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Robot (film)
Encyclopedia
Enthiran is a 2010 Tamil
science fiction film
co-written and directed by S. Shankar
. The film features Rajinikanth in dual roles, as a scientist and an android robot, alongside Aishwarya Rai
whilst Danny Denzongpa
, Santhanam, Karunas
, Kalabhavan Mani
, Devadarshini
, and Cochin Haneefa
play supporting roles. The film's story revolves around the scientist's struggle to control his creation, the android robot whose software was upgraded to give it the ability to comprehend and generate human emotions. The plan backfires as the robot falls in love with the scientist's fiancée and is further manipulated to bring destruction to the world when it lands in the hands of a rival scientist.
After nearly a decade of pre-production work, the film was shot over two years beginning in 2008. The film marked the Indian cinema
-debut of Stan Winston Studios
, who were responsible for the film's animatronics
and visual effects, as well as other artists outside of India. The film's background score and soundtrack
, which was composed by A. R. Rahman
, became the best-selling world album on the iTunes Store
in three countries within a few days of its digital release. The film released worldwide on 1 October 2010, along with its dubbed
versions: Robo in Telugu
and Robot in Hindi. Produced by Kalanithi Maran, it became India's most expensive film till date. Upon release, it also made the largest worldwide opening for an Indian film.
The film enjoyed positive critical acclaim and commercial success, collecting the largest opening weekend revenue of any Tamil film. It was ultimately claimed to be the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, although because official box office records are not kept in India, this cannot be independently verified. It also went on to receive appraisals from notable celebrities in India and across the globe. The following year, the film won a number of awards during many ceremonies, including that year's Star Screen Awards
, National Film Awards
, Vijay Awards
, International Indian Film Academy Awards
, and Filmfare Awards South
, mainly for its art direction and special effect
s, which were handled by Sabu Cyril
and V. Srinivas Mohan
, respectively.
, creates a sophisticated android robot
(Rajinikanth) in his own likeness after a decade of intensive original research. His mother (Revathi Sankaran) suggests naming it Chitti Babu.
At the International Robotic Conference in India, Vaseegaran introduces Chitti to the delegate
s. In the meantime, it is revealed that Vaseegaran's mentor, Dr. Bohra (Danny Denzongpa
) is preoccupied in a botched research project to create a similar superintelligent android robot. Meanwhile, Chitti endears himself to Vaseegaran's girlfriend, Sana (Aishwarya Rai
) and helps her cheat in her medical school
exams. When they are caught, Sana lies to the investigators that she does not know Chitti; thus Chitti learns that humans may choose to lie for self-preservation.
Vaseegaran prepares Chitti for a panel evaluation by the Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute (AIRD), which is headed by Dr. Bohra. The panel enquires whether Chitti's build conforms to the Three Laws of Robotics
of Isaac Asimov
. Vaseegaran replies in the negative. During evaluation, Chitti almost stabs Vaseegaran at Bohra's command. Bohra convinces the evaluation committee that Chitti could not be relied upon in the battlefield because he could be easily manipulated to turn against his handlers. Vaseegaran decides to modify Chitti's neural schema
to allow him to understand human behaviour and emotions. Chitti eventually gets angry once on Vaseegaran, which assures him and Sana that Chitti can now feel emotions. Later Chitti applies his text book knowledge of symphysiotomy
to successfully handle the complicated childbirth of Latha (Devadarshini
), Sana's friend. The procedure is covered live by the media. Dr. Bohra arrives to congratulate Dr. Vaseegaran on the achievement. He also lets Chitti pass the AIRD evaluation. Chitti then begins to see Sana as its romantic interest and makes advances. This triggers a confrontation between Vaseegaran and Chitti. Sana tries to explain to Chitti that she can love him only as a friend and asks him to forget her. Chitti later deliberately fails in an evaluation conducted by the Indian Army. Enraged by the act of insubordination, Vaseegaran chops Chitti into pieces and throws it away in a landfill
site.
Bohra retrieves Chitti's parts from the junkyard and reassembles the android. He gives Chitti a new appearance, and embeds a "red chip" inside Chitti, thereby converting him into a ruthless terminator. Chitti gatecrashes Vaseegaran and Sana's wedding, then kidnaps and imprisons Sana. Calling himself "Version 2.0", Chitti begins to create replica
s and kills Dr. Bohra. Soon Chitti's army of robots cause mayhem in the city, and takes over AIRD HQ. Vaseegaran undertakes the task of stopping Chitti. Disguised as one of the robots, he successfully infiltrates the AIRD headquarters. He instructs the police to cut the power supply in the entire city. When Chitti and his army are about to run out of power, they seize vehicles on the road and use the batteries to recharge themselves. Chitti eventually finds Vaseegaran, but as Chitti is about to kill him, the police force strikes AIRD. The robots assemble themselves into sphere, snake, tower, and drill bit formations to defend themselves. One of the robots is immobilized by a grenade explosion, and is taken into custody by Vaseegaran. He uploads a computer worm
into Chitti's network which temporarily brings down the robot army. Chitti identifies the source of the worm and sends a "self-destruct" command to the robot. The robots assemble in the shape of a giant
robot and chase Vaseegaran's armoured bus. Vaseegaran uses the data he had backed up from the destroyed robot to de-magnetise the robot army, collapsing the giant formation. Chitti is pulled into the bus by a huge magnetic wall, allowing Vaseegaran access to Chitti's internal control panel, through which he instructs all the other robots to self-destruct. He then removes the red chip, thus calming down Chitti.
In a court hearing, the jury rules capital punishment
for Vaseegaran, citing the large number of casualties and damages to public property
caused by the robot army. Chitti, explaining to the court that the law allows it to be treated as material
evidence
, if not as a witness
, explains that it was Dr. Bohra who caused Chitti's deviant behaviour. He shows the court, using his eyes as 3D projectors, the video footage of Dr. Bohra installing the red chip inside him. The court decides to drop all charges against Vaseegaran, while concluding that Chitti should be dismantled in order to avoid further mishaps of the same kind in future. Back at the lab, an emotional Vaseegaran tells Chitti to dismantle itself. While taking off its own parts one by one, Chitti apologizes to Sana and Vaseegaran for the problems it had caused. However, before completly dismantling itself, Vaseegaran comforts Chitti saying that the latter alone was not responsible for what happened. And that humans were responsible too as Chitti only learned from them. A smiling Chitti finally takes out its head and dismantles itself, with all others around him including Vaseegaran and Sana in tears.
Twenty years later in 2030, school students are escorted by a guide in a museum to a display of Chitti's body parts. The guide tells the students that Chitti was the most advanced humanoid robot ever created, but was dismantled due to "certain reasons". A curious student (Shriya Sharma
) asks why, to which Chitti's head responds, "I started to think".
in 2001, Shankar announced a project with Kamal Haasan
and Preity Zinta
titled Robo, to be produced by the now-defunct production company Media Dreams. Despite announcing the project, due to a lack of backing, the project was canceled and Shankar began work on Boys. In 2005, Shankar made another project, Anniyan
, which was mistaken to be the renamed title for Robot.
In early 2007, Shankar stated that his next project would be produced by his production house, S Pictures
. In July 2007, Shahrukh Khan
was signed on to be the male lead of Robot as well as the producer of the film. However, in October 2007, Shahrukh Khan and Shankar officially called off the project due to creative differences.
After further media speculation about Aamir Khan
and Hrithik Roshan
being roped in, official reports surfaced in early January 2008, that Rajinikanth was finalized for the project. Later in January 2008, Ayngaran International
and Eros Entertainment
agreed to become the producers of Robot. The film was unable to keep the name Robot in Tamil Nadu
due to the English title. Till mid-2011, the government there exempted entertainment tax to films with Tamil
titles. It was confirmed in September 2008 that the film has been renamed as Enthiran. The film's storyboard
ing and scripting was going on as told by Shankar in two interviews. It was subsequently announced that all those who have been committed for Robot should sign an agreement accepting that they will not commit themselves to any other project for the next two years of its production, with an exemption to the female lead, Aishwarya Rai
.
