Remo (film)


Remo is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, in his directorial debut and produced by R. D. Raja under his production banner 24AM Studios. The film stars Sivakarthikeyan and Keerthy Suresh in the leading roles, while Sathish, Rajendran, Aadukalam Naren, Anson Paul, K. S. Ravikumar, Saranya Ponvannan and Sri Divya portray supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by P. C. Sreeram, and editing work was done by Ruben. Oscar-award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, was also a part of the film. The soundtrack album and background score has been composed by Anirudh Ravichander, and the soundtrack received positive response, upon release. The film follows, SK an aspiring actor, who decides to don as a female nurse, to test his acting skills and also to win the hearts of his lady love, who is a doctor by profession.
This is the debut film produced by R. D. Raja, who earlier worked as a creative producer for Sivakarthikeyan, in his movies Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam, Maan Karate, Kakki Sattai and Rajini Murugan. Earlier he started his career a promotion consultant, for movies Boss Engira Baskaran, Enthiran and Jilla. The film was initially scheduled to release on 14 March 2015, but was briefly delayed due to the script completion, and finalizing the cast and crew. The project was started, with the announcement of technical crew on 1 July 2015. Principal photography of this film, took place on 25 October 2015, in Chennai, and continued till 2 August 2016; Filming was held in Chennai, Vizag and Pondicherry. The film's title Remo was announced in February 2016.
The film had a worldwide theatrical release on 7 October 2016, coinciding with the occasion of Dusshera festival. The film received mixed reviews from critics, praising Sivakarthikeyan's acting in the role of a female nurse, and the efforts he took for donning the make over. However, the film faced criticism for glorifying stalking and the way in which Keerthy Suresh's character was written for the film. It became a commercial success grossing crore, amidst the budget of crore. The film was dubbed into Telugu under the same title, and was released on 25 November 2016. It was remade in Odia as Sister Sridevi.

Plot

Siva aka S.K is a theatre actor whose only aim is to become a superstar like Rajinikanth. However, his lack of acting out romantic scenes hinders his path to the dream, and is even rejected by director K. S. Ravikumar during the audition for his new film Avvai Shanmugi 2. He comes across Kavya, who is a doctor, and instantly falls in love with her. He goes to her house to propose his love, only to find out that she is engaged to a Pune-based doctor named Vishwanath alias Vishwa. Siva, though becoming disappointed, decides to woo Kavya anyway and somehow break her engagement with Vishwa. He disguises himself as a nurse, going by the name of "Remo", and takes up a job in the same hospital where Kavya works.
Ensuring that Kavya never finds out his true identity, Siva as Remo establishes a close friendship with her but is unable to convince her to end her engagement with Vishwa. Undeterred, he organizes a massive surprise on her birthday and proposes to her as Siva. Kavya, who has been charmed by the surprise and fallen in love with Siva, is in a dilemma as she is unable to decide between Vishwa and Siva. Siva takes advantage of her dilemma and juggles the roles of both Siva as well as Remo with the aim of breaking her engagement, all the while hiding his dual identity from her. Eventually, Kavya gives in and admits her feelings to Siva, but, to the shock of both her and Siva, Vishwa has decided to prepone their marriage to the very next day because Vishwa saw Kavya enjoying with Siva. Kavya decides to end her engagement and leave her house to be with Siva. While Kavya pours out her feelings to Siva, Vishwa arrives with some goons to forcibly take her away.It was also shown early that Vishwa had only lust for Kavya as she was very beautiful. Siva, still in his Remo guise, thrashes Vishwa and his goons, but at the same moment, he is forced to rush to the hospital to attend to a terminally-ill orphan named Nancy, with whom he had established a close bond. On Nancy's cajoling, Siva removes his Remo disguise, exposing his identity to Kavya. Betrayed and hurt, Kavya berates Siva for cheating her and ending her engagement and warns him never to go behind her again. Despite Siva's repeated pleas, Kavya refuses to budge and Siva sadly walks away.
A few months later, an old man sits next to Kavya in a bus. Kavya tells her latest problem to him: Siva is still attracted to her and constantly calls her, despite her having changed her number 46 times. However, she also adds that she still loves Siva and is only avoiding him as she wants to punish him for cheating her earlier. At this juncture, she accidentally finds out that the old man is none other than Siva in disguise. After scolding Siva for cheating her yet again, she softens and asks him to marry her, to which he happily agrees.
The film ends with Siva finally achieving his dream: acting along with his best friend Vallikanth in a movie which seems to be his life story named Remo Nee Kadhalan, directed by K. S. Ravikumar, in which actress Sri Divya plays the role of Kavya as Dr. Divya.

