http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-articles/movies-05/12-03-07-sivaj\ i.html <http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-articles/movies-05/12-03-07-siva\ ji.html>
The power of Rajini strikes gold again. By Behindwoods Editorial Team (U.S.A) This news is sponsored by www.behindbikes.com <http://www.behindbikes.com/> March 12, 2007 With the release date drawing closer, the mega budget extravaganza of the year, Sivajiâs business deals are hitting headlines all over. In what could be termed as the biggest deal of the year in Tamil cinema without doubt, the movieâs international rates are sold recently to the London based Aynkaran [Sivaji] International for an eye-popping Rs.13.95 crores. Earlier, regional rights of the movie excepting Tamil Nadu have been sold at never-seen-before rates as well. While Andhra fetched Rs. 14 crores, rights of Kerala managed to bring home Rs. 3.5 crores â" yet unseen for another movie in the state. International rights Aynkaran International is an NRI company based in the UK. The company earlier eyed the audio rights of the movie and it is reported that Aynkaran is still in the prospective list of agencies that could bag the money spinning audio rights of Sivaji. If this happened, Sivaji would prove to be a double delight for the company. [Sivaji] Opinions Astonished by the rates, North American trade analyst, Prityush Jain told Behindwoods (US) correspondent that the rates are inconceivable for a Tamil movie. âEven Hindi movies are not sold at these rates. The rates are twice as high compared to the earlier Rajini movieâ, he stated. âThough it could be a risk at this cost, Rajini â" Shankar â" A.R. Rahman team has managed to churn out huge expectations among the Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi speaking communities as well apart from the Tamil speaking lot. This combination is sure to give a big opening for the movie overseas tooâ, Jain added. âBesides, the word-of-mouth phenomenon seems to work wonders for Sivajiâ, he deemed. [Sivaji] Home turf In its home turf â" Tamil Nadu â" Sivajiâs business is still finding the middle ground and though negotiations have been held with numerous agencies, AVM seem to be contemplating strenuously. Reports suggest that P.L. Thenappan approached AVM for the Tamil Nadu rights and could not just afford the quoted 62 crores in one go. Meanwhile, it is also reported that Albert Mariappan is also in the race to bag the rights. It may come as a surprise to some when we say that Sun TV is not showing interest for the theatrical rights anymore. However, we got wind of the news that AVM has promised to give away the satellite rights of Sivaji to the channel at astronomical sums. Now that the international rights have been delegated, audio rights, satellite rights, and Tamil Nadu rights remain to be dealt with by AVM. Given the fact that the movie is all set to hit the screens in April â" when the world cup fever is at its peak â" the remaining deals are expected to be finalized in a few weeks. Stay tuned for updates.