In December 2008, Eros cited the failures of Drona
and Yuvvraj for putting them under financial pressure. Soon, Ayngaran International too claimed that it was affected by the global financial crisis of 2008, forcing both production houses to transfer the project to Sun Pictures
, who also attempted to negotiate a deal with HBO Films
to release the film with English subtitles in the West. A final estimate of the budget was claimed to be 162 crore.
as director, and A. R. Rahman
as film composer, the rest of the cast was named over the following year. Several heroines were approached to essay the lead female role with Aishwarya Rai
, Priyanka Chopra
, Deepika Padukone
, Asin Thottumkal
, Trisha Krishnan
, Shriya Saran
, Priyamani
, and Nayantara
at the forefront. In late January 2008, Rai was announced as the heroine of the project and she later confirmed her appearance in the film to the news channel, Aaj Tak
. In a subsequent interview, Rai expressed how much she always wanted work with Shankar and Rajinikanth, and was eager to work on the project. For the lead antagonist role Amitabh Bachchan
, J. D. Chakravarthy
, Narain
and Arjun Sarja
were considered, but Danny Denzongpa was signed for the role. Comedians Santhanam and Karunas
were signed up to portray important roles in December 2008.
Sujatha Rangarajan originally announced as the dialogue writer of the film, died during the production stages, with Madhan Karky Vairamuthu being named as his successor. Along with Shankar's usual directorial assistants, Manoj Bharathiraja
, son of noted filmmaker Bharathiraja
, was signed on to be an assistant director. Sabu Cyril
was signed up as the art director, while R. Rathnavelu
took up the post of the cinematographer, after K. V. Anand
, Manikandan, Nirav Shah
, Tirru
, and Ravi K. Chandran
all opted out. The music composed by Rahman would feature lyrics by Vairamuthu
and Pa. Vijay, while Raju Sundaram
would choreograph dance moves. The film would be edited by Anthony Gonsalves
. Manish Malhotra
and Mary E. Vogt, known for her work in Inspector Gadget
(1999) and the Men in Black series
, together would be in charge of costume designs. Along with Vogt, Yuen Woo Ping, the stunt co-ordinator for Enthiran, and the leading US-based Stan Winston Studios
, who took care of the visual effects
in the film, made their Indian cinema
-debut.
, when portfolio photographer G. Venket Ram
did a photo shoot with Rajinikanth. Following this initial shoot, S. Shankar
and R. Rathnavelu
went on a world tour for location-hunting. The team visited Vienna
, Austria; Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil; and Hanoi
, Vietnam to pick suitable locations. The first three photo sessions were held with Rajinikanth in Mumbai
and Chennai, with Aishwarya Rai
featuring in the fourth session. The visual effects
supervisor Srinivas Mohan revealed in a video interview that the film was a pioneer in India, incorporating previsualization
techniques for seamless rendering of the computer-generated imagery
and animatronics
.
The first schedule of the film commenced on 8 September 2008 in Peru
, where a song sequence featuring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai was shot under the choreography of Raju Sundaram
and Claudia Bruckmann at the historic site of Machu Picchu
. Other scenes for the song were finished off in the United States and then Brazil. Another song was shot in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
in Brazil. The shooting for the second schedule continued in the Indian state of Goa
, where the initial talkie portions were filmed for ten days. The third schedule for the film included shooting in Himachal Pradesh
for a song, which was then followed by scenes being canned in and around Chennai. Scenes featuring a Robotics conference involving Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai, Santhanam and Karunas
were carried out at Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering and the Vellore Institute of Technology
with over four hundred students being used as extras.
During the final day of filming on 7 July 2010, the entire cast and crew took part in a celebration on the sets, commemorating the completion of the two-year filming process.
, was released on 31 July 2010. It coincided with a promotional event held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre
in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia. The soundtrack album's release rights were purchased by Think Music for 7 crore (US$
1.6 million). After the second day of release, the album reached number one on the Top 10 World Albums chart on iTunes
in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, making it the first Indian album to reach the spot. The Telugu
album released on 6 August, while the Hindi album released on 16 August.
had sold the distribution rights of Robo, the Telugu
version, to Telugu film producer Chadalavada Srinivasa Rao in Andhra Pradesh for 27 crore. The claim was later denied by Sun Pictures, who clarified that the company had not yet sold any distribution rights to anyone. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to take legal action on Sun Pictures, Srinivasa Rao lodged a complaint with the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce against the film studio, claiming that they had cheated him. A formal investigation was launched following a police complaint from Sun Pictures and two individuals, Udhayakumar, a production manager, and Surendran, his accomplice, were arrested for illegally trying to sell the film distribution rights by creating a fake document that claimed the distribution rights of Robo were to be sold to Srinivasa Rao.
On October 1, 2010, the film opened with 2,250 prints in approximately 3000 screens worldwide, including 1400 screens in Tamil Nadu
, 128 screens in Kerala, 45 screens in Karnataka, and 750 prints in North India. The film was released by Sun Pictures
in Tamil Nadu; Gemini Film Circuit
released the film across North India, while Seven Arts released the film in Kerala. The film opened in 300 screens overseas. Ficus Movies handled distribution of the film in its different languages in North America. The film was also screened at the 12th Mumbai International Film Festival
, the 21st Bath Film Festival
and the 10th Tromsø International Film Festival
. Besides, the film was also screened at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival
and won a Special Award under the section "Winds of Asia-Middle East". The DVD
was released by Ayngaran International
in January 2011, and is expected to be followed by a release on Blu-ray Disc
.
of Bollywood Hungama
gave it 4/5 stars and said "On the whole, ROBOT is a crowd-pleasing and hugely mass appealing tale of android revolution with a thrilling plot, rich and imaginative screenplay, super action, astounding effects and most importantly, Rajnikant, who is the soul of the film. It's the Big Daddy of all entertainers. Miss it at your own risk!" Behindwoods gave the film 4/5 stars, highlighting the film's direction and visual effects
. On Rajinikanth's performance as an antagonistic robot, the website claims that "no one other than Rajnikanth could have pulled off this character [...] exuding brilliance and charisma in every frame." Aniruddha Guha of Daily News and Analysis wrote, "The film has the best special effects ever seen in an Indian film [...] Robot, simply put, is one of the most entertaining Indian films – across all languages –ever made" giving it 4 stars. Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India rated it 4/5, calling it the perfect getaway film. Bhama Devi Ravi of Times of India gave 4/5 stars noting "Who would have thought you would root for anyone other than Rajni in his film?" Zee TV
gave it 4 stars and noted "Rajnikanth, who enjoys demi-god status in India, has hit it big again. His latest film ‘Robot’ is a roller-costar ride, where you will see not one Rajni, but hundreds of them eating up helicopters, smashing cars, battering planet earth and creating havoc, like never before." Krishnakumar Padmanabhan of Rediff reviewed the Hindi version saying "In the end, this movie is as much about special effects as it is about Rajni" giving it 4/5 stars. Anupama Chopra
of NDTV
said that Rajinikanth makes Chitti endearing, while giving it 3.5/5 stars. Vinayak Chakravorty
of Mail Today gave it 3.5/5 stars and cheekily called the film "Rajnificent!". Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave the film 3.5/5 stars and said "All said and done, this is a Shankar film where he strikes the balance between science fiction and masala quotient. Whichever way you look at it, Endhiran is one of those rare films that give you just enough material to pull you in." K. K. Rai from Stardust
called the film "a good entertaining flick." and gave it 3.5 stars. Rajeev Masand
of CNN-IBN said "In the end, it's the fantastic special effects and an inspired performance from Rajnikant that keeps the film fresh" giving it 3/5. Mayank Shekhar
from Hindustan Times
gave a rating of 3/5 and said "Leave aside jokes running on the Internet. This film, just a few feet too long, is fine entertainment by itself." Bryan Durham from MiD DAY gave 3/5 and said "This movie deserves full marks simply for perfectly casting the ever-dependable Rajni and making the most of the VFX at its disposal. Take a bow, Shankar." Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express
gave 3 stars and quoted "If I had a choice, I would have headed off to Enthiran , wherein I could have experienced Rajinikanth the way he is meant to: in Tamil, surrounded by swooning devotees armed with camphor and coconuts." Oneindia.in
said "Endhiran guarantees super fun for the entire family and Rajinikanth re-establishes the fact that what no body can, only Rajini can!" Kaveree Bamzai of India Today
said "It's Happy Diwali, folks." Karthik Subramanian from The Hindu
said "Actors tend to get lost in special effects movies. But not so in Enthiran. Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan carry the movie on their shoulders, and considering the fact that much of the acting must have been in front of green screens, one has to say that nothing looks artificial right through." Moviebuzz from Sify
said "Shankar’s Enthiran-The Robot, will make you completely surrender to power of visual extravaganza and the technical finesse. His sci-fi dream project is groundbreaking, bigger but not better. Go for it for Rajinikanth, he is in rocking form. Taste the thunder." Sanjukta Sharma from Mint
said "The star of the new Rajinikanth flick is its director; and love’s a pain in a romcom about two depressed strangers. The acrobatics and gimmicks are all here—with superb production value and the kind of technology that have gone into making it, they look insanely cool."" On the contrary, Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times
rated it 2/5, saying "Shankar’s work slips into a loud, overdramatic and exaggerated mess."
said "Rajnikanth is such a badass that Chuck Norris is afraid of him. So goes the Internet lore of a 60-year-old South Indian screen icon so potent that fans build temples to him, women swoon and men just shrug and give up," further citing "The film's climactic battle scene drags, but that is a minor misstep. Writer-director S. Shankar has been working on getting this film made for the past decade, and he clearly is so thrilled to get "Robot" into theaters that his enthusiasm is infectious. Filmgoers with a taste for the absurd will be richly rewarded." Genevieve Koski from the AV Club stated "Before you go into Enthiran hoping for a something like an IndianCrank, nothing but high-octane action featuring K’nex-style robots, be warned: It isn’t that. It can be loosely defined as a science-fiction/action movie, yes, but it’s also an Indian movie made for Indian audiences, which means it gives over a lot—and I mean a lot—of time to the chaste romance between Rajinikanth and Rai, as well as many musical numbers."
