Dasavathaaram

Pre-production

Kamal Haasan came up with an original storyline and approached a number of directors, including Gautham Vasudev Menon to direct it, when K. S. Ravikumar accepted the offer. It began soon after the announcement of Sivaji: The Boss starring Rajinikanth.^[5] Ravikumar and Kamal Haasan came together for the fourth time following their three previous successful ventures, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali and Panchatanthiram.

Development

V. Ravichandran signed up to produce the venture securing distribution rights in the process. Pyramid Film Fund had an exposure of 50 percent in the project.^[6]

Following nearly a year of pre-production, deciding the cast and the locations, the film began its first schedule on 11 September 2006.^[7]

Casting

Vidya Balan was originally considered to play the lead actress before Asin was finalised.^[8] Actors Jayaram and Vadivelu opted out of the film during the production of the project, citing scheduling issues.^[9]

Filming

A preliminary process took place before the start of filming, which featured make-up tests that lasted for 25 days in the USA.^[10] The make-up used for Kamal's characters proved to create difficulties. It took nine hours to implement the make-up and it failed to stay for a long period of time. To compensate for that, he had to rest and take fluids using a straw and at the same time, refrain from moving his facial muscles to ensure that his prosthetic makeup was not disturbed.^[11]

Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included the US, Tokyo, Malaysia and Thailand.^[12] Filming was nearly complete by early October 2007;^[13] the film's final shoot occurred on 8 October 2007 at Uthandi, a coastal village.^[7]

Theatrical

The film was delayed multiple times; it was initially scheduled for release in 2007, which was later pushed to Pongal 2008. However, in February 2008, V. Ravichandran announced that, due to extensive post-production works, Dasavaatharam would be released worldwide on the eve of the Tamil New Year weekend.^[20] The film was delayed again later due to the success of inaugural Indian Premier League season. For that reason, and to avoid conflicts with Suriya's Vaaranam Aayiram scheduled for a May 2008 release, the release of the film was put on hold till 1 June 2008, the date when the tournament concluded.^[21] In late May 2008, the makers announced that the film would release on 13 June 2008 in Tamil along with a version dubbed in Telugu.^[22] However, the release of the Hindi dub was postponed to 27 June 2008. The film was shown subsequently to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, at the request of the producer on 8 June 2008.^[23]

Distribution

Sony Pictures India distributed the film in Hindi, whilst Ayngaran International sold the film to cinema halls in the United Kingdom, Singapore and the Gulf.^[24] Canadian rights for the film were bought by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through their Buena Vista International label, becoming the first distributional venture of an Indian film by the production house.^[25] The film released worldwide in 1,300 theatres, with 275 in Tamil Nadu, 80 in Karnataka, 410 altogether for the Hindi version, 260 altogether for the Telugu version (25 of which were in Hyderabad alone), 85 in Kerala, and 190 overseas.^[3][26][27]

Marketing

The film's theatrical trailer was released publicly on 23 April 2008, a day after it was shown to special guests.^[28] The first exclusive screening of the film, prior to release, was held on the morning of the audio launch on 25 April 2008, to visiting guests Jackie Chan, Amitabh Bachchan, Mammootty and Vijay, all of whom praised the film.^[29]

Legal issues

Assistant director Senthil Kumar filed a case against the film at the Madras High Court. He claimed to have created the story of Dasavathaaram, in a script titled, Ardhanari alias Clones, and that Kamal Haasan and V. Ravichandran had "stolen" the script and left him out of the credits, violating the copyright act.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]} On the basis of this complaint, the Chennai police inquired with the actor and later accepted his explanation; the Madras High Court then sent notices to Kamal Haasan and the producer V. Ravichandran announcing an interim stay on the release of the film. The film was allowed to continue with its production and post-production, but the case was delayed till in 2007. However, in September 2007, the Court dismissed the petition of Senthil Kumar in the case, clearing the legal hurdles for the film.^{[citation needed]}

Following the audio launch on 25 April 2008, Mallika Sherawat received a police complaint against the donning of improper attire at a film function. Hindu Makkal Katchi, a splinter group of the Hindu Munnani, lodged a complaint with the police, saying that Sherawat's attire at the function to release audio-CDs of Dasavathaaram, in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had been present, had "hurt the sentiments of Hindus". The actress was accused of wearing a mini-skirt and exposing her back in front of the chief minister.^[30] The petition was dismissed on 29 May 2008, with the Madras High Court stating that Dasavathaaram did not portray Hindu culture negatively.^[31]

Box office

Critical response

Some critics felt that the plot of Dasavathaaram was little bit confusing and that Kamal Haasan's ten roles were forced, with only four or five relevant to the plot.^[46]

Rediff praised the film as "spectacular" and a "superhuman effort", rating it with 4 out of 5 stars. The reviewer concluded that the film will "go down in the history of Indian cinema as a unique experiment in the commercial circuit".^[47] Sify called the film "average", stating that it would "fall short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated." The reviewer also criticised the make-up, lamenting that "Kamal's prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener" but claimed that Brian Jennings's special effects, "mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are a top-class by Indian standards". The reviewer praised cinematographer Ravi Varman, noting: "[He] may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb", but noted that some of Haasan's characters like Avatar Singh and Khalifullah Khan were "unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10."^[48]

T S Sudhir of NDTV wrote, "Dasavathaaram, unfortunately, remains just a film with its USP of 10 Kamals. This Kamal does not blossom the way he did in Indian or Nayakan, Appu Raja, Mahanadi, Avvai Shanmughi or in Thevar Magan"^{[clarification needed]} and further stated, "One of the best in the business falters with the film's story and screenplay."^[49] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and said, "EXPERIMENTS aren't always successful. Like Dasavatharam, Kamal Haasan's ambitious venture sees him playing ten roles which include a take on George Bush too. Daring, we'd like to insist; only the make-up and the fake appearance borders more on the comic."^[50] The Deccan Herald said, "The ten roles are awfully disparate: they are more like pantomime characters. Kamal appears too flabby and jaded. Sorry, Appu Raja (or shall we say Michael, Madana, Kamarajan) it's time you start being your age. From start to finish there is a severe decibel assault aided and abetted by Himesh Reshammiya."^[51]

Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu said, "The film would have worked even better had the narrative been tauter and more purposive [post-intermission]" but concluded, "All in all, Dasavathaaram shows that Kamal Haasan has once again taken great pains to make his cinematic projects convincing. The effort has paid off."^[52] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 43 out of 100.^[53]

Accolades