Boss Engira Bhaskaran

Plot

Bhaskaran (Arya) is a happy-go-lucky youth who is yet to complete his B. A. Degree, writing arrear examinations for years. His only friend is Nallathambi (Santhanam) who owns a Hair saloon named Thala-Thalapathi Saloon (named after the titles of actors Ajith and Vijay) which he received as dowry for marrying a woman who was two months pregnant. Bhaskaran, during an arrear exam, happens to meet lecturer Chandrika (Nayantara) and instantly gets attracted to her, though she disapproves of him because he attempted to copy during the exam.

Bhaskaran lives with his widowed mother Sivakami (Lakshmi Ramakrishnan), brother Saravanan (Panchu Subbu) who is a successful veterinarian and sister, Nithya (Monisha). When Saravanan marries Nandhini (Vijayalakshmi), Bhaskaran discovers that Nandhini's younger sister is Chandrika, and wishes to marry her. When he approaches his family for the alliance, everyone talks of his unemployed status which rankles him and causes him to leave his house to prove himself.

Bhaskaran faces many obstacles in his path to prove himself. He is insulted by Chandrika's father Shanmugasundaram (Chitra Lakshmanan), and does not even have a place to live. After many difficulties, Bhaskaran, with the support of Nallathambi, establishes a tutorial for Class X students. Nallathambi goes and gets money from Velpandi (Rajendran), a local don, who signs an agreement that if his son Paalpandi (Ashvin Raja) does not pass in his exam, he will take Nallathambi's property and make him work in his cow dung place. Velpandi reveals his family history: his father, in his X standard examination, forced his teacher to write the exam. Velpandi, during his exam, wrote only four words in his paper with a billhook symbol, blackmailing the teacher into making him pass or risk being killed. Velpandi's son Paalpandi sleeps in exam hall and if anybody tries to wake him, he will bite the teacher's hand. However, in the end, Paalpandi's son starts to study and makes other's listen in the class when Bhaskaran appoints a blind teacher. Despite early setbacks, Bhaskaran makes a very heavy profit on the deal, while his students top in the state, Velpaandi's son passes in his exam with good marks. Velpaandi tears the agreement, offer's Nallathambi huge amount of money with no interest and appreciates him for making Paalpandi pass in the exams. It also convinces Chandrika, who eventually reciprocates his love. However, Shanmugasundaram is against the marriage as he had once been insulted by a drunk Nallathambi, who also gave him the nickname "Mongoose Mandaiyan" (Mongoose Head). Shiva (Jiiva), a supposed teetotaller, is introduced as Chandrika's prospective groom. Bhaskaran then confronts Shiva, explaining to him that he loves Chandrika. The two get into a fight soon after, but when Shanmugasundaram arrives at the spot, he learns the truth: Shiva was hired by Bhaskaran to fool everyone about his identity. Under Shiva and Bhaskaran's orders, a disappointed Shanmugasundaram finally is forced to unite Bhaskaran and Chandrika.

Cast

Production

The film was officially launched on 19 November 2009 at the AVM Studios, with the film starting shooting in December first week. Rajesh, following his sleeper hit Siva Manasula Sakthi, decided to make another comedy film and to cast Arya, who appeared in a cameo role in Siva Manasula Sakthi, in the titular role, while Jiiva in return will make a cameo appearance in the film. As the film's backdrop is set to be both village as well as city, the film was shot at various location including Thanjavur, Mysore and Trichy. A major part of the film was filmed at Kumbakonam, while a few scenes were shot in Chennai as well. Shooting was also carried on in the Swiss Alps, where some song sequences were picturized. Principal photography ended on 3 August 2010 with the completion of the last song that was canned at a set erected at Binny Mills near Chennai. Arya revealed that the script went through changes during production, with Rajesh eventually opting not to include portions where Bhaskaran's brother gets killed in the film. Instead of implementing a revenge script, Rajesh chose to make it a full-length comedy.

While Vasan Visual Ventures that produced Arya's Naan Kadavul, produced this film as well, Arya purchased the rights in the midst to release it under his own production banner "The Show People". The film's distribution rights, however, were again acquired by Red Giant Movies, led by Udhayanidhi Stalin, who would enact the lead role in Rajesh's next project.

Soundtrack

Following the success of Siva Manasula Sakthi, Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the musical score and soundtrack of Boss Engira Bhaskaran, too. The soundtrack album, which was released on 27 August 2010 at Sathyam Cinemas, contains 5 tracks, featuring lyrics penned by Na. Muthukumar.The soundtrack received positive response.

Release

The satellite rights of the film were secured by Kalaignar. The film was given a "U" certificate by the Indian Censor Board. In November 2011, it was shown at the International Tamil Film Festival held in Uglich, Russia, alongside Thillana Mohanambal (1968), Chandramukhi (2005), Sivaji (2007), Angadi Theru (2010), Thenmerku Paruvakaatru (2010) and Ko (2011).

Box office

Boss Engira Bhaskaran sold 7.3 million tickets worldwide. It released on Eid day, the end of Ramadan, opening across 240 screens in Tamil Nadu with reportedly 95.5% average theatre occupancy, which, according to trade sources, was the best ever first day opening for Arya then, which resulted in an increase of the number of shows and screens. In its opening weekend, the film was said to have earned ₹58 lakh in Chennai, as reported by Behindwoods, while according to Sify.com, it grossed ₹65 lakh. At the end of the second weekend, the film had netted ₹10 crore from 275 screens. The film emerged as the second blockbuster in Arya's career since Arinthum Ariyamalum and the fifth most successful film of the year.

Critical response

The film was opened up to positive reviews. Sify stated that "Rajesh has pulled off the impossible, making a family comedy work a second time armed with nothing more than a few situational gaffes and couple of funny dialogues. It’s pure escapist fare and will work big time, as there is paucity of healthy entertainment for the family audiences." Indiaglitz wrote "Rajesh has made spoof of some contemporary Tamil films in an enjoyable manner." and "Boss Engira Baskaran is right there oozing with abundant energy and unlimited fun. Kudos to Udhayanidhi for choosing quality films with varied stories that leave an impression with the masses." Chennai Online specially pointed out the plus points of the film "The comic scenes aided by dialogues and the bonding between the two friends are a huge plus and reason enough to see the movie. The casting of each character has been aptly done with no room for excess anywhere making for one smooth ride all through. Nayan and Arya make an adequate pair though there are no great sparks of chemistry between them. However Nayan does make a pretty picture throughout."

Behindwoods gave 2.5 out of 5 and expressed that "Director Rajesh might just pull it off this time too because he’s got everything right for a comic caper. He also efficiently camouflages the saggy little portions in both the halves of his movie with crisply written dialogues. Perfect for a weekend in which you decide not to give your brain much work." A critic from the Times of India gave 3 out of 5 and praised the film saying "When the director shows Boss watching 'Annamalai' on TV and getting inspired, you are not surprised. But his excuses, when facing various career options, make Boss an original. The tutorial college angle may be predictable, but soon humour is back on track, and it is enjoyable. You will also come away with some amazing performances."

Legacy

The dialogue "Nanbenda" spoken by Santhanam in the film became famous and went viral after the release. The dialogue has inspired a film of same name. "The title, which means friend, was apt because it's a story about two friends. So we felt it will make sense to use it," the film's director Jagadish said. Jagadish is the former associate of filmmaker Rajesh. Another term used by Santhanam in the film, "Appatakkar" (know-all) also gained popularity.