After a screening at the Mumbai International Film Festival
, American film director Oliver Stone
praised Enthiran as being very original. Likewise, Jon Landau
, producer ofAvatar (2009), termed Rajinikanth as amazing after viewing the film's trailer. In a personal appreciation letter to S. Shankar
following the film's release, K. Balachander
described Shankar as India's James Cameron
, Enthiran as India's Avatar, and Sun Pictures
as India's MGM
. Frank Paiva of MSN
Movies named Enthiran as the seventh best film of 2010. On 13 December 2010, the Internet Movie Database
(IMDB) announced its top-205 films of the world during the year 2010 amongst which Enthiran was in the top 50, holding the 39th spot with a score of 7.4/10. It is also the only Tamil film to be featured in this list.
Enthiran grossed from all versions in the first weekend, and in the first week, thus becoming the first Indian film to cross this mark in a week. The film netted in Tamil Nadu
, in Andhra Pradesh
, in Kerala
and in Karnataka
. InChennai
alone, Enthirangrossed a record in ten days. During the first week, the film's Tamil and Telugu versions fared exceptionally well, while the business of the Hindi version (Robot) remained ordinary, and did not make as much impact as Enthiran with around net business in the first week and in the second week. The film did a bit better at select single screens in Maharashtra
but overall poor, especially in the regions of Delhi
and Punjab
. In the first week, Robot netted in Mumbai
and Thane
from 107 screens, in Delhi from 27 screens, and in Ahmedabad
from 28 screens. In the second weekend, Robot netted . The Telugu version Robo grossed as share in Nizam in three days At the end of its screening, the film grossed from Telugu version.
In Malaysia, Enthiran grossed $1 million in the first weekend from 80 screens and $2.9 million in two weeks. In the United Arab Emirates
, Enthiran grossed $301,000 in the first weekend while Robot grossed $86,000. In the United Kingdom
, Enthiran was released by Ayngaran International
while Robot was released by B4U Network. In the first weekend, Enthiran opened at 11th position in the United Kingdom collecting £295,148 from 30 screens while Robot opened at 21st position collecting £62,134 from 41 screens. Enthiran had accumulated $785,837 by the second weekend from 34 screens in the United Kingdom. Enthiran opened at 12th position in the United States in its opening weekend collecting $1,520,108 from 64 screens, while Robo debuted at 17th position in its opening weekend collecting $481,680 from 36 screens and Robot at 34th position in its opening weekend collecting $164,390 from 39 screens. In Sri Lanka
, the film lost its sheen at the box office as the audience found it "outlandish". According to Eros International
,Enthiran had grossed overseas—including in the United States, across Europe, in the Middle East
, and in South East Asia. The film is likely to be amongst the top five grossing Indian films in overseas markets. In Singapore, the film grossed S$
2.5 million from 22 screens. Within months of the film's release, the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners' Association lodged a complaint against Sun Pictures stating that the company cheated them of . The complaint also stated that they had incurred huge losses after screening the movie and many had demanded their deposits back.
science fiction
novel
, Man Robot, and demanded a credit for himself in the film. Vijayarke claimed that he realized the similarity after hearing S. Shankar
narrate the plot during the film's audio launch, after which he emailed the director with his novel's story, seeking clarification. Yet another scandal broke out after the release of the film when a Tamil novelist, Aarur Thamizhnadan, made a complaint with the Greater Chennai Police
against the director and producer of the Enthiran, claiming that they had plagiarised the story idea from his novel Jugiba that was published in a vernacular
magazine Iniya Udhayam in 1996. In 2007, the same group published the novel as the book titled Thik Thik Dheepika. Unlike the previous author, however, Thamizhnadan took the issue to the Madras High Court
in November 2010. Following Thamizhnadan, other authors also claimed the story of Enthiran to be theirs.
revealed that the crew was discussing the possibility of a sequel to Enthiran. The sequel was being written by S. Shankar
and is expected to retain the same team, including Kalanithi Maran, Rajinikanth, A. R. Rahman
, and Rathnavelu himself. V. Srinivas Mohan
, the special effects supervisor of the film, confirmed the same a couple months later.
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
co-written and directed by S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
. The film features Rajinikanth in dual roles, as a scientist and an android robot, alongside Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
whilst Danny Denzongpa
Danny Denzongpa
Tshering Phintso Denzongpa , widely known by his acting name "Danny" Denzongpa, is an Indian actor of Sikkimese ancestry working in Bollywood films....
, Santhanam, Karunas
Karunas
Karunaas is a Tamil comedic film actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted with many prominent actors and starred in successful films. Appearing mostly in supporting roles and providing comical relief, he also played lead roles in Dindigul Sarathy and Ambasamudram Ambani...
, Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani
Kalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
, Devadarshini
Devadarshini
Devadarshini Neelakandan is an Indian Tamil actress and TV anchor. She has appeared in a few Kollywood films, but her main priority is in television serials.Recently she appeared on Jodi Number One as a contestant.- Personal life :...
, and Cochin Haneefa
Cochin Haneefa
Mohammed Haneefa, better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa was an Indian film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to become one of the most popular comedians of Malayalam cinema...
play supporting roles. The film's story revolves around the scientist's struggle to control his creation, the android robot whose software was upgraded to give it the ability to comprehend and generate human emotions. The plan backfires as the robot falls in love with the scientist's fiancée and is further manipulated to bring destruction to the world when it lands in the hands of a rival scientist.
After nearly a decade of pre-production work, the film was shot over two years beginning in 2008. The film marked the Indian cinema
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
-debut of Stan Winston Studios
Stan Winston
Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
, who were responsible for the film's animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
and visual effects, as well as other artists outside of India. The film's background score and soundtrack
Enthiran (soundtrack)
Enthiran is the soundtrack album to the 2010 Tamil science fiction film, Enthiran, directed by S. Shankar and starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai. The soundtrack album includes seven tracks composed by A. R. Rahman and was released Apsar Basha on July 31, 2010 by Think Music...
, which was composed by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, became the best-selling world album on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
in three countries within a few days of its digital release. The film released worldwide on 1 October 2010, along with its dubbed
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...
versions: Robo in 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...
and Robot in Hindi. Produced by Kalanithi Maran, it became India's most expensive film till date. Upon release, it also made the largest worldwide opening for an Indian film.
The film enjoyed positive critical acclaim and commercial success, collecting the largest opening weekend revenue of any Tamil film. It was ultimately claimed to be the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, although because official box office records are not kept in India, this cannot be independently verified. It also went on to receive appraisals from notable celebrities in India and across the globe. The following year, the film won a number of awards during many ceremonies, including that year's Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
, National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
, Vijay Awards
Vijay Awards
The Vijay Awards are presented by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay to honour excellence in Tamil cinema. It has given annually since 2006. The awards are decided by a jury, consisting of noted filmmakers, critics and technicians, while winners in a separate category named "Favourite awards"...
, International Indian Film Academy Awards
International Indian Film Academy Awards
The International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as the IIFA Awards are presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry. Instituted in 2000, the ceremony is held in...
, and Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian film industry. The awards are separately given for Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films...
, mainly for its art direction and special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s, which were handled by Sabu Cyril
Sabu Cyril
Sabu Cyril is an Indian film art director. He has won National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times and Filmfare Best Art Direction Award twice. His latest work Enthiran, in which he also played an important role, has won him international recognitions.-Early life and education:Sabu Cyril...
and V. Srinivas Mohan
V. Srinivas Mohan
V. Srinivas Murali Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, known for his works in S. Shankar films. He is the founder and CEO of the Indian Artists Computer Graphics. He has been working in the Indian film, visual effects department from the year 1996. He has received three National Film Awards...
