Kumki (film)

Development

In June 2011, it was announced that Prabhu Solomon was directing a "love story set in a village in the forest area where elephants roam freely, creating man-animal conflicts" and was based on a real life incident. Despite reports that it was titled Komban,^[3] the title was later confirmed to be Kumki. The film was presented by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandrabose under Thirrupathi Brothers.^[4]

Solomon considered Kumki a research-based film similar to his previous Mynaa (2010), which served as a campaign to save the elephants which had been portrayed in bad light owing to incidents such as straying into villages and violent attacks, but neither consider deforestation and encroachment of forest areas lead to this situation.^[4][2] Solomon went on an extensive location scouting across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, as a part of pre-production.^[2] He added that the film focuses on the friendship between a man and elephant, as the tagline suggested "a wild love story" used in the promotions.^[4]

During an interaction with Nikhil Raghavan of The Hindu, Solomon felt that the success of Mynaa was due to his creative control—as he was the director and producer of the film—which helped him to pay more attention to detail.^[5] As Kumki was an even bigger venture he "didn't want anything to go wrong".^[6] At that time, Lingusamy's interest in producing the venture was considered a delight for Solomon.^[6] Prior to the start of production, Solomon sent the script to the Animal Welfare Board of India for their permission.^[2]

Casting

A 12 feet (3.7 m) tall elephant named Manickam was brought from Ottapalam for this film.^[5] Though established actors wanted to be cast in the lead role without offering renumeration, Solomon wanted a new face for the role of Bomman.^[2] After 60 people were auditioned for the role, Vikram Prabhu (son of actor Prabhu) who participated in the auditions was selected.^[6] Vikram, a B. A. graduate in theatre arts at the San Diego State University, California, had earlier worked as an assistant director for films like Sarvam (2009) and Aasal (2010).^[7][4] Solomon came his across his portfolio from a family friend which led to him being impressed after seeing his appearance, height and physique of a mahout.^[2]

Vikram sported a rugged look wearing a beard and moustache.^[2] Before filming, Vikram went to a training camp for 15 days in Ottapalam so that he could get full-fledged preparations on how to train elephants and further asked to polish his gymnastic skills so that his physique could be maintained.^[8] Lakshmi Menon was cast for the role of the tribal girl, Alli, after she featured in a cover of a Malayalam magazine that got Solomon's attention.^[9] While Kumki was the first film in Tamil she signed, her other film, Sundarapandian, was released before Kumki.^[9] That film's director S. R. Prabhakaran cast Menon after seeing photographs of her in Kumki.^[10]

Thambi Ramaiah who previously appeared in Mynaa, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role was cast in a pivotal role,^[11][12] as did Ashvin Raja who had allotted sixty-six days for the film.^[13][14] Other supporting cast members included Joe Malloori, Sreejith Ravi, Munnar Ramesh, Junior Balaiah and Yaar Kannan.^[12]

Filming

Filming began in September 2011 at Araku Valley. Solomon chose the location primarily as it "has red soil and the entire terrain will shine with beautiful yellow flowers in bloom".^[2] The entire film was shot in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and in the border of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.^[12] Throughout the filming, Solomon ensured the services of veterinary doctors to present in the shooting spots to treat the elephant.^[2]

As the team had to accommodate the extensive weather conditions and availability of animals, filming had to be extended till mid-2012.^[12] The song "Sollitale" was shot in the Jog Falls and parts of the dense forest sequences were shot in Kerala and at the Athirappilly Falls.^[7][15] The Athikaadu village sequences were actually filmed in Kottakudi village located in Theni district where the film was primarily shot.^[12] He created the fictional village fusing images from different places.^[16] For the climax portion, producers bought two-acres of land to shoot a scene where elephants destroy the land.^[17]

