| சிங்கம் | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hari |
| Produced by | K. E. Gnanavel Raja Reliance Big Pictures |
| Written by | Hari |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Devi Sri Prasad |
| Cinematography | Priyan |
| Editing by | V. T. Vijayan |
| Studio | |
| Distributed by | Sun Pictures Reliance Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 28 May 2010 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | 15 crore (US$2.85 million)[1] |
| Box office | 85 crore (US$16.15 million)[2] |
சிங்கம் (Tamil: சிங்கம் (Ciŋkam); English: Lion) is a 2010 Tamil action-masala film directed by Hari, starring Suriya and Anushka Shetty in the lead.[3] The film, produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja in association with Reliance Big Pictures, and distributed by Sun Pictures, was released on 28 May 2010. Upon release, the film was dubbed into Telugu and released as Yamudu.[4][5] The film's commercial success led to remakes in Kannada as Kempe Gowda,[6] in Hindi as Singham,[7] and in Bengali as Shotru.[8]
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The story, set in the backdrop of Nallore, a small town in Thoothukudi District, revolves around Sub-Inspector Durai Singam (Suriya), a brave and just policeman who serves in his hometown primarily to fulfill his father’s (Radha Ravi) wish. Durai Singam settles every dispute in his town patiently with his words of wisdom and resorts to force only when the situation demands it. Kavya (Anushka_Shetty), a city girl who comes on vacation to Nallore, falls in love with Durai Singam. Erimalai (Vivek), Durai Singam's bumbling colleague and friend, often accompanies him.
Everything seems to be smooth-running until Chennai-based Mayil Vaaganam (Prakash Raj), a big-time extortionist with shady mafia dealings, is required to travel to Nallore to sign a conditional bail. Mayil sends one of his henchmen to sign in his place. An angry Durai Singam demands that Mayil come in person for the signature and this starts tensions between them. Mayil, unable to do anything because the town is under the control of Durai Singam and his supporters, leaves humiliated. When Singam gets promoted to an Inspector. Mayil uses his political clout to get him transferred to Tiruvanmaiyur police station in Chennai in order to extract revenge.
In Chennai, kavya's sister Divya is kidnapped by Vaaganam, and in the process Singam uncovers a scam run by Vaaganam in which he kidnaps children for ransom from commercial real estate developers. Durai Singam, with unexpected help from the Home Minister (Vijayakumar), gets promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the specially-formed Anti-kidnapping Task Force. Also, Kavya's father (Nassar) who was hostile to Singam following an altercation with Singam's father, softens up and agrees to give him Kavya's hand in marriage.
In a protracted cat-and-mouse chase with liberal display of muscle power, Vaaganam targets people dearest to Singam, including Kavya (who gets shot but is saved by Singam) and manages to kill Durai Singam's loyal deputy and close friend, Inspecter Ravi. Finally, in a bid to escape gathering momentum of hostility and the arrest warrant against him, Vaaganam kidnaps the Karnataka Home Minister's daughter and escapes by train to Nellore. Following a fierce chase and fight, mobilizing a huge army of policemen to help him, Singam kills Vaaganam in a final one-to-one fight. The final scene shows Singam and Kavya heading back to Nallore, when Singam is stopped briefly by the Home Minister and assigned an undercover mission, to which he gladly agrees.