, respectively.
Plot
Dr. Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth), a scientist specialized in roboticsRobotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, creates a sophisticated android robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
(Rajinikanth) in his own likeness after a decade of intensive original research. His mother (Revathi Sankaran) suggests naming it Chitti Babu.
At the International Robotic Conference in India, Vaseegaran introduces Chitti to the delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
s. In the meantime, it is revealed that Vaseegaran's mentor, Dr. Bohra (Danny Denzongpa
Danny Denzongpa
Tshering Phintso Denzongpa , widely known by his acting name "Danny" Denzongpa, is an Indian actor of Sikkimese ancestry working in Bollywood films....
) is preoccupied in a botched research project to create a similar superintelligent android robot. Meanwhile, Chitti endears himself to Vaseegaran's girlfriend, Sana (Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
) and helps her cheat in her medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
exams. When they are caught, Sana lies to the investigators that she does not know Chitti; thus Chitti learns that humans may choose to lie for self-preservation.
Vaseegaran prepares Chitti for a panel evaluation by the Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute (AIRD), which is headed by Dr. Bohra. The panel enquires whether Chitti's build conforms to the Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
of Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. Vaseegaran replies in the negative. During evaluation, Chitti almost stabs Vaseegaran at Bohra's command. Bohra convinces the evaluation committee that Chitti could not be relied upon in the battlefield because he could be easily manipulated to turn against his handlers. Vaseegaran decides to modify Chitti's neural schema
Image schema
An image schema is a recurring structure within our cognitive processes which establishes patterns of understanding and reasoning. Image schemas are formed from our bodily interactions, from linguistic experience, and from historical context...
to allow him to understand human behaviour and emotions. Chitti eventually gets angry once on Vaseegaran, which assures him and Sana that Chitti can now feel emotions. Later Chitti applies his text book knowledge of symphysiotomy
Symphysiotomy
Symphysiotomy is a surgical procedure in which the cartilage of the pubic symphysis is divided to widen the pelvis allowing childbirth when there is a mechanical problem.- Introduction :...
to successfully handle the complicated childbirth of Latha (Devadarshini
Devadarshini
Devadarshini Neelakandan is an Indian Tamil actress and TV anchor. She has appeared in a few Kollywood films, but her main priority is in television serials.Recently she appeared on Jodi Number One as a contestant.- Personal life :...
), Sana's friend. The procedure is covered live by the media. Dr. Bohra arrives to congratulate Dr. Vaseegaran on the achievement. He also lets Chitti pass the AIRD evaluation. Chitti then begins to see Sana as its romantic interest and makes advances. This triggers a confrontation between Vaseegaran and Chitti. Sana tries to explain to Chitti that she can love him only as a friend and asks him to forget her. Chitti later deliberately fails in an evaluation conducted by the Indian Army. Enraged by the act of insubordination, Vaseegaran chops Chitti into pieces and throws it away in a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
site.
Bohra retrieves Chitti's parts from the junkyard and reassembles the android. He gives Chitti a new appearance, and embeds a "red chip" inside Chitti, thereby converting him into a ruthless terminator. Chitti gatecrashes Vaseegaran and Sana's wedding, then kidnaps and imprisons Sana. Calling himself "Version 2.0", Chitti begins to create replica
Replica
A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
s and kills Dr. Bohra. Soon Chitti's army of robots cause mayhem in the city, and takes over AIRD HQ. Vaseegaran undertakes the task of stopping Chitti. Disguised as one of the robots, he successfully infiltrates the AIRD headquarters. He instructs the police to cut the power supply in the entire city. When Chitti and his army are about to run out of power, they seize vehicles on the road and use the batteries to recharge themselves. Chitti eventually finds Vaseegaran, but as Chitti is about to kill him, the police force strikes AIRD. The robots assemble themselves into sphere, snake, tower, and drill bit formations to defend themselves. One of the robots is immobilized by a grenade explosion, and is taken into custody by Vaseegaran. He uploads a computer worm
Computer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...
into Chitti's network which temporarily brings down the robot army. Chitti identifies the source of the worm and sends a "self-destruct" command to the robot. The robots assemble in the shape of a giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
robot and chase Vaseegaran's armoured bus. Vaseegaran uses the data he had backed up from the destroyed robot to de-magnetise the robot army, collapsing the giant formation. Chitti is pulled into the bus by a huge magnetic wall, allowing Vaseegaran access to Chitti's internal control panel, through which he instructs all the other robots to self-destruct. He then removes the red chip, thus calming down Chitti.
In a court hearing, the jury rules capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for Vaseegaran, citing the large number of casualties and damages to public property
Public property
Public property is property, which is dedicated to the use of the public. It is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership...
caused by the robot army. Chitti, explaining to the court that the law allows it to be treated as material
Materiality (law)
Materiality is a legal term which can have different meanings, depending on context. When speaking of facts, the term generally means a fact which is "significant to the issue or matter at hand".-In the law of evidence:...
evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
, if not as a witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
, explains that it was Dr. Bohra who caused Chitti's deviant behaviour. He shows the court, using his eyes as 3D projectors, the video footage of Dr. Bohra installing the red chip inside him. The court decides to drop all charges against Vaseegaran, while concluding that Chitti should be dismantled in order to avoid further mishaps of the same kind in future. Back at the lab, an emotional Vaseegaran tells Chitti to dismantle itself. While taking off its own parts one by one, Chitti apologizes to Sana and Vaseegaran for the problems it had caused. However, before completly dismantling itself, Vaseegaran comforts Chitti saying that the latter alone was not responsible for what happened. And that humans were responsible too as Chitti only learned from them. A smiling Chitti finally takes out its head and dismantles itself, with all others around him including Vaseegaran and Sana in tears.
Twenty years later in 2030, school students are escorted by a guide in a museum to a display of Chitti's body parts. The guide tells the students that Chitti was the most advanced humanoid robot ever created, but was dismantled due to "certain reasons". A curious student (Shriya Sharma
Shriya Sharma
Shriya Sharma is an Indian child film actress and model. She was born in 1997 in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Her father, Mr. Vikas Sharma, is an engineer, while her mother, Mrs...
) asks why, to which Chitti's head responds, "I started to think".
Cast
- Rajinikanth as Dr. K. Vaseegaran and Chitti Babu
- Aishwarya RaiAishwarya RaiAishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
as Sana - Danny DenzongpaDanny DenzongpaTshering Phintso Denzongpa , widely known by his acting name "Danny" Denzongpa, is an Indian actor of Sikkimese ancestry working in Bollywood films....
as Dr. Bohra - Santhanam as Siva
- KarunasKarunasKarunaas is a Tamil comedic film actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted with many prominent actors and starred in successful films. Appearing mostly in supporting roles and providing comical relief, he also played lead roles in Dindigul Sarathy and Ambasamudram Ambani...
as Ravi - DevadarshiniDevadarshiniDevadarshini Neelakandan is an Indian Tamil actress and TV anchor. She has appeared in a few Kollywood films, but her main priority is in television serials.Recently she appeared on Jodi Number One as a contestant.- Personal life :...
as Latha - Sabu CyrilSabu CyrilSabu Cyril is an Indian film art director. He has won National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times and Filmfare Best Art Direction Award twice. His latest work Enthiran, in which he also played an important role, has won him international recognitions.-Early life and education:Sabu Cyril...
as Agent Shah - Kalabhavan ManiKalabhavan ManiKalabhavan Mani is a South Indian actor and singer. He began his career in Malayalam film industry, later he became a busy artist in tamil and telungu industry, especially in villain roles. Although he began his carrier as a comedian , he proved his versatility in various roles such as serious...
as Pachaimuthu - Revathi Sankaran as Vaseegaran's mother
- Delhi KumarDelhi KumarDelhi Kumar is a Tamil stage, television and film actor who is known for performing supporting roles in teleserials like Metti Oli and Engey Brahmanan. He has also acted in a few Tamil films, such as Kannathil Muthamittal and Enthiran . He is the father of Tamil film actor Arvind Swamy....
as Vaseegaran's father - Cochin HaneefaCochin HaneefaMohammed Haneefa, better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa was an Indian film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to become one of the most popular comedians of Malayalam cinema...
as traffic police - Raaghav as college rogue
- Shriya SharmaShriya SharmaShriya Sharma is an Indian child film actress and model. She was born in 1997 in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Her father, Mr. Vikas Sharma, is an engineer, while her mother, Mrs...
as curious student
Development
After completing Nayak: The Real HeroNayak: The Real Hero
Nayak: The Real Hero is a 2001 Indian movie starring Anil Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. It was directed by S. Shankar. The film is a remake of S. Shankar's earlier released Tamil film Mudhalvan . The film's score and soundtrack, composed by A. R. Rahman, were dubbed from Mudhalvan into Hindi for the...
in 2001, Shankar announced a project with Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
and Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
titled Robo, to be produced by the now-defunct production company Media Dreams. Despite announcing the project, due to a lack of backing, the project was canceled and Shankar began work on Boys. In 2005, Shankar made another project, Anniyan
Anniyan
Anniyan is a 2005 Tamil psychological thriller film directed by S. Shankar. The film stars Vikram, Sadha, Prakash Raj, and Vivek, while featuring background score and soundtrack composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film was released worldwide on 10 June 2005....