Cast

Development

R. D. Raja, who worked as a production consultant for movies Boss Engira Baskaran, Enthiran and Jilla, turned into a creative producer for P. Madan under the banner Escape Artists Motion Pictures. The company had produced Maan Karate and Kakki Sattai which stars Sivakarthikeyan in the lead role. During the post-production works of the latter in early February 2015, Sivakarthikeyan announced that he would work on a film, which will be produced by R. D. Raja under the banner 24AM Studios and directed by newcomer Bakkiyaraj Kannan. Kannan worked as an associate director for Atlee Kumar for the film Raja Rani.
The film was launched on 15 March 2015, but was briefly delayed to allow Bakkiyaraj Kannan to complete the script and finalise the cast and crew. Anirudh Ravichander who had composed for his earlier films, too joined as the composer in late June 2015. The project started on 1 July 2015, with the announcement of technical crew, which includes veteran cinematographer P. C. Sreeram, Academy award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, film editor Ruben, art director T. Muthuraj, stunt choreographer Anal Arasu, dance choreographer Raju Sundaram, Chennai-based costume designers Nalini Sriram, Anu Parthasarathy, Chaitanya Rao, Sean Foot from Weta Workshop, VFX Supervisor R. C. Kamalakannan as the crew members.
Sivakarthikeyan reported in the media to be sporting a female look for certain scenes. The film's title was rumoured to be Nurse Akka, while the makers officially announced the title as Remo, on 17 February 2016, coinciding with the actor's birthday, which was inspired from Vikram's character in Anniyan directed by S. Shankar.

Casting

, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Amy Jackson were signed on to portray the lead female role, but they turned down the offer, due to schedule conflicts. In October 2015, Keerthy Suresh was finalized as the heroine, collaborating with the actor for the second time after Rajinimurugan. Sathish and Rajendran were signed in as the comedians for the film. Saranya Ponvannan was chosen to play the role of Sivakarthikeyan's mother in the film. The supporting cast of the film includes Yogi Babu, Arunraja Kamaraj, Aadukalam Naren, Mayilsamy and Anson Paul, where the latter playing the villain role. In late June 2016, director K. S. Ravikumar and actress Sri Divya signed in to make a special appearance in the film.

Characters and looks

Sivakarthikeyan was spotted in three different looks, a youngster, woman, old man in the film. Sean Foot of Weta Workshop, who was a part in Vikram's I, was revealed to be on board for make-up and special effects. It was also known that Sivakarthikeyan, will feature as a nurse in 60% of the film. He also dubbed in female voice, for his role as a nurse in the film, with the assistance of sound designer Resul Pookutty.
The actor opened up about this in an interview with Kaushik LM, for The News Minute:

Filming

The film's principal photography commenced on 25 October 2015 with a photo shoot organised by Venket Ram. The film's introduction song was thereafter shot during November 2015 in the newly opened Chennai Metro and was choreographed by Raju Sundaram. After filming many portions which took place extensively in Chennai, the team moved to Vizag, in March 2016, for a new schedule. The last schedule of the film was commenced in May 2016, amidst post-production works. The film's shooting was wrapped up on 2 August 2016, and Sivakarthikeyan moved for his next film's shooting, which was directed by Mohan Raja.

Themes and influences

Sivakarthikeyan's lady getup in the film, gets inspired from Kamal Hassan's Avvai Shanmughi. The Times of India, referred the film as a rejig of all other films - Tootsie, Minnale and the actor's own Maan Karate.
In an interview with Galatta, about the promotions for his upcoming film Velaikkaran, Sivakarthikeyan explains that the director Bakkiyaraj Kannan, inspired this from Alaippayuthey, which was a classic film, in which the character Karthik, stalks his love Sakthi and then falls in love. So Sivakarthikeyan, told that "If one woos his lover, by donning a lady getup, then it is a comedy film." Says Sivakarthikeyan.

