Whenever we have the much-expected biggies, a SWOT analysis is in order. Let’s do a quick Strengths - Weaknesses - Opportunities - Threats check for the Thala Ajith starrer Vedalam, which releases day after tomorrow, Nov 10th.
Strengths
- When you have the Ultimate Star Thala Ajith as the face of a film, you can be assured of grand openings, massive screen counts all over, tremendous ticket pressure and organically generated hype. Vedalam has all this and more! One can see the star in two distinct looks, with the North Madras Don segment being the most anticipated one. He has danced and indulged in numerous stunts for the delight of his fans. Of course, his screen presence is bound to be mighty powerful as always, in this packaged masala flick.
- Director Siva knows his game, which is to entertain the masses with a simple story, a gripping screenplay and some positive messages. Two back to back hits, Siruthai and Veeram, and now Vedalam may be the hat-trick winner for this genial giant.
- Shruti Haasan, Lakshmi Menon, Soori, Thambi Ramaiah are all leading names in their own right and add more luster to the cast list of Vedalam.
- Producer A.M.Rathnam never spares any expense when it comes to his grand commercial films and the veteran has made sure that the film has arrived for Diwali as an ideal festival entertainer.
- Anirudh’s first turn in composing for a Thala Ajith film has resulted in two fan favorites in the form of Aaluma Doluma and Veera Vinayaga. It isn’t an outstanding effort by any means, but sort of par for the course, considering a mass commercial film such as Vedalam. With the theme not sounding great in the album, we have to see how it gels with the film and lifts the key moments.
- The best of screens both in TN and in overseas markets is undoubtedly a plus for Vedalam as it eyes a massive 6-day opening starting this Tuesday. The TN screen count is in excess of 500 and the worldwide screen count is easily northwards of 1000. Ideal platform for a vasool vettai. The festive Diwali period is also a boosting factor for the film’s box-office prospects as families generally visit theaters in large numbers, during this period.
- A trailer isn’t required as such for a big star film such as Vedalam with massive Thala-generated hype. Just the teaser and a couple of song promos are the pre-release content that we have seen, along with the stills. Vedalam’s freshness has been retained and some curiosity and suspense with respect to its content is evident. But some also feel that the lack of a trailer is a downer. The team had to keep up to its release deadline and was under much pressure to complete the film on time and hence couldn’t release a trailer.
Weaknesses
- From the looks of it, nothing different is in store - Vedalam is going to be a good old hero-driven film with numerous stunts, comedy, villainy, song-dance routines and sentiments. The recipe is very much cliched, tried and tested, and Vedalam would have to stand out in some aspect to click big time with the masses. Of late, fresher concepts are being welcomed more and audiences have been ruthlessly dismissive of big star films. Will Vedalam emerge unscathed? We will know soon.
Opportunities
- Ajith’s overseas market presence is consistently on the rise and Vedalam has the chance to better what Arrambam and Yennai Arindhaal did. With big releases in Europe, US and the traditional overseas belts such as Malaysia and Sri Lanka, expect Vedalam to make a good killing in the overseas front.
- Whenever there is a big star film, 100 crore gross talks gain prominence. Vedalam is undeniably part of this wave, and fans expect many new box-office records and benchmarks for Thala such as the Day 1 TN gross to begin with. Things have fallen in place pretty well pre-release, and if the content works, then we may just see Vedalam in the elite Tamil 100 crores worldwide gross club.
- Shruti Haasan can register her first outright solid hit in Tamil with Vedalam. Such a result may further shoot up her already promising career.
Threats
- Competition from the other Diwali release Thoongavanam obviously is a factor. Though Vedalam clearly starts as the big opening favorite with its massive screen count and main screens, if the Kamal starrer emerges as the better film, then things could change fast. Word of mouth and content are ultimately the deciding factors. Salman Khan’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo would also be a big competing factor against Vedalam in outer-TN markets and the overseas space.
- The TN monsoon seems to be well-placed to hit its peak during the post-Diwali time and collections of both the Diwali releases may take a hit if nature unleashes its fury.
Good Luck to team Vedalam for a solid run, free from piracy concerns and other needless controversies. Therikka Vidunga !!!
Kaushik LM