, which was mistaken to be the renamed title for Robot.
In early 2007, Shankar stated that his next project would be produced by his production house, S Pictures
S Pictures
S Pictures is a film production company owned by film director S. Shankar. Many of the films it produced are commercial hits with moderate budget.-Filmography:-See also:* S. Shankar* S Musics - Director Shankar's Newly formed Audio Release Record label....
. In July 2007, Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
was signed on to be the male lead of Robot as well as the producer of the film. However, in October 2007, Shahrukh Khan and Shankar officially called off the project due to creative differences.
After further media speculation about Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
and Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films.After having appeared in films as a child actor in the 1980s, Roshan made his film debut in a leading role in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai for which Roshan earned his Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Best Male Debut...
being roped in, official reports surfaced in early January 2008, that Rajinikanth was finalized for the project. Later in January 2008, 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...
and Eros Entertainment
Eros Labs
Eros International Media Ltd., also known as Eros Entertainment, is an Indian media and entertainment giant, involved in the production, acquisition and distribution of filmed entertainment across in movie theaters, on video and television, and in new media.Established in 1977, the company operates...
agreed to become the producers of Robot. The film was unable to keep the name Robot in 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...
due to the English title. Till mid-2011, the government there exempted entertainment tax to films with Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
titles. It was confirmed in September 2008 that the film has been renamed as Enthiran. The film's storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
ing and scripting was going on as told by Shankar in two interviews. It was subsequently announced that all those who have been committed for Robot should sign an agreement accepting that they will not commit themselves to any other project for the next two years of its production, with an exemption to the female lead, Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
.
In December 2008, Eros cited the failures of Drona
Drona (film)
Drona is a 2008 Bollywood superhero film directed by Goldie Behl, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon and Jaya Bachchan. Drona has been described as Harry Potter meets Prince of Persia, but with an original story. Drona's special effects shots were worked on by EyeQube headed...
and Yuvvraj for putting them under financial pressure. Soon, Ayngaran International too claimed that it was affected by the global financial crisis of 2008, forcing both production houses to transfer the project to 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...
, who also attempted to negotiate a deal with HBO Films
HBO Films
HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
to release the film with English subtitles in the West. A final estimate of the budget was claimed to be 162 crore.
Casting
Apart from the original decided casting of Rajinikanth in the lead role, S. ShankarS. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
as director, and A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
as film composer, the rest of the cast was named over the following year. Several heroines were approached to essay the lead female role with Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
, Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
, Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...
, Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
, Trisha Krishnan
Trisha Krishnan
Trisha Krishnan is an Indian film actress and model, who primarily appears in Tamil and Telugu language films, but has also appeared in Hindi language films. She was noticed after winning several beauty pageants like the Miss Madras contest , which marked her entry into filmdom...
, Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran , also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada...
, Priyamani
Priyamani
Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer, better known by her stage name Priyamani is an Indian film actress and model who has appeared in several Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films...
, and Nayantara
Nayantara
Nayantara , is an Indian film actress. She made her acting debut in 2003 in the Malayalam film Manassinakkare. She debuted in Tamil cinema with Ayya and in Telugu cinema with Lakshmi , following which she starred alongside popular lead actors...
at the forefront. In late January 2008, Rai was announced as the heroine of the project and she later confirmed her appearance in the film to the news channel, Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak is a 24-hour Hindi news television channel owned by TV Today Network Ltd. Aaj Tak loosely translates as "Till Today" or "Up to the Minute". Watched by some 45 million viewers in India’s cable and satellite universe, Aaj Tak is one of India’s largest privately owned news channels...
. In a subsequent interview, Rai expressed how much she always wanted work with Shankar and Rajinikanth, and was eager to work on the project. For the lead antagonist role Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, J. D. Chakravarthy
J. D. Chakravarthy
J.D. Chakravarthy born Nagulapati Srinivasa Chakravarthy is an Indian film actor and director in Telugu Cinema and Bollywood. He has directed Hindi films like Darwaza Bandh Rakho, Durga and Darna Zaroori Hai . In Telugu Cinema, he got critical acclaim for his directorial abilities through the film...
, Narain
Narain (actor)
Narain is an Indian film actor, who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films.- Personal life:Narain was born in Thrissur, Kerala to Malayali parents. His father is Ponnani Kizhakke Kalathil T.M.Ramakrishnan Nair and his mother is Shantha Nair...
and Arjun Sarja
Arjun Sarja
Arjun Sarja is an Indian film actor and director. Son of Kannada film star Shakti Prasad, he has primarily acted in Tamil films, and also appeared in Kannada and Telugu films. The title "Action King" has been given to Arjun by fans, for the numerous roles he has portrayed in action films. He is...
were considered, but Danny Denzongpa was signed for the role. Comedians Santhanam and Karunas
Karunas
Karunaas is a Tamil comedic film actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted with many prominent actors and starred in successful films. Appearing mostly in supporting roles and providing comical relief, he also played lead roles in Dindigul Sarathy and Ambasamudram Ambani...
were signed up to portray important roles in December 2008.
Sujatha Rangarajan originally announced as the dialogue writer of the film, died during the production stages, with Madhan Karky Vairamuthu being named as his successor. Along with Shankar's usual directorial assistants, Manoj Bharathiraja
Manoj Bharathiraja
Manoj K. Bharathi is a Tamil film actor. He has starred in several films. He is most noted as son of director Bharathiraja.-Career:...
, son of noted filmmaker Bharathiraja
Bharathiraja
P. Bharathiraja , is a critically acclaimed South Indian filmmaker.He displayed a story-teller's potential from an early age. Bharathiraja is known for his realistic and sensitive portrayal of village-life in his movies....
, was signed on to be an assistant director. Sabu Cyril
Sabu Cyril
Sabu Cyril is an Indian film art director. He has won National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times and Filmfare Best Art Direction Award twice. His latest work Enthiran, in which he also played an important role, has won him international recognitions.-Early life and education:Sabu Cyril...
was signed up as the art director, while R. Rathnavelu
R. Rathnavelu
Randy Rathnavelu is an Indian cinematographer who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films including Thirumalai , Vaaranam Aayiram, and Enthiran....
took up the post of the cinematographer, after K. V. Anand
K. V. Anand
K. V. Anand is an Indian cinematographer, film director and former photo journalist. After working for a short period as a journalist, he became a cinematographer in the early 1990s, working for about fifteen films in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu...
, Manikandan, Nirav Shah
Nirav Shah
Nirav Shah is an acclaimed Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Hindi and Tamil since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film Paisa Vasool.-Career:...
, Tirru
Tirru
Thirunavukarasu, Tirru, is a cinematographer in the Indian film industry, specialising in documentaries and advertising. Tirru's films are in the Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam languages. He has worked for the veteran cinematographer P. C. Sriram and for Kamal Hassan . He was born in Mullukuruchi a...
, and Ravi K. Chandran
Ravi K. Chandran
Ravi K. Chandran is an Indian cinematographer. He has frequently collaborated with leading Indian filmmakers like Priyadarshan, Mani Ratnam, and Rajiv Menon and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Ravi has won two Filmfare Awards and one Southern Filmfare Award during his career.-Career:Ravi K. Chandran was...
all opted out. The music composed by Rahman would feature lyrics by Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramaswamy Thevar is an award-winning Tamil poet and lyricist.Debuting in the film Nizhalgal with the lyrics for the song "Ponmalai Pozhudhu", he has now about 5800 songs to his credit as of January 2009. His partnership with the composers Ilaiyaraaja, and later A. R...
and Pa. Vijay, while Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
would choreograph dance moves. The film would be edited by Anthony Gonsalves
Anthony (film editor)
Anthony is a Tamil film editor. He has worked in over twenty Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu language films. This makes him one of the few editors to have worked for all the 3 biggest film industries in India.-Personal life:Anthony studied BA Lit in Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Chennai...
. Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra is considered to be India's leading and most successful fashion designer.Manish Malhotra has designed for many leading actresses in Bollywood. He is known for his different style and his ability to envision a 'look' for the character. He is known for designing the costumes for...
and Mary E. Vogt, known for her work in Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadget (film)
Inspector Gadget is a 1999 American live-action comedy film loosely based on the 1983 animated cartoon series Inspector Gadget. It starred Matthew Broderick as the title character, along with Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw, Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny, and Dabney Coleman as Chief Quimby...
(1999) and the Men in Black series
Men in Black (series)
The Men in Black are a fictional secret organization which monitors and suppresses paranormal activity on Earth, including aliens, demons and mutants, while keeping the public ignorant of such occurrences. They were created by Lowell Cunningham, which were based on the Men in Black myths...
, together would be in charge of costume designs. Along with Vogt, Yuen Woo Ping, the stunt co-ordinator for Enthiran, and the leading US-based Stan Winston Studios
Stan Winston
Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
, who took care of the visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
in the film, made their Indian cinema
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
-debut.
Filming
Filming began on 15 February 2008 in 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...
, when portfolio photographer G. Venket Ram
Venket Ram
Venket Ram is a leading Indian celebrity & fashion photographer, who has shot principal photography stills for several notable films as well as portfolios.-Annual calendar:...
did a photo shoot with Rajinikanth. Following this initial shoot, S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
and R. Rathnavelu
R. Rathnavelu
Randy Rathnavelu is an Indian cinematographer who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films including Thirumalai , Vaaranam Aayiram, and Enthiran....
went on a world tour for location-hunting. The team visited Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria; Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil; and Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam to pick suitable locations. The first three photo sessions were held with Rajinikanth in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Chennai, with Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
featuring in the fourth session. The visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
supervisor Srinivas Mohan revealed in a video interview that the film was a pioneer in India, incorporating previsualization
Previsualization
Previsualization is a function to visualise complex scenes in movie before filming. It is also a concept in still photography...
techniques for seamless rendering of the computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
and animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
.
The first schedule of the film commenced on 8 September 2008 in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, where a song sequence featuring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai was shot under the choreography of Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
and Claudia Bruckmann at the historic site of Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
. Other scenes for the song were finished off in the United States and then Brazil. Another song was shot in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is located in Maranhão state, in northeastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José, between 02º19’—02º45’ S and 42º44’—43º29’ W. It is an area of low, flat, occasionally flooded land, overlaid with large, discrete sand dunes...
in Brazil. The shooting for the second schedule continued in the Indian state of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, where the initial talkie portions were filmed for ten days. The third schedule for the film included shooting in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
for a song, which was then followed by scenes being canned in and around Chennai. Scenes featuring a Robotics conference involving Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai, Santhanam and Karunas
Karunas
Karunaas is a Tamil comedic film actor in the Tamil film industry. He has acted with many prominent actors and starred in successful films. Appearing mostly in supporting roles and providing comical relief, he also played lead roles in Dindigul Sarathy and Ambasamudram Ambani...
were carried out at Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering and the Vellore Institute of Technology
Vellore Institute of Technology
VIT University, commonly called Vellore Institute of Technology or VIT, is located in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. VIT has nine schools.-Academic organisation:...
with over four hundred students being used as extras.
During the final day of filming on 7 July 2010, the entire cast and crew took part in a celebration on the sets, commemorating the completion of the two-year filming process.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack, composed by A. R. RahmanA. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, was released on 31 July 2010. It coincided with a promotional event held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre
Putrajaya International Convention Centre
Putrajaya International Convention Centre, or PICC, is the main convention centre in Putrajaya, Malaysia. This building is located on the top of Taman Puncak Selatan in Precinct 5.- History :...
in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia. The soundtrack album's release rights were purchased by Think Music for 7 crore (US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.6 million). After the second day of release, the album reached number one on the Top 10 World Albums chart on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, making it the first Indian album to reach the spot. The 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...
album released on 6 August, while the Hindi album released on 16 August.
Release
In August 2010, a few media reports claimed that Sun PicturesSun 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...
had sold the distribution rights of Robo, the 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...
version, to Telugu film producer Chadalavada Srinivasa Rao in Andhra Pradesh for 27 crore. The claim was later denied by Sun Pictures, who clarified that the company had not yet sold any distribution rights to anyone. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to take legal action on Sun Pictures, Srinivasa Rao lodged a complaint with the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce against the film studio, claiming that they had cheated him. A formal investigation was launched following a police complaint from Sun Pictures and two individuals, Udhayakumar, a production manager, and Surendran, his accomplice, were arrested for illegally trying to sell the film distribution rights by creating a fake document that claimed the distribution rights of Robo were to be sold to Srinivasa Rao.
On October 1, 2010, the film opened with 2,250 prints in approximately 3000 screens worldwide, including 1400 screens in 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...
, 128 screens in Kerala, 45 screens in Karnataka, and 750 prints in North India. The film was released 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...
in Tamil Nadu; Gemini Film Circuit
Gemini Film Circuit
Gemini Film Circuit is a film distribution and production studio unit of Chennai,-Filmography:...
released the film across North India, while Seven Arts released the film in Kerala. The film opened in 300 screens overseas. Ficus Movies handled distribution of the film in its different languages in North America. The film was also screened at the 12th Mumbai International Film Festival
Mumbai International Film Festival
Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films , is a festival organised in the city of Mumbai by the 'Film Division', Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It has been organised since 1990, and focuses on documentary, short and animation...
, the 21st Bath Film Festival
Bath Film Festival
Bath Film Festival was established in 1991, in Bath, England, by members of the Bath Film Society. is one of the most popular events on Bath's festival calendar; showcasing a wide range of film genres, styles and directors, with everything from future blockbusters to documentaries to sing-a-long's,...
and the 10th Tromsø International Film Festival
Tromsø International Film Festival
The Tromsø International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Tromsø, Norway.The inaugural Tromsø International Film Festival was held in 1991, and today TIFF is the largest film festival in Norway as considered by attendance figures; in 2010 there were 58 267 admissions. In 2006 TIFF...
. Besides, the film was also screened at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
and won a Special Award under the section "Winds of Asia-Middle East". The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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...
in January 2011, and is expected to be followed by a release on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
.
India
Enthiran has received widespread critical acclaim in India. On the review-aggregation website ReviewGang, the film scored 7.0/10 based on 9 reviews. Taran AdarshTaran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh is an Indian film critic, journalist, editor and film trade analyst. He is also a former producer and screenwriter. He is the son of film director and producer, B.K. Adarsh....
of Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
gave it 4/5 stars and said "On the whole, ROBOT is a crowd-pleasing and hugely mass appealing tale of android revolution with a thrilling plot, rich and imaginative screenplay, super action, astounding effects and most importantly, Rajnikant, who is the soul of the film. It's the Big Daddy of all entertainers. Miss it at your own risk!" Behindwoods gave the film 4/5 stars, highlighting the film's direction and visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
. On Rajinikanth's performance as an antagonistic robot, the website claims that "no one other than Rajnikanth could have pulled off this character [...] exuding brilliance and charisma in every frame." Aniruddha Guha of Daily News and Analysis wrote, "The film has the best special effects ever seen in an Indian film [...] Robot, simply put, is one of the most entertaining Indian films – across all languages –ever made" giving it 4 stars. Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India rated it 4/5, calling it the perfect getaway film. Bhama Devi Ravi of Times of India gave 4/5 stars noting "Who would have thought you would root for anyone other than Rajni in his film?" Zee TV
Zee TV
Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
gave it 4 stars and noted "Rajnikanth, who enjoys demi-god status in India, has hit it big again. His latest film ‘Robot’ is a roller-costar ride, where you will see not one Rajni, but hundreds of them eating up helicopters, smashing cars, battering planet earth and creating havoc, like never before." Krishnakumar Padmanabhan of Rediff reviewed the Hindi version saying "In the end, this movie is as much about special effects as it is about Rajni" giving it 4/5 stars. Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra is a noted author, journalist and film critic. She has written several books on Indian cinema and has been a movie reviewer with NDTV and India Today.-Career:...
of NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
said that Rajinikanth makes Chitti endearing, while giving it 3.5/5 stars. Vinayak Chakravorty
Vinayak Chakravorty
Vinayak Chakravorty is an Indian film critic and film journalist based in New Delhi.He currently reviews films in Mail Today newspaper, where he is employed as Entertainment Editor...