After Suriya had finished K. S. Ravikumar's Aadhavan, discussions regarding his subsequent project, notably his 25th film, were held. Initially, reports emerged that it was going to be directed by Prabhu Deva.[9] At the launch of his film Seval in May 2009, however, director Hari announced officially that he would direct Suriya's 25th film titled Singam and that he had finished penning the script.[9] Becoming Suriya's third film with Hari following the successful films Aaru and Vel, it was announced that the project would release in July 2010.[5] Suriya's cousin, K. E. Gnanavel Raja was announced as the producer.[10]
Though initial reports suggested that Yuvan Shankar Raja would score the music, Devi Sri Prasad was chosen as the music director, thus becoming his third venture with Suriya. Suriya was revealed to play a police officer in the film, the second time in his career after Kaakha Kaakha in 2003.[11] Anushka was chosen to play the female lead, after several actresses were considered and approached.[5] Priyan was chosen as the lead camera man and V. T. Vijayan as the editor.[12]
After completingSeval, Hari joined the cast and crew to start the filming in 2009. The shooting began in Thirunelveli district and was carried on in southern parts of Tamil Nadu. A scene from the song "Stole my Heart" was shot in Muscat Park that was choreographed by Brindha.[13] Afterwards, some scenes where shot in Andhra Pradesh as well as Karnataka. The main scenes were shot in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai. During December, Hari announced that the film wouldn't have a formal audio launch as per his previous films and that the shooting would get over quickly.[14] The trailers were released on 24 February. Sun Pictures acquired the distribution rights,[15] and Sony Music bought the music for a hefty price.[16]
The film collected 80 lakhs from Chennai in the first weekend. The total box office collection from Chennai alone was 5.38 crores. The film completed a 100-days-run at theatres and was reported as a block buster.[17] In Malaysia, the movie grossed $1,471,508 and in the UK around $12,956.[18]
This film garnered mixed to positive reviews. Behindwoods.com gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated that Hari has "concocted and packaged his masala contents in the right proportion and has served a tasty dish", while praising Suriya for having "diligently worked towards balancing the niche and the mass" and proving "once again that he can deliver a commercial masala flick with as finesse as he can deliver a performance-oriented film".[19] Sify described the film as a "predictable entertainer that follows the age old formula", citing that it was Suriya who "carries the film to the winning post. His passion and the way he brings an ordinary regular larger-than-life hero character alive on screen is lesson for other commercial heroes".[20] Rediff also gave 2.5 out of 5 stating that the film was an "unapologetic, entertainer and has Suriya in every frame. Lovers of commercial potpourri will definitely get their money's worth."[21] Indiaglitz wrote that Singam was the "king of the masses, who love action and commercial films".[22] A Times of India critic gave 3.5 out of 5, claiming that "even with a sleepy narration in the first 30 minutes or so, Singam is worth a watch."[23]
| சிங்கம் | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Devi Sri Prasad | |
| Released | 11 May 2010 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Label | Sony Music |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Behindwoods | *[24] |
The soundtrack, released on 11 May 2010, was scored by Devi Sri Prasad, marking his third collaboration with Suriya after Maayavi and Aaru.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Naane Indhiran" | Viveka | Benny Dayal & Manicka Vinayagam | 5:32 |
| 2. | "En Idhayam" | Na. Muthukumar | Suchitra & Tippu | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Stole My Heart" | Viveka | Shaan & Megha | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Kadhal Vandhale" | Viveka | Baba Sehgal & Priyadarshini | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Singam" | Na. Muthukumar, Megha | Devi Sri Prasad | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Stole My Heart (Unplugged)" | Hari | Shaan | 2:19 |
Singam also received several nominations and awards from the Filmfare and Vijay Awards.
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58th Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor | Suriya | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actor | Prakash Raj | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Manorama | Nominated | |
| Best Female Playback | Suchitra (En Idhayam) |
Nominated | |
| Best Dance Choreographer | Baba Sehgal (Kadhal Vandhale) |
Won | |
| 5th Vijay Awards | Best Entertainer | Suriya | Won |
| Favourite Hero | Suriya | Nominated | |
| Favourite Heroine | Anushka Shetty | Nominated | |
| Favourite Film | Reliance Big Pictures & K. E. Gnanavel Raja | Nominated | |
| Favourite Song | Devi Sri Prasad (Kadhal Vandhale) |
Nominated |
| Singam (Tamil) |
Singham (Hindi) |
Kempe Gowda (Kannada) |
Shotru (Bengali) |
| Surya Sivakumar | Ajay Devgn | Sudeep | Jeet |
| Anushka Shetty | Kajal Agarwal | Ragini Dwivedi | Nusrat Jahan |
| Prakash Raj | Prakash Raj | Ravishankar | Supriyo Dutta |