Music

The soundtrack and background score of the film were composed by Anirudh Ravichander, in which he collaborates with Sivakarthikeyan for the fifth time. The album features seven songs, and a bonus track with lyrics were written by Vignesh Shivan, Vivek, Ku. Karthik, Inno Genga and L. H. Harish Raam. The audio rights were acquired by Sony Music India. Before the album being released, four songs, "Remo Nee Kadhalan", "Senjitaley", "Sirikkadhey" and "Come Closer", were released as singles on 23 June, 1 July, 18 and 26 August. The entire album was launched on 5 September 2016, by composer A. R. Rahman, and it was made available to download on the internet. Post-release, a bonus track "Veshangalil Poiyillai" was released on 16 October, coinciding with the composer's birthday.

Release

The film was scheduled for its worldwide theatrical release on 7 October 2016, coinciding with the Dusshera holidays, and also clashing with Rekka and Devi, which were slated to release on the same day. The film was censored with a clean "U" certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification. An audio descriptive featuring Sivakarthikeyan, was premiered at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai. The dubbed Telugu version of the film, which was bagged by Dil Raju, scheduled to release on 4 November. But the film released worldwide on 25 November 2016. The film was released on 9 October 2016, in Japan, at the New Minato Aeon Mall in Nagoya region and the ticket sales were around 2000, thus becoming the first Tamil film to release in this region.

Marketing

The first look and the motion poster for the film was supposed to be released at a grand launch event, held on 9 June 2016, but it was pushed to 23 June, to avoid clash with the audio launch event of Rajinikanth-starrer Kabali, which was held on the same day. The event was held on 23 June 2016, at Chennai, where producer A. V. M. Saravanan, director Shankar and many more celebrities marking their presence, at the event, along with the film's cast and crew, and director Shankar launched the first look of the film. It features Sivakarthikeyan, as a youngster and a nurse in the film.
The making video of the film was released on 2 July 2016, at the 5th South Indian International Movie Awards event held at Singapore, which shows Sivakarthikeyan's extreme makeover as a female nurse. The theatrical trailer of the film released on 19 September 2016. It received overwhelming response from fans, and crossed 3.7 million views, with 61,000 likes, becoming the most viewed Tamil trailer of the year, after Kabali, Theri and Iru Mugan.
As a part of the film's promotion, the makers placed many "cupid" statues, across various malls and theatres, to attract kids and adults. The Tamil Nadu theatrical rights of the film were sold to. The Telugu rights of the film were acquired by Dil Raju. The first look of the film's Telugu version was happened in Hyderabad on 21 October 2016.

Home media

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Jaya TV. The film's television premiere took place on 14 January 2017, at 6:30 p.m. IST coinciding with Thai Pongal. The television rights of the dubbed Telugu and Malayalam versions, were sold to Star Maa and Asianet.

Controversies

Success meet issue

On 12 October 2016, at the success meet of the film, Sivakarthikeyan became emotional, and cried on stage. He revealed that, when the film was ready for release, there were quite a few obstacles planted by people who wanted to ensure it didn't release. He faced a similar agony when his Rajini Murugan, saw a delayed release.
P. L. Thenappan, the general secretary of Tamil Nadu Producers Council, has told a website that K. E. Gnanavelraja of Studio Green, Madan of Escape Artists and Vendhar Movies Madhan have filed formal complaints accusing the actor of taking advance amounts to act in their films, but failing to fulfil his commitments. Gnanavel Raja has an agreement copy of their deal, while the other two do not have the same. On the other hand, Sivakarthikeyan has admitted to have taken the advance amount from Gnanavel Raja, but there is no mention of the other two. Actors Simbu and Vishal, extended support to Sivakarthikeyan about the issue.

Stalking controversy

Upon release, the film irked criticism for glorifying stalking. Chennai based PhD scholar Iswarya V, started the online petition against glorification of stalking in Tamil films by their "Calling Out Stalking" campaign, because of the Swathi Murder Case, in the same year, created a nationwide rage, and also points that Tamil films routinely promote stalking, as an acceptable way of wooing a woman, but doesn't know that these are also responsible for crimes against women. The campaign had publicly advocated to boycott the film, because of the glorification of stalking, in which Sivakarthikeyan, stalks Keerthy Suresh, by dressing in drag. Many reviewers, especially from the English-press gave harshly critical response for the film, especially Ananda Vikatan, gave a review stating that "detrimental to the Tamil cinema and society". Following the controversial issue, Sivakarthikeyan in March 2018, later announced that his future films will not have drinking or stalking scenes.

