Das. Moreover, actresses Balan, Trisha opted out due to date clashes. Furthermore, Shriya Saran was forced to opt out of the project by the producers of her other film Sivaji: The Boss, a film built up as the rival to Dasavathaaram at the box-office.

Finally, the major female lead role was given to Asin, who was later assigned two distinct roles in the project. The second lead female role in the film went to Mallika Sherawat, for whom Dasavathaaram was her first Tamil language film. 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. The technology of motion control was employed for the cinematography in the film. The filming of Dasavathaaram began on 3 August 2006 at Mahabalipuram in Chennai, where the intro song was picturised on a set created by art director Sameer Chanda. The set resembled the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram in Kumbakonam and scenes with Kamal Haasan in an Iyengar priest get-up, accompanied by over 750 extras, were recorded. Though it was initially planned to be shot in the temple itself, permission could not be obtained as the structure was a heritage site and the shooting was believed to interfere with the activities of the temple. Further plans to use a hundred elephants were shelved after the transport and accommodation for the animals was deemed impossible. However, in September 2006, Sameer Chanda was sacked from the project due to his tendency to employ only workers from Mumbai and not Tamilians, prompting Haasan and Ravikumar to remove him from the project, with his role being entrusted to Prabhakar of Virumaandi fame.

Another team member was sacked in Chengelpet when a stunt sequence was being captured by the camera; stunt master Kanal Kannan was reported to have used unparliamentarily and corporation words at the workers and that took over the public address system. Angered and humiliated by such remarks, the workers walked out of the sets refusing to work anymore and resumed duty only after the elimination of Kanal Kannan. A new stunt master, Thyagarajan was given the opportunity to take over following the controversy caused by Kannan, who had a similar problem while shooting for Sivaji: The Boss.

Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included the US, Tokyo, Malaysia and Thailand. A role of an American mercenary, played by Haasan, was shot for in casinos in and around Las Vegas and Orlando. A song involving Kamal Haasan and Mallika Sherawat that was to be shot in US was moved to Malaysia due to problems with Sherawat's visa. The crew instead decided to shift to another destination in Malaysia and the song was shot in posh night clubs; furthermore scenes were shot at a lobby of a prominent Malaysian airport.

A Replica of the White House was erected at the Taramani Film City in India, with Haasan's makeup for the role of George Bush lasting six whole hours to obtain the desired outcome. For the climax, another scene was shot dramatically above the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with the permission of the chief minister, M. Karunanidhi. A tsunami effect was created in Mahabalipuram and shot at a  area of land in which a  wall was created near Muttukadu. Six machines, which generated  high waves, were imported from the US, for a total cost of . 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 to attend public events. The soundtrack album was acquired by Sony BMG, purchasing their first Tamil film, for a record of .

Behindwoods wrote, "In spite of donning many roles Kamal Hassan has used only six songs for the movie. So the story could be expected to be a tightly edited one and should not drag. Though there are no duets here, the songs themselves could become hits if the storyline packs a punch. One must add that the songs have a decidedly 'Hindi flavour'." and rated the album 3 out of 5. Indiaglitz summarised, "Dasavatharam music is here to rock.". 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 on 10 April 2008 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.

The film was shown subsequently to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, by the request of the producer on 8 June 2008.

Pre-release record
Two days prior to the release, the film was shown to film personalities of Indian cinema at Four Films Cinema in Chennai, with the film receiving praise. The film earned a total pre-release revenue of  500 million from selling all its rights.

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. Narmadha Travels acquired the rights from Aascar Films to distribute the film in the United States of America. 
 
Besides Tamil, the film was also dubbed and released in different languages including Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Bhojpuri versions with the Hindi version titled Dashavtar. The Indian censor board certified the film on 24 April 2008, giving it a "U" (universal) rating, after 9 cuts were made and letting the film run for 166 minutes. 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  45 million.

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.

In May 2008, the film was criticised by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, which claimed that the film has portrayed the clash between Shaivism and Vaishnavism which prevailed in the 12th century in the film in an objectionable manner. However, following the accusations, V. Ravichandran announced that the film contains no controversial scenes and added that the film, based around the Hindu religion, will convert atheists to theists. 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 50-day run on 2 August 2008. It 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  from 17 screens in Chennai in the opening weekend. The film grossed  all over Tamil Nadu on its first weekend. It grossed  outside South India in the three-day weekend. The film grossed  in a fortnight in Mayajaal multiplex. In Sathyam Cinemas multiplex, the film grossed  in a fortnight. The film stayed at No.1 position in Chennai box office for five consecutive weeks. In Chennai, the film grossed  in three weeks, in four weeks,  crore in five weeks,  in six weeks and around  in the lifetime run.

The Hindi version Dashavtar, that was released after almost one year opened to a 5–10% response. Dashavtar netted  in six weeks in North India and was declared as an average success. The Malayalam version of the film grossed  in Kerala in the first week. In a fortnight, the Telugu version earned  share in Nizam,  in Ceded, in Vizag, in East and West Godav.

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$ 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." Behindwoods rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and said, "In short, with unexpected twists and turns missing in the film, Dasavatharam is a make-up magic show that disappoints as drama and satisfies as a technical showpiece." but concluded, "Watch for Kamal!"

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."

Oneindia said, "After watching Dasavatharam- the so-called magnum opus of the year- an ardent fan of Kamal Hassan will ask why indeed it is called a magnum opus in the first place. Why was all the hype, tension, cases, expectations and unnecessary expenses wasted on this average film. Once again, Kamal fails to attract Tamil audiences with his own script." and gave the verdict, "Not up to expectations!" 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

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.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links 
 
 

2008 films
Films set in Chennai
Indian disaster films
Indian fantasy action films
Indian science fiction action films
Films about tsunamis
Disaster films based on actual events
Films shot in Florida
Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley
Films shot in Tokyo
Films shot in Malaysia
Films shot in Thailand
Films shot in Chennai
Films directed by K. S. Ravikumar
2000s Tamil-language films
Films with screenplays by Kamal Haasan
Films scored by Himesh Reshammiya
Films scored by Devi Sri Prasad
Films about terrorism
Films set in the 12th century
Cultural depictions of Manmohan Singh
Films involved in plagiarism controversies
Films about the Research and Analysis Wing
Indian martial arts films
2008 martial arts films
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Films set in Tokyo
Films set in the Las Vegas Valley
Indian science fiction thriller films
Weapons of mass destruction in fiction
Techno-thriller films
Films about infectious diseases
2008 action thriller films
Sony Pictures Networks India films
Film controversies in India
Works subject to a lawsuit
Hinduism in pop culture-related controversies
Religious controversies in film
Religious controversies in India
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