of Mail Today gave it 3.5/5 stars and cheekily called the film "Rajnificent!". Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave the film 3.5/5 stars and said "All said and done, this is a Shankar film where he strikes the balance between science fiction and masala quotient. Whichever way you look at it, Endhiran is one of those rare films that give you just enough material to pull you in." K. K. Rai from Stardust
Stardust
Stardust may refer to:* A type of cosmic dust composed of particles in space-Music:* Stardust * "Stardust" , by Galneryus* "Stardust" , by Hoagy Carmichael* "Stardust" , by David Essex* Stardust...
called the film "a good entertaining flick." and gave it 3.5 stars. Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and entertainment reporter for CNN-IBN. Masand started his career as an entertainment correspondent at the young age of 16...
of CNN-IBN said "In the end, it's the fantastic special effects and an inspired performance from Rajnikant that keeps the film fresh" giving it 3/5. Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author. He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with Hindustan Times . He previously worked under Mumbai Mirror and MiD DAY. He also writes a blog, Fad For Thought at Hindustan Times website.-Early life and education:He...
from Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
gave a rating of 3/5 and said "Leave aside jokes running on the Internet. This film, just a few feet too long, is fine entertainment by itself." Bryan Durham from MiD DAY gave 3/5 and said "This movie deserves full marks simply for perfectly casting the ever-dependable Rajni and making the most of the VFX at its disposal. Take a bow, Shankar." Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
gave 3 stars and quoted "If I had a choice, I would have headed off to Enthiran , wherein I could have experienced Rajinikanth the way he is meant to: in Tamil, surrounded by swooning devotees armed with camphor and coconuts." 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...
said "Endhiran guarantees super fun for the entire family and Rajinikanth re-establishes the fact that what no body can, only Rajini can!" Kaveree Bamzai of India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
said "It's Happy Diwali, folks." Karthik Subramanian 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...
said "Actors tend to get lost in special effects movies. But not so in Enthiran. Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan carry the movie on their shoulders, and considering the fact that much of the acting must have been in front of green screens, one has to say that nothing looks artificial right through." Moviebuzz from Sify
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
said "Shankar’s Enthiran-The Robot, will make you completely surrender to power of visual extravaganza and the technical finesse. His sci-fi dream project is groundbreaking, bigger but not better. Go for it for Rajinikanth, he is in rocking form. Taste the thunder." Sanjukta Sharma from Mint
Mint (newspaper)
Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner...
said "The star of the new Rajinikanth flick is its director; and love’s a pain in a romcom about two depressed strangers. The acrobatics and gimmicks are all here—with superb production value and the kind of technology that have gone into making it, they look insanely cool."" On the contrary, Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
rated it 2/5, saying "Shankar’s work slips into a loud, overdramatic and exaggerated mess."
Overseas
The film also received good response from overseas. Lisa Tsering from The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
said "Rajnikanth is such a badass that Chuck Norris is afraid of him. So goes the Internet lore of a 60-year-old South Indian screen icon so potent that fans build temples to him, women swoon and men just shrug and give up," further citing "The film's climactic battle scene drags, but that is a minor misstep. Writer-director S. Shankar has been working on getting this film made for the past decade, and he clearly is so thrilled to get "Robot" into theaters that his enthusiasm is infectious. Filmgoers with a taste for the absurd will be richly rewarded." Genevieve Koski from the AV Club stated "Before you go into Enthiran hoping for a something like an IndianCrank, nothing but high-octane action featuring K’nex-style robots, be warned: It isn’t that. It can be loosely defined as a science-fiction/action movie, yes, but it’s also an Indian movie made for Indian audiences, which means it gives over a lot—and I mean a lot—of time to the chaste romance between Rajinikanth and Rai, as well as many musical numbers."
After a screening at the Mumbai International Film Festival
Mumbai International Film Festival
Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films , is a festival organised in the city of Mumbai by the 'Film Division', Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It has been organised since 1990, and focuses on documentary, short and animation...
, American film director Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
praised Enthiran as being very original. Likewise, Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
, producer ofAvatar (2009), termed Rajinikanth as amazing after viewing the film's trailer. In a personal appreciation letter to S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
following the film's release, K. Balachander
K. Balachander
K. Balachander is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Balachander is known for his distinct film-making style. His films analyse unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He has directed nearly 80 films and has worked in 100 films either as director or...
described Shankar as India's James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Enthiran as India's Avatar, and 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...
as India's MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. Frank Paiva of MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
Movies named Enthiran as the seventh best film of 2010. On 13 December 2010, the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
(IMDB) announced its top-205 films of the world during the year 2010 amongst which Enthiran was in the top 50, holding the 39th spot with a score of 7.4/10. It is also the only Tamil film to be featured in this list.
Box office
Ajay Vidyasagar, Chief Operating Officer of Sun TV Network maintained that Enthirans revenue accounted for approximately 30 per cent of the total revenue for the company's fourth-quarter in 2010. He also added that the film, produced on a budget of by Sun Pictures should have made a minimum of worldwide, with the company's share being . By those accounts, it is the highest grossing Indian film of its time. However, other credible sources put the earnings at less, from to , while some sources place the figure even higher at . All of these figures would place Enthiran as the top grossing Tamil film, and somewhere in the top three grossing Indian films of all time. Since official box office records are not kept in India, all of these figures must be considered estimates, but by all accounts it was a big success. Following are the estimates broken down by time and region.Enthiran grossed from all versions in the first weekend, and in the first week, thus becoming the first Indian film to cross this mark in a week. The film netted in 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...
, 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...
, in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and in Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. InChennai
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...
alone, Enthirangrossed a record in ten days. During the first week, the film's Tamil and Telugu versions fared exceptionally well, while the business of the Hindi version (Robot) remained ordinary, and did not make as much impact as Enthiran with around net business in the first week and in the second week. The film did a bit better at select single screens in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
but overall poor, especially in the regions of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. In the first week, Robot netted in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Thane
Thane
Thane , is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane district. On 16 April 1853, G.I.P...
from 107 screens, in Delhi from 27 screens, and in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
from 28 screens. In the second weekend, Robot netted . The Telugu version Robo grossed as share in Nizam in three days At the end of its screening, the film grossed from Telugu version.
In Malaysia, Enthiran grossed $1 million in the first weekend from 80 screens and $2.9 million in two weeks. In the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Enthiran grossed $301,000 in the first weekend while Robot grossed $86,000. 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...
, Enthiran 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...
while Robot was released by B4U Network. In the first weekend, Enthiran opened at 11th position in the United Kingdom collecting £295,148 from 30 screens while Robot opened at 21st position collecting £62,134 from 41 screens. Enthiran had accumulated $785,837 by the second weekend from 34 screens in the United Kingdom. Enthiran opened at 12th position in the United States in its opening weekend collecting $1,520,108 from 64 screens, while Robo debuted at 17th position in its opening weekend collecting $481,680 from 36 screens and Robot at 34th position in its opening weekend collecting $164,390 from 39 screens. In Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, the film lost its sheen at the box office as the audience found it "outlandish". According to Eros International
Eros Labs
Eros International Media Ltd., also known as Eros Entertainment, is an Indian media and entertainment giant, involved in the production, acquisition and distribution of filmed entertainment across in movie theaters, on video and television, and in new media.Established in 1977, the company operates...
,Enthiran had grossed overseas—including in the United States, across Europe, in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and in South East Asia. The film is likely to be amongst the top five grossing Indian films in overseas markets. In Singapore, the film grossed S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
2.5 million from 22 screens. Within months of the film's release, the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners' Association lodged a complaint against Sun Pictures stating that the company cheated them of . The complaint also stated that they had incurred huge losses after screening the movie and many had demanded their deposits back.
Accolades
| Ceremony | Award | Category | Nominee | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Edison Awards | Edison Award Edison Awards (Tamil) Edison Awards is grand annual award presenting ceremony for people in Tamil film industry, who have made landmarks and milestones for the History of Tamil Cinema since 2009. "Edison Awards" is mainly named after the Inventor of Cinema "Thomas Alva Edison"... |
Best Film | Kalanithi Maran | |
| 17th Star Screen Awards Star Screen Awards The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :... |
Star Screen Award Star Screen Awards The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :... |
Best Special Effects | V. Srinivas Mohan V. Srinivas Mohan V. Srinivas Murali Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, known for his works in S. Shankar films. He is the founder and CEO of the Indian Artists Computer Graphics. He has been working in the Indian film, visual effects department from the year 1996. He has received three National Film Awards... |
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| Spectacular Cutting Edge Technology | ||||
| 58th National Film Awards 58th National Film Awards The 58th National Film Awards is presented to the best of Indian Cinema released during the year 2010.-Feature Films:Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central... |
National Film Award National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel... |
Best Special Effects National Film Award for Best Special Effects The National Film Award for Best Special Effects winners:... |
V. Srinivas Mohan V. Srinivas Mohan V. Srinivas Murali Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, known for his works in S. Shankar films. He is the founder and CEO of the Indian Artists Computer Graphics. He has been working in the Indian film, visual effects department from the year 1996. He has received three National Film Awards... |
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| Best Art Direction National Film Award for Best Art Direction The National Film Award for Best Art Direction winners:... |
Sabu Cyril Sabu Cyril Sabu Cyril is an Indian film art director. He has won National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times and Filmfare Best Art Direction Award twice. His latest work Enthiran, in which he also played an important role, has won him international recognitions.-Early life and education:Sabu Cyril... |
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| 5th Vijay Awards Vijay Awards The Vijay Awards are presented by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay to honour excellence in Tamil cinema. It has given annually since 2006. The awards are decided by a jury, consisting of noted filmmakers, critics and technicians, while winners in a separate category named "Favourite awards"... |
Vijay Award Vijay Awards The Vijay Awards are presented by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay to honour excellence in Tamil cinema. It has given annually since 2006. The awards are decided by a jury, consisting of noted filmmakers, critics and technicians, while winners in a separate category named "Favourite awards"... |
Best Villain Vijay Award for Best Villain The Vijay for Best Villain is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films.-The list:Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won.-Nominations:*2007 Kishore - Polladhavan... |
Rajinikanth | |
| Best Cinematographer Vijay Award for Best Cinematographer The Vijay Award for Best Cinematographer is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films.-The list:Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won.- Nominations :... |
R. Rathnavelu R. Rathnavelu Randy Rathnavelu is an Indian cinematographer who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films including Thirumalai , Vaaranam Aayiram, and Enthiran.... |
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| Favourite Film Vijay Award for Favourite Film The Vijay for Favorite film is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films. In the first year of the awards, the all time favourite film was chosen by viewers from any particular year, with the 1992 film Devar Magan emerging the winner... |
Kalanithi Maran | |||
| Favourite Hero Vijay Award for Favourite Hero The Vijay for Favorite Hero is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films.-Winners and nominations:* 2006 Ajith Kumar * 2007 Rajinikanth - Sivaji**Ajith Kumar - Billa**Suriya - Vel... |
Rajinikanth | |||
| Favourite Director Vijay Award for Favourite Director The Vijay Award for Favorite Director is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil films.-Winners and nominations:*2006 K. S. Ravikumar-Varalaru*2007 Prabhu Deva - Pokkiri... |
S. Shankar S. Shankar Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award... |
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| 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2011 IIFA Awards The 2011 IIFA Awards, officially the 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards ceremony, was held in Toronto, Canada from June 23-25, 2011.The Awards ceremony took place at Rogers Centre and the Music & Fashion Extravaganza at the Ricoh Coliseum.... |
International Indian Film Academy Award International Indian Film Academy Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as the IIFA Awards are presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry. Instituted in 2000, the ceremony is held in... |
Best Special Effects | V. Srinivas Mohan V. Srinivas Mohan V. Srinivas Murali Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, known for his works in S. Shankar films. He is the founder and CEO of the Indian Artists Computer Graphics. He has been working in the Indian film, visual effects department from the year 1996. He has received three National Film Awards... |
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| Best Art Direction | Sabu Cyril Sabu Cyril Sabu Cyril is an Indian film art director. He has won National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times and Filmfare Best Art Direction Award twice. His latest work Enthiran, in which he also played an important role, has won him international recognitions.-Early life and education:Sabu Cyril... |
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| Best Make-up Artist | Banu | |||
| 58th Filmfare Awards South 58th Filmfare Awards South The 58th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in 2010 was held on July 2, 2011 in Hyderabad, India.-Tamil:*Nominations** 9 nominations: Aayirathil Oruvan... |
Filmfare Award Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian film industry. The awards are separately given for Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films... |
Best Film | Kalanithi Maran | |
| Best Director | S. Shankar S. Shankar Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award... |
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| Best Actor | Rajinikanth | |||
| Best Music Director | A. R. Rahman A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and... |
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| Best Lyricist | Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramaswamy Thevar is an award-winning Tamil poet and lyricist.Debuting in the film Nizhalgal with the lyrics for the song "Ponmalai Pozhudhu", he has now about 5800 songs to his credit as of January 2009. His partnership with the composers Ilaiyaraaja, and later A. R... for "Kadhal Anukkal Kadhal Anukkal "Kadhal Anukkal" is a Tamil song from the 2010 film Enthiran, directed by S. Shankar. The song was composed by A. R. Rahman, sung by Vijay Prakash, Shreya Ghoshal and lyrics written by Vairamuthu. The Hindi and Telugu version of the song are titled "Pagal Anukkan" and "Neelo Valapu" and written by... " |
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| Best Female Playback Singer | Chinmayi Chinmayi Chinmayi Sripada is an Indian playback singer, singing predominantly in Tamil. She is also a voice actor in Tamil and Telugu films, and has worked as a television presenter and a radio jockey as well. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company called Blue Elephant.-Early life and... for "Kilimanjaro" |
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| Best Cinematographer | R. Rathnavelu R. Rathnavelu Randy Rathnavelu is an Indian cinematographer who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films including Thirumalai , Vaaranam Aayiram, and Enthiran.... |
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| Best Art Director | Sabu Cyril Sabu Cyril Sabu Cyril is an Indian film art director. He has won National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times and Filmfare Best Art Direction Award twice. His latest work Enthiran, in which he also played an important role, has won him international recognitions.-Early life and education:Sabu Cyril... |
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| Best Costume Designer | Manish Malhotra Manish Malhotra Manish Malhotra is considered to be India's leading and most successful fashion designer.Manish Malhotra has designed for many leading actresses in Bollywood. He is known for his different style and his ability to envision a 'look' for the character. He is known for designing the costumes for... |
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| 24th Tokyo International Film Festival Tokyo International Film Festival Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter... |
Tokyo International Film Festival Awards | Winds of Asia-Middle East (Special Mention) |
S. Shankar S. Shankar Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award... |
Controversy
A controversy regarding the film's plot originated near the end of August as Indian author Vijayarke claimed that Enthirans story was similar to that of his 20022002 in literature
The year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 16: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested and jailed poet Abdul Mohsen Musalam and fired a newspaper editor following the publication of Musalam's poem The Corrupt on Earth that criticized the state's Islamic...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, Man Robot, and demanded a credit for himself in the film. Vijayarke claimed that he realized the similarity after hearing S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
narrate the plot during the film's audio launch, after which he emailed the director with his novel's story, seeking clarification. Yet another scandal broke out after the release of the film when a Tamil novelist, Aarur Thamizhnadan, made a complaint with the Greater Chennai Police
Greater Chennai Police
The Chennai Police, a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, is the law enforcement agency for the city of Chennai in India and the surrounding area. The city police force is headed by a Commissioner of Police and the administrative control vests with the Tamil Nadu Home ministry. There are thirty...
against the director and producer of the Enthiran, claiming that they had plagiarised the story idea from his novel Jugiba that was published in a vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
magazine Iniya Udhayam in 1996. In 2007, the same group published the novel as the book titled Thik Thik Dheepika. Unlike the previous author, however, Thamizhnadan took the issue to the Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
in November 2010. Following Thamizhnadan, other authors also claimed the story of Enthiran to be theirs.
Sequel
In March 2011, cinematographer R. RathnaveluR. Rathnavelu
Randy Rathnavelu is an Indian cinematographer who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films including Thirumalai , Vaaranam Aayiram, and Enthiran....
revealed that the crew was discussing the possibility of a sequel to Enthiran. The sequel was being written by S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
and is expected to retain the same team, including Kalanithi Maran, Rajinikanth, A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, and Rathnavelu himself. V. Srinivas Mohan
V. Srinivas Mohan
V. Srinivas Murali Mohan is an Indian visual effects designer, known for his works in S. Shankar films. He is the founder and CEO of the Indian Artists Computer Graphics. He has been working in the Indian film, visual effects department from the year 1996. He has received three National Film Awards...
, the special effects supervisor of the film, confirmed the same a couple months later.
External links
- Enthiran at Bollywood HungamaBollywood HungamaBollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....