Reception

Critical response

of The Hindu wrote "Remo is less about convincing us that a man can become a woman than reminding us Sivakarthikeyan has become a star." The Times of India, rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, and reviewed "The film is a rejig of elements that we have seen in other films earlier." Behindwoods rated the film 2.75 out of 5 stars, and reviewed that "Remo will certainly appeal to its target audience, and Sivakarthikeyan is charming enough to carry the whole film on his shoulders. It's a cute romantic comedy which is enjoyable and vibrant." while criticising the screenplay, further added "A wafer thin story is the biggest negative in Remo. Performances, technicalities, and promotions have managed to camouflage this weak link in the movie effectively. But if only more care was taken in the story and screenplay department, the film would have emerged as a better product." Sify rated the film 2.75 out of 5, with a statement "Remo is a watchable romantic comedy which is both funny and flashy." Studioflicks rated the film 2.75 out of 5, stating "Remo is a feel good movie with a regular Rom-Com pattern but manages to keep the audiences engrossed with beautiful visuals and technical elegance along with screen presence of Sivakarthikeyan."
S. Saraswathi of the Rediff rated 2 out of 5 stars and stated "Sivakarthikeyan does make a pretty picture as a girl, but other than that debutant director Bakkiyaraj Kannan's Remo has nothing new to offer." The Indian Express rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, with a verdict "When you walk into a Sivakarthikeyan film, especially one like Remo, you can’t expect logic; you can’t expect to be bowled over by a great script and you definitely can’t expect to like everything you see in the film. it’s disappointing that so much effort has gone into everything but the script, making Remo entertaining but not charming enough". India Today rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and stated that "Remo itself seems to be a spoof of any of actor-filmmaker Bhagyaraj's films. In all, Remo gives an all-new dimension to stalking. As its lead actor puts it, there's no problem in stalking as long as 'your love is pure'. Not sure what common people would make out of it." Firstpost reviewed it as "On the whole Remo is entertaining, provided you leave your brain behind, like the cliche goes. See it for Sivakarthikeyan, the one-man entertainer, who provides some of the craziest moments in the film." Top10Cinema gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5, stating "Remo despites having some drawbacks would definitely impress the family audiences, specifically for this festive season of long holidays." and gave a verdict "Time-worn love story packaged with Sivakarthikeyan’s dedication and technical brilliance".
Hindustan Times rated the film 2 out of 5, stating that "A done-to-death plot can’t save this film despite some impressive performances by Keerthy Suresh and Sivakarthikeyan." Silverscreen reviewed that "With a film like Remo, the audience knows that brains and sensibilities need to be left behind at home. But it takes a lot more than that to scrape this empty and misogynistic barrel for any kernels of enjoyment." OnlyKollywood rated the film 2.75/5, stating that "Despite lavishly made and rich in production values, Remo is, at best, a passable rom-com, where the rollicking comedy brings the roof down in the first half but the inevitable overdose of cliched romance portions take center-stage in the second half, which is a major let down for audiences." Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle, rated 2 out of 5, stating "Remo', turns out to be a marketing effort that targets young males with very stereotypical behaviors that are generally found in other films. The sort of young desperado who comes across a woman and decides that she is his fit and henceforth determines to pursue her wherever she goes. And, this despite the woman not reciprocating the said approaches. There’s another word reserved for such conduct: stalking, or perhaps, harassment. This in short is a Bakkiyaraj Kannan’s 'Remo' feel like: a complete mismatch of tongue-in-cheek and subject matter."

Box office

The film which released along with Rekka and Devi, made a good opening grossing crores on the first day, and on the opening weekend the film grossed crores. By the end of the first week, the film grossed crores. In Chennai, the film collected in the opening weekend, in the first week and, in the second week, totaling up to.
The film collected in Tamil Nadu, in Kerala, in Karnataka, and in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with, in other parts of India, the overall box-office collection accounts to, and collected in overseas. The film's overall collection was. Despite the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation, the film became a commercial success.

Accolades