Much of the film was shot in the early mornings and late evenings to get the appropriate texture for the scenes.^[5] Solomon added "It is difficult to write a script when you are dependent on Nature. Visuals cannot be written and the scenes would unfold as we go along. This way, I have been able to get the best of both Nature and my artistes."^[5] The film was photographed by M. Sukumar who utilised natural lighting for the scenes.^[7] The film was completed within 80 working days.^[10]

Post-production

The film underwent an extensive post-production process by July 2012.^[7] This involved the climax sequence that featured the battle between two elephants had to be digitally rendered.^[17] By November, work on the visual effects and graphics had been completed and the team began working on the re-recording and mixing.^[18] The first copy of the film was completed by early-December.^[19]

It was reported that the team shot three climaxes for the film; the climax in the theatrical cut showed Manickam's death.^[20] Post release, it was reported that the climax would be changed to a happy ending, but this report was dismissed as a rumour while the climax remained unchanged.^[21][22]

Critical response

Kumki received critical acclaim.^[21] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu praised the performances of Vikram and Menon, noting that while Vikram "makes an impact with effective underplay", Menon showed "apt expressions"; she found Ramaiah's dialogues to be a bit "contrived" after a certain point of time.^[23] N. Venkateswaran of The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 to the film and stated "Prabu Solomon's ode to love in the times of elephant attacks, holds a lot of promise but sadly flatters only to deceive."^[40] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com gave 3.5 out of 5 and stated "Kumki is an unforgettable ride through the wilds of Tamil Nadu's virgin forests."^[41] IANS gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and summarised that "Kumki may not be the year's best film, but definitely can't be looked down upon."^[42]

Sify-based critic gave three stars for the film and wrote "At the end of the day, Kumki is a neat entertainer, but not in the same class as the director's earlier Mynaa. You may argue that you've seen better films than Kumki, but try remembering the last time you enjoyed the movie-going experience so much."^[43] Malini Mannath of The New Indian Express praised Vikram's performance, adding that "[Vikram] fits in aptly, his rugged look suiting the role of the rural youth, sharing a deep bonding with his elephant" but besides being "more comfortable in expressing intense emotions, he, however, seems stiff and inhibited in the romantic interludes and song-dance numbers"; she added that the film "offers no refreshing visuals" as it was reminiscent of Solomon's Mynaa and felt the climax "falls flat" calling it a "tame affair".^[44] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 45 out of 100.^[45]

Box office

Kumki opened in 1000 screens worldwide with 300 screens in Tamil Nadu.^[46] At the domestic box office, the film earned around ₹3.63 crore (equivalent to ₹6.8 crore or US$720,000 in 2023) in the first day and ₹3.25 crore (equivalent to ₹6.1 crore or US$650,000 in 2023), thereby making the total collections for two days accounting to ₹6.88 crore (equivalent to ₹13 crore or US$1.4 million in 2023).^[47] Within three days, the film grossed around ₹8.51 crore (equivalent to ₹16 crore or US$1.7 million in 2023),^[46][48] and was considered highly successful by trade analysts within a week of its release.^[49] Trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai noted that the film earned around ₹14.5 crore (equivalent to ₹27 crore or US$2.9 million in 2023) in Tamil Nadu.^[50] In an article for Sify dated 24 December, he claimed that Kumki was already a success based on return on investment, and believed the film's successful run would continue through January 2013.^[51]

Owing to the positive reception, Studio Green expanded the film's release to more than 400 screens during the Christmas weekend, preferring main screens in multiplexes across Chennai, Chengalpattu and Coimbatore.^[49] At the Chennai box office, the film opened at the second position as Neethaane En Ponvasantham occupying multiplexes in urban centres.^[52] But owing to positive word of mouth, the film topped the first position and remained there for two consecutive weeks.^[53][54][55] Sify noted that the film collected around ₹4.05 crore (equivalent to ₹7.6 crore or US$810,000 in 2023) at the Chennai box office within 10 days of its release, thereby outperforming the newer releases.^[53]