Singam (film series)

Singam (transl. Lion) is an Indian Tamil-language action film series centered around the title character, an honest police officer who aims to eliminate corruption from the society.[1] The film series began in 2010 with the release of Singam, directed by Hari and starring Surya Sivakumar as the titular character; it received positive reviews and grossed ₹90 crore worldwide.[2] The first film also spawned two direct sequels: Singam II (2013), and Si3 (2017).

Singam
Series logo
Directed byHari
Produced byK. E. Gnanavelraja
(Singam, Si3)
S. Lakshman Kumar
(Singam 2)
Written byHari
Based onCreated by Hari
Music byDevi Sri Prasad
(Singam, Singam 2)
Harris Jayaraj
(Si3)
CinematographyPriyan
(Singam, Singam 2, Si3)
Edited byV. T. Vijayan
(Singam, Singam 2, Si3)
T. S. Jay
(Singam 2, Si3)
Production
company
Studio Green
(Singam, Si3)
Prince Pictures
(Singam 2)
Pen Movies
(Singam 2)
Distributed bySun Pictures
(Singam)
2D Entertainment
(Singam 2)
Pen Movies
(Si3)
Release date
1: 28 May 2010,
2: 5 July 2013,
3: 9 February 2017
Running time
478 minutes
LanguageTamil
Budget1: ₹15 crore
2: ₹45 crore
3:₹65 crore
Box office1: ₹90 crore
2: ₹122 crore
3: ₹110 crore

Synopsis

Singam (2010)
Main article: Singam

Durai Singam (Suriya), is the honest police sub inspector of Nallur, assisted by his bumbling colleague Erimalai (Vivek). His family business is provision stores and Duraisingam wants to join it, but he joined police due to his father's wishes. He resolves most of the problems in his village with non-violence and mutual counselling. He uses force only when the situation demands it, thereby gaining much reputation and love from the villagers. Mahalingam (Nassar) is an industrialist in Chennai and a friend of Singam's father (Radha Ravi). He comes to the village with his beautiful daughter Kavya (Anushka Shetty). Eventually Singam and Kavya fall in love with each other. Everything seems to be smooth-running until Chennai-based Mayil Vaaganam (Prakash Raj), a big-time extortionist with shady mafia dealings who blackmails people by complaining to the Income Tax Department, is required to travel to Nallur to sign a conditional bail. He instead, sends one of his allies to do the formalities, much to the anger and rage of Singam who demands Mayil sign the bail in person. Humiliated, Mayil reaches Nallur but is unable to take any revenge on Singam fearing the immense love and devotion of the entire village towards Singam. Using his political contacts, he gets Singam transferred to Chennai to teach him a lesson. The next part of the movie revolved how Duraisingam overtake problem given by Mail Vaaganam

Singam II (2013)
Main article: Singam II

Picking up the storyline from where Singam ended, Duraisingam (Suriya) has gone undercover after meeting the Home Minister and is working as an NCC officer in a school in Thoothukudi. The only people who know about this operation are the Chief Minister and Home Minister apart from himself. Sathya (Hansika Motwani) is a student who falls for Duraisingam though he is waiting to marry Kavya (Anushka Shetty), his love interest from the previous film. Susai (Santhanam), a local who works in the same school shows Duraisingam parts of Thoothukudi and also tells him about the rouge elements dominating the area helping him in his surveillance. He requests the Home Minister to transfer Erimalai (Vivek) and another cop for assisting him. Sathya's moves are frequently repulsed by Duraisingam who learns that Sathya is the niece of Thangaraj (Rahman). Bhai (Mukesh Rishi) and Thangaraj, are two criminals who control the area. Bhai and Thangaraj have connections with an international gangster and drug lord Danny (Danny Sapani). Though they are partners in their smuggling business, they conceal their partnership to the outside world and pretend like arch rivals when they are out in the public. How Duraisingam overcomes the criminals, brings down their empire and finally unites with Kavya forms the crux of the story.

Si3 (2017)
Main article: Si3 (film)

The film starts with tremble in Andhra Pradesh assembly where long pending murder case of city commissioner Ramakrishna (Jayaprakash) is being discussed where home minister K. Satyanarayana (Sarath Babu) proposes to bring DCP Durai Singam (Suriya) from Tamil Nadu police to solve the long pending case. Initially being attacked by Madhusudhana Reddy's (Sharat Saxena) men at railway station at arrival Durai Singam bashes them out and joins the Visakhapatnam police force under CBI pretending to be casual and not serious about the murder case Durai Singam secretly investigates the case from all aspects. Meanwhile, Durai Singam is being followed by Vidhya (Shruti Haasan) whom is a journalist from Andhra Pradesh tracking Durai Singam in disguise as student applied for IPS exams. Durai Singam initially says divorced his wife Kavya (Anushka Shetty), but secretly contacts her. Later, after suspicion of Subba Rao (Robo Shankar) it is told to be play to avoid Kavya from attacks from suspects of murder case. But, finally finding Reddy is behind the murder in series of investigation decides to wipe out goondas in Vispakhapatnam along with arresting Police officers involved in murder of commissioner. After, tracking a suspect he come across to know illegal dumping of Bio-waste and E-Waste from Australia by Vittal Prasad Thakur Anoop Singh a wealthy businessman from Australia and son of central minster Ram Prasad (Suman) who works as master mind behind dumping of Wates from Australia in Vishakhapatnam by help of Reddy and his staff Rajeev Krishna (Kamalesh). When the commissioner tried to expose this to media he was brutally killed by Reddy and his subordinates. This is proved by witness from commissioner's driver Mallaya (Jeeva Ravi) and school teacher (Joe Malluri) who lost his granddaughter in toxic smoke caused by burning wates from Australia in nearby dumpyard. When Durai Singam attempts to arrest Reddy and Vittal Prasad with help the witness and evidence collected. But, Reddy's men kills the school teacher and warns Durai Singam that he destroy his whole family from Australia if he further investigates the case. Vittal tries to escape through plane but Durai Singam stops him and takes him to Talakona forest and kills him there.

Singam 4

Shortly after the release of Si3, Suriya confirmed that he and Hari would return for a fourth film in the series, but "say, after five years".[3]

Cast

Singam

Singam 2

Singam 3

Recurring cast and characters
List indicator(s)
  • This table shows characters that have appeared in one or more films in the series.
  • A empty dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has yet to be announced.
  • A Y indicates a role as a younger version of the character.
  • An O indicates a role as an older version of the character.
  • A U indicates an uncredited role.
  • A C indicates a cameo role.
  • A V indicates a voice-only role
  • A S indicates a stills or photographs role.
  • An A indicates an appearance through archival footage.
Characters Films
Singam
(2010)		 Singam II
(2013)		 Si3
(2017)
Durai Singam Suriya
Kavya Mahalingam Anushka Shetty
Soundara Pandi Radha Ravi
Kalyani Sumithra
Tamil Nadu Home Minister, Ramanathan Vijayakumar
Dhanalakshmi Yuvarani
Mahalingam Nassar
Bharathi Mahalingam Janaki Sabesh
Kavya's Grandfather Delhi Kumar
Kavya's Grandmother Manorama
Harbour Shanmugam Thyagu
Palani Crane Manohar
Erimalai Vivek
Divya Mahalingam Priya Mohan
Rajendran Nizhalgal Ravi Nizhalgal RaviC
Mayil Vaaganam Prakash Raj Prakash RajUA
Vaikuntam Adithya Menon Adithya MenonUA
Sathya Hansika Motwani Hansika MotwaniUA
Danny (Michael Kong) Danny Sapani Danny SapaniUA

Production

Singam (2010)
Main article: Singam

After Suriya had finished K. S. Ravikumar's Aadhavan, discussions regarding his subsequent project, notably his 25th film, were held. Initially, reports emerged that it was going to be directed by Prabhu Deva.[4] At the launch of his film Seval in May 2009, however, director Hari announced officially that he would direct Suriya's 25th film titled Singam and that he had finished penning the script.[4] Becoming Suriya's third film with Hari following Aaru and Vel, it was announced that the project would release in July 2010. Suriya's cousin, K. E. Gnanavel Raja was announced as the producer.[5]

Though initial reports suggested that Yuvan Shankar Raja would score the music, Devi Sri Prasad was chosen as the music director, thus becoming his third venture with Suriya. Suriya was revealed to play a police officer in the film, the second time in his career after Kaakha Kaakha.[6] Anushka was chosen to play the female lead, after several actresses were considered and approached.[5] Priyan was chosen as the lead camera man and V.T. Vijayan as the editor.[7]

Singam II (2013)
Main article: Singam II

Reprising their roles from the original film are Anushka Shetty, Vivek, Vijayakumar, Nassar and Radha Ravi while Hansika Motwani was signed on as the second female lead.[8] British actor Danny Sapani plays the main antagonist.[9] The actress Anjali is also featured in an item number.[10] Prakash Raj did not return for the sequel, but he can be seen in clips from Singam that are intermittently featured during Singam II. The film was shot mainly in Kerala, Tuticorin, Chennai, Tirunelveli and Karaikudi. The director has also filmed some of the key songs, stunts and talkie portions in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, as well as Malaysia and Kenya. Primary production began in September 2012 and lasted for seven months until filming was wrapped up on 30 April 2013.[11]

Singam 3 (2017)
Main article: Si3 (film)

Following the commercial success of Singam 2, Hari was keen to collaborate with Suriya for another action film with a fresh script away from the Singam franchise, and agreed terms in principle with the actor in October 2014.[12][13] Hari revealed that as a result of pressure from those around him, he later developed the one-line story from the film into a script for a third part of Singam. While the first film was primarily shot within Tamil Nadu and the second featured a few scenes in South Africa, Hari stated that the third part would be more "international" and would be set in three countries as the protagonist tackles a global issue.[14][15]

While most of the cast was retained from the earlier films, Shruti Haasan was added to the team in July 2015 to portray another leading female role, while Anirudh Ravichander was signed as the music composer replacing Devi Sri Prasad.[16][17] Anirudh later opted out of the project citing scheduling issues and Harris Jayaraj was brought in to compose the film's music.[18] Vivek, who portrayed the police officer Erimalai in the first two films, declined to reprise his role in this film as he felt he "did not have a meaty role in it".[19] New actors to the series including Radhika, Soori, Robo Shankar, Krish and Nithin Sathya were added to the cast, while Thakur Anoop Singh was signed on to portray the lead antagonist.[20][21][22] In preparation for his role, Suriya bulked up his physique by spending more hours in the gym and by adopting a strict oil-free diet.[23]

The start of the film's shoot, initially scheduled for December 2015, was delayed as a result of the 2015 South Indian floods.[24] Production began in Visakhapatnam during January 2015 with scenes featuring Shruti Haasan as a journalist being shot. Following a series of action sequences shot in the city, the team moved to film song sequences in Romania with Anushka joining the team.[25][26] After a production break, the team restarted the shoot in Visakhapatnam, before moving to the Talakona Forest region and then on the AVM Studios in Chennai during mid-2016.[27][28][29] The team moved to Malaysia to finish filming the climax in October 2016, before a further song was shot in Georgia with Suriya and Shruti Haasan.[30][31] In January 2017, the film was re-titled from S3 to Si3 (spelt சி3 in Tamil) to exploit the Tamil Nadu Government's rule of entertainment tax exemption for films titled in Tamil.[32][33]

Crew
Occupation Film
Singam
(2010)		 Singam II
(2013)		 Si3
(2017)
Director Hari
Producer(s) K. E. Gnanavel Raja
Reliance Big Pictures		 S. Lakshman Kumar K. E. Gnanavel Raja
Dhaval Jayatilal Gