As Kabali fever grips Tamil Nadu, everyone is making a killing

Big brand endorsements have been latching onto Kabali fever. Air Asia and Airtel have jumped onto the Kabali bandwagon while radio FM stations are pitching in feverishly, offering free tickets for an SMS from a listener. Fans hoping to get lucky don’t mind their dimes spent for an SMS, and the mobile services are ringing in a fortune as the total number of SMSs have crossed over one lakh. “Neruppu Da” seems so appropriate as Kabali fever catches fire wherever it touches.

Ticket prices for the first two or three days have gone from Rs 300 to Rs 500 in many places except multiplexes in Chennai city. While corporate and IT firms have made bulk bookings, theatres restricted under a slab of Rs 120 slyly instigate viewers to buy the tickets for Rs 500, for a ‘package’ of popcorn, snacks and soft drinks along with a Kabali ticket.

WATCH: Rajinikanth’s Kabali Releases: Catch The Fan Frenzy & Audience Review

“The signature song ‘Neruppu Da’, according to film buffs, seems most apt at least for the industry as Kabali literally sets it on fire. They say a whopping number of industries benefit from a movie release like Kabali in Tamil Nadu.

On July 22, when it is slated for a world wide release, its minimum success in the box office is already ensured because there are no major movie releases for the next two weeks from the day of the films release, said an insider of team Kabali.

So Kabali will be a solo release on July 22 in Tamil Nadu and could play alone till August 5. The next 21 days will also belong to Kabali with no major movies around.

Movies starring Dhanush and Vijay Sethupathi are the next two major releases scheduled on August 12. If Kabali fails, said a theatre owner, there may be some new releases on August 5.

Kabali will be releasing in more than 750 theatres across the state including some 40 screens in Chennai region alone.

With media firms including print, TV and radio stations joining the Kabali fever, one wonders what is so special about this Rajinikanth movie that even aircrafts are painted with Kabali posters ahead of its release. While a usual big film in Tamil film industry costs a minimum of Rs 70 to 80 crore, sources in the Kabali team say their budget was well within Rs 70 crore or less than that – thanks to a relatively new face production team including the director, cinematographer and musicians – and cost-effective locations in Malaysia and Chennai.

If the industry reports are to be believed, this Rs 70 crore movie has already ensured a pre-release recovery of Rs 200 crore, from various rights including theatrical rights, branding, satellite and audio, unmatched for any other Tamil films in the past.

“Theatrical rights from Tamil Nadu alone crosses Rs 65 crore, almost the total budget of the movie,” said an insider. And he reveals the approximate figures of theatrical rights – Telugu – Rs 32 crore, Malayalam – Rs 7.5 crore and Kannada- Rs 10 crore. While north India fetched the producers around Rs 15 crore, another Rs 50crore is the pre-release recovery from the branding alone.

Kabali will be releasing in more than 750 theatres across the state including some 40 screens in Chennai region alone. Some 500 screens in US (including 250 each screens for Tamil and Telugu versions) also shows how the industry wants to capitalise on the first day itself, even if the audiences abandon it eventually.

In Chennai city, theatres that come under the Chengalpet region plan to run shows from 1 am or 4am, with a total of seven shows, while multiplexes in the city are unlikely to run early morning shows.

After Shivaji (2007), the first ever Rajnikanth movie that enjoyed a similar pan-India hype

Rajini Fan clubs that collect Rs 400-500 per ticket pay Rs 200 to theatre owners while using the remaining amount for various celebrations.

After Shivaji (2007), the first ever Rajnikanth movie that enjoyed a similar pan-India hype, Kabali repeats history with media firms and various social media platforms joining the advertisement campaign for the movie. Soft marketing methods through various private services could be hardly be differentiated as to a news content or advertisement.

Everyone wants to capitalise on the brand Rajinikanth, even if he is not a brand ambassador.

When Air Asia airline, which was declared as the official airline of Kabali, is plying a Kabali aircraft, Airtel offers unlimited 2G services for an hour at Rs. 5, a ‘Kabali recharge pack, Kabali special caller tunes, Kabali start-up kits for new customers, an opportunity for subscribers to send SMS-wishes for Rajinikanth and a compilation of these messages into a coffee table book for the actor, a van with holographic technology for film promotions – the Kabali-Airtel package goes on.

Cadbury is tagging the 5 star chocolate with Kabali besides advertisement panels on Tamil Nadu buses plying with posters bearing the tagline `Superstar ka 5 star’ and ‘Superstar in 5 star’ besides road shows near colleges, schools and popular malls – some 18,000 Kabali-Cadbury cutouts across India.

Amazon too has caught the Kabali fever with the sale of key chains, wax statue, posters, photographs and other Kabali-memorabilia. What attracts Amazon to a south Indian film is its massive reach – dubbed versions in Chinese, Thai, Japan and Malaya.

Kabali features Rajinikanth in the role of a Malaysian don.

Three days are left for the release and rumours have started about the poor health of Rajinikanth and then as in the past, he will make an appearance in style a day before the release.

Does it make sense to celebrate a movie with so much hype? Leading film historian Theodore Bhaskaran says he is disturbed at it. “This is nothing but the making of a mindless escapist entertainment that distorts the growth of film appreciation. Why do we need so much hype and branding for a good movie? If you have such hype, the fall will also deep.”