Sivaji: The Boss is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film directed by Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, Shriya Saran, Vivek, and Suman. In the film, a software systems architect seeks to provide free medical treatment and education but faces hurdles from the political system and an influential businessman.
A. R. Rahman composed the music in his 100th milestone composition, while the art direction, cinematography and editing were handled by Thota Tharani, K. V. Anand and Anthony respectively. With a budget of , the film was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. Rajinikanth became the highest-paid Indian actor with this film, earning a fee of around . Pre-production work for Sivaji began in August 2005 and Principal photography of the film commenced in November 2005 and lasted till February 2007. Filming took place in various locations, including Hyderabad, Spain, Italy, New York City, Pune and Chennai. It became the first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos surround sound technology.
Released on 15 June 2007, Sivaji received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success by grossing ₹125-160 crore worldwide. It emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films at its release. The film won a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards and two Vijay Awards. The film was converted into 3D and released on 12 December 2012 as Sivaji 3D. The runtime of the 3D version was shorter than the original, cut to 155 minutes. It also the first Tamil film to enter the 100 crore club.
Plot Sivaji Arumugam, a highly successful Indian systems architect, returns to his homeland after a lucrative career in the United States. Driven by philanthropy, he plans to invest his life savings into the Sivaji Foundation, a massive non-profit trust designed to establish a network of state-of-the-art universities and hospitals that serve the impoverished free of charge. His noble ambitions immediately draw the ire of Adiseshan, a ruthless, politically connected billionaire who operates a monopolistic empire of profit-driven educational and medical institutions. Viewing the foundation as a catastrophic threat to his commercial interests, Adiseshan orchestrates bureaucratic roadblocks.
To secure basic permits and licenses, Sivaji is systematically extorted by a deeply entrenched network of corrupt government officials. Refusing to let his vision die, he exhaustively liquidates his international assets and mortgages his remaining property to meet the relentless bribery demands. Amidst this turmoil, Sivaji falls in love with Tamizhselvi, a demure saleswoman at a music shop. While her traditional family initially hesitates, Sivaji wins their affection and approval. However, a family astrologer warns that their union will bring absolute financial ruin and culminate in Sivaji’s premature death. Terrified for his safety, Tamizhselvi attempts to withdraw, but Sivaji dismisses the superstition and convinces her to proceed with the marriage.
Adiseshan escalates his sabotage by manipulating judicial levers, dragging Sivaji into a targeted state litigation. The court rules against the foundation, forcing its immediate closure and stripping a bankrupt Sivaji of his remaining possessions. Realizing that playing by the rules has failed him, Sivaji alters his strategy to fight the system from within. Aided by his maternal uncle, Arivu, he uses a specialized digital wiretap to intercept proof of Adiseshan’s hidden ₹2 billion illegal cash reserves. He blackmails the tycoon, forcing him to surrender half the fortune. When Adiseshan dispatches a squad of mercenaries to reclaim the funds, Sivaji brutally subdues them, subsequently reforming the henchmen by offering their families employment within his revived trust. He systematically applies the same extortion tactic against every corrupt politician and bureaucrat who previously exploited him. To legitimize the recovered billions, he routes the funds through an intricate network of international friends who return the money to India disguised as foreign philanthropic donations. After alerting the Income Tax Department to secure Adiseshan's arrest for massive tax evasion, Sivaji marries Tamizhselvi.
Sivaji next leverages incriminating evidence against the corrupt Chief Minister, forcing the legal reopening of the Sivaji Foundation. Adiseshan, having secured bail, manipulates Tamizhselvi's naive anxieties through compromised CBI operatives, tricking her into surrendering Sivaji's encrypted laptop. Sivaji is promptly arrested. Adiseshan and complicit police officials attempt to bypass the laptop's advanced voice-recognition encryption, but Sivaji refuses to cooperate, prompting them to torture him to the brink of cardiac arrest. To conceal the custodial abuse, Adiseshan coordinates a staged ambush on the police transit van, intending to frame external mercenaries for Sivaji's murder.
However, having been tipped off about the execution plot by a sympathetic constable, Sivaji successfully fakes his death inside the holding cell by intentionally electrocuting himself to induce a temporary state of suspended animation. During the staged transit ambush, a medical rescue team led by his close friend Dr. Chezhian, along with Tamizhselvi and Arivu, covertly intercepts the vehicle, swaps Sivaji's body with a anatomical dummy, and revives him using a defibrillator.
Following his official "death," the CBI's repeated failed attempts to access the laptop trigger a security wipe, permanently erasing his files. Days later, a fully recovered Sivaji returns to the public eye under the guise of an enigmatic, wealthy Non-Resident Indian named M. G. Ravichandran, assuming control of the thriving foundation. Though an infuriated Adiseshan instantly recognizes the deception, he lacks the legal standing to expose him. Sivaji corners Adiseshan at his flagship commercial college, culminating in a violent rooftop confrontation. During the scuffle, Sivaji fractures the structural ceiling of Adiseshan’s hidden treasury room. Millions in illicit currency rain down onto the campus below, inciting a massive student stampede in which Adiseshan is trampled to death. With the opposition dismantled, the Sivaji Foundation flourishes, permanently altering the country's socioeconomic landscape.
Cast
Production
Development In 1996, following the release of his Indian, Shankar approached and pitched three storylines to Rajinikanth to consider for his next venture. This included scripts which would later become Sivaji (2007), Enthiran (2010) and I (2015). Rajinikanth was sceptical and refused all three scripts at the time.
In August 2005, Rajinikanth signed up for his next film which was to be produced by Chennai's oldest operative studio, AVM Productions, which was run by M. S. Guhan and M. Saravanan. This time Shankar was confirmed to be the film's director. After consulting Sivaji Ganesan's family to avoid any issues with the film's name, the project was subsequently announced on 24 August 2005 under the title Sivaji. A tagline, The Boss, which stands for "Bachelor of Social Service", was suffixed to the title.
In addition to being AVM Productions' 168th film, Sivaji was also Rajinikanth's 154th film, his 100th Tamil film and his ninth film with AVM Productions. According to Rajinikanth's biographer Naman Ramachandran, the film was also made to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the production company's founder, A. V. Meiyappan. Sivaji was also noted for its change in the traditional yellow-coloured Rajinikanth introductory text which made its debut with Annaamalai (1992). Instead the text is displayed in Chrome.
Cast and crew The first choice for the role of the female lead was Aishwarya Rai. However, in October 2005, Shankar and Rajinikanth announced that actress Shriya Saran would play the female lead role. Saran's voice was dubbed by actress Kanika, who was selected after a successful voice test, thereby collaborating for the second time with Shankar. Actor Vivek was signed up for the role of Sivaji's maternal uncle, Arivu, in November 2005. Actress Sunaina was to have made her acting debut through this film; her scene however was removed from the final cut. Nayanthara, who had earlier worked with Rajinikanth in Chandramukhi, was signed up to perform a special appearance alongside Rajinikanth in the song "Baleilakka".
Suman was confirmed in March 2006 to play the antagoinst role of Adiseshan after Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal and Prakash Raj were considered. Sathyaraj, who acted with Rajinikanth in Mr. Bharath (1986), said he declined the role because, "After a film of the calibre of Mr. Bharath with Rajnikanth, I couldn't settle for anything less". In another interview, he said he wanted to focus on playing lead roles and hence declined to play an antagonist. Mohanlal said he declined as he could not commit to the project for an entire year without missing out on other projects. For his role, Suman removed his moustache and used dentures to make his smile visible. Shankar instructed one of the costume designers to give the character a spotless white dhoti, shirt, shoes, a Rolex watch and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Before this, Suman had acted with Rajinikanth in Thee (1981). Subbu Panchu dubbed for Suman. Debate speakers Solomon Pappaiah and Pattimandram Raja were selected to play supporting roles, with the latter making his cinematic acting debut. Vadivukkarasi and Manivannan were selected to play Sivaji's parents. Raghuvaran appeared in a small role as Dr. Chezhian.
Shankar, who also wrote the film's story and screenplay, was paid a then record salary of 100 million (Indian rupees) for the project. A. R. Rahman, who was selected to compose the film's soundtrack and background score, was also paid 30 million. Sujatha was assigned to write the dialogues for Sivaji. Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan, who would later direct the film Karuppampatti (2013), worked as an assistant director in this film. Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya worked as a graphics designer, creating the title for this film; she had earlier worked in the same position on two of her father's films – Baba (2002) and Chandramukhi (2005). K. V. Anand was hired as the cinematographer in August 2005. Manish Malhotra was responsible for designing the film's costumes, while Anthony and Thota Tharani were the editor and art director respectively. Additional make-up for Rajinikanth was done by make-up artist Banu. Director S. P. Muthuraman worked as the film's co-producer.
Filming
Principal photography commenced on 28 November 2005 with a puja at AVM Productions. The film's launch was a secret event, with only pivotal members of the cast and crew being called for the event's attendance. The first schedule of Sivaji began on 14 December 2005 with the song "Vaaji Vaaji" featuring Rajinikanth and Saran being shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. The idea of shooting at Ramoji Film City was suggested to Shankar by Tharani who felt that the place offered a lot of scope for him to use his skills and experience as an art director. "Vaaji Vaaji" was picturised with an intention to showcase a Babylonian palace setting when Shankar requested Tharani to show "a palace with lots of colour". Tharani created a four-storey Babylonian palace to accommodate 80 dancers and 100 junior artists for the number. The set was built within 30 days. Shooting of the number, which according to K. V. Anand was filmed in Super 35 motion picture film format, was completed in eight days. G. Dhananjayan mentions in his book The Best of Tamil Cinema that 35 million was spent on the song's making.