A Analysis on Kamal Haasan-Ajith Kumar box office clashes

The grandest festival of India is fast arriving. The Deepavali festival has been equally important for Kollywood and Tamil movie buffs for ages. Gone are the days when there was five, six Tamil films releasing on Deepavali. In the recent years due to the new business models of film industry, festival releases are reduced to two or three.

This Deepavali two biggies 'Thoongavanam' of Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan and 'Vedalam' of Thala Ajith will be clashing at the Tamil box office. The two films are releasing on a grand scale and more importantly both the films are releasing on the same day that is the Deepavali festival day which falls on November 10.

The direct box office clash between Kamal and Ajith is not new but it will be happening this time after a gap of 13 years. Though matured fans seek to see this as Kamal with Ajith and not as Kamal vs Ajith, comparisons on the box office performance and critical reviews of both the films will be unavoidable. So let's have a look at the previous instances of the two great actors having their films released on the same day.

'Nammavar' and 'Pavithra' (November 2, 1994)

Interestingly the first ever Kamal-Ajith clash at the box office happened on a Deepavali day.

In 'Nammavar' Kamal played the role of a professor who takes charge of reforming a college spoiled by evil forces. The film written by Kamal along with his mentor Ananthu was directed by K.S.Sethumadhavan. Despite getting positive reviews, the film failed at the box office but booked its place in history by fetching the first and only national award for legendary actor Nagesh for the supporting role he played in the film.

'Pavithra' is one of the earliest films of Ajith Kumar as the lead hero. He was yet to register his position in the film industry by then. Ajith had not even started dubbing on his one. Ajith played the role of a orphaned youngster who gets admitted to an hospital and taken care by an affectionate nurse played by Radhika and the mother-son relationship growing between hem. This was also a flop at the box office but was appreciated for its novel content.

Verdict- Both the films were critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful.

Hey Ram and Mugavaree (February 18, 2000)

'Hey Ram' is officially the debut directorial venture of Kamal Haasan. The film which dealt with the story of a man affected by the violence that followed India-Pakistan partition is one of the grandest and phenomenally acclaimed films in the lengthy career of Kamal Haasan. The film was also made in Hindi and released on the same day. Like many other novel attempts of Kamal this film was also a commercial disaster but it won many awards and made it to the list of best films ever made in Tamil. The film was also the official submission of the Indian Government for the Oscars but it was not nominated by the Oscar academy.

Clashing with such a great film was the Ajith-Jyothika starrer 'Mughavaree'. Ajith had reached the top position as a hero and was commanding a huge fan base by then. This film directed by debutante V.Z.Durai is about an aspiring music director and how his family supports him for his ambitions. The film was a commercial hit as well as one of the critically acclaimed films of Ajith. Especially Ajith shedding his mass image and acting in such a content oriented film was praised by critics and audience.

Verdict- Kamal was the winner in terms of critical acclaim though Ajith's Mugavaree was also praised for its content. Ajith was the winner in terms of commercial returns.

Pammal K.Sammandham and Red (January 14, 2002)

Kamal Haasan had faced a commercial disaster with 'Aalavandhan' which was way ahead of its times. He bounced back to reaffirm his position at the box office with a rollicking comedy entertainer 'Pammal.K.Sammandham'. Kamal teamed up with his regular partner in humor oriented films Crazy Mohan who penned fantastic dialogues and comic one-liners that still linger in the minds of audience. The film was about a person who hates marriage, falling for a girl who hates him. Veteran Moulee directed this film after a long gap and presented it as an all class entertainer which fetched the super hit status for the film.

Ajith starrer 'Red' released amid roaring expectations as the film came after the blockbuster 'Dheena' and super hit 'Citizen'. However 'Red' directed by Singampuli failed to match the expectations and ended up as a below average fare which was panned by fans and critics.

Verdict- Kamal was the clear winner in commercial as well as critical yardsticks.

Thoongavanam and Vedalam

For this Deepavali festival Kamal comes with a new age thriller flick 'Thoongavanam' which has been directed by his erstwhile assistant Rajesh.M.Selva. The trailers have promised a stylishly made racy thriller and the film boasts of a stellar star cast that includes Trisha. Prakash Raj, Kishore, Sampath Raj, Asha Sharath and others and most of them in the list are very good actors as well. Ghibran has scored the music and the film has only one song which will come as a background song. This is proof enough that the film would be razor sharp and experimental. Kamal plays a narcotics control bureau officer whose son is kidnapped by a drug mafia and the large chunk of the film deals with his attempts to retrieve his son. We can definitely expect a taut thriller treat with Kamal Haasan's brilliance spread all over.

Ajith on the other hand has teamed up with director Siruthai Siva who has a phenomenal success rate for 'Vedalam'. The duo's earlier film 'Veeram' has been a box office hit and that was enough to grab all attention required for the film.

'Vedalam' is expected to be a commercial mass masala flick aimed to be a treat to Thala fans and also satisfy audience of all age groups with good dose of comedy, romance and sentiment. Kamal Haasan's elder daughter Shruthi Haasan plays Ajith's love interest in the film and this is in a way, a clash between the father and daughter. Lakshmi Menon plays Ajith's younger sister in the film and the portions highlighting the sibling bonding between t