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Ajith Kumar popularly known as Thala is a Tamil superstar who along with arch rival Vijay is fighting a fierce fan battle for the Kollywood throne. Two years after his super hit Vedalam (2015), Ajith’s new film Vivegam is releasing on Thursday, 24 August worldwide. The man who has been ruling the industry for the last three decades, superstar Rajinikanth, is under pressure as the fans of Ajith and Vijay loudly proclaim in social media that their hero is being anointed as the next king.
Thala as he is lovingly called has a huge fan base especially among the youth audiences and is known as the king of openings. His stylised action hero image along with his salt and pepper look laced with punchlines with a liberal mix of English is part of his on screen image. The trailer punchline of Vivegam which has Ajith saying slowly in an angry mood in English (obviously referring to the villain) – You will see my rage, has his fans licking their lips in anticipation of the big budget action extravaganza.
Vivegam, directed by his favourite Siva (Veeram and Vedalam), is their third film together and is the star’s costliest film, rumoured to have cost around Rs 80 -90 crore. The film was extensively shot in Eastern Europe by Sathya Jyothi Films (TG Thyagarajan, the veteran producer was the co-producer of Rajinikanth’s iconic 1995 blockbuster Baasha) and is rumoured to have sold all rights for nearly Rs 120 crore.
Buzz is that Ajith will be doing his fourth consecutive film with Siva again from early next year. One of the highlights of the film is said to be the on-screen clash of Ajith with Vivek Oberoi , who is playing the bad guy in the film, which also has Kajal Aggarwal and Akshara Haasan in key roles. The music of the film by Anirudh Ravichander has already gone viral and is topping the charts.
Vivegam is getting a worldwide release in over 2000 screens worldwide and 700 plus in Tamil Nadu.
Ticket booking apps and theatres across the state are facing tremendous pressure to grab the first day first show tickets.
Ajith is the most reclusive superstar down south, who does not take part even in the promotions of his own films. The entire Vivegam promotions including media interviews was done by director Siva and the rest of the cast and crew of the film. The star does not attend any public functions or give media interviews, not even television sound bytes like Rajinikanth. The star spends most of his time at his fortress like seaside bungalow on the East Coast Road in Chennai. There are the occasional Ajith sightings at airports, with airline staff or lucky fans posting selfies with the actor.
Though Ajith is not there in any social media platforms, the actor’s fans have a huge presence and at times they have been accused of trolling. Last week, Ajith issued a statement through his lawyers that he has no official fan clubs nor any social media handles. His lawyer’s statement said:
Meanwhile, Ajith, also one of the highest paid actors in the south with a rumoured salary in the range of Rs 30 -35 crore, is all set for the release of Vivegam. A lot is riding on it for Ajith, who has to now beat the record of Rajinikanth’s Kabali day one figures to retain the sobriquet – king of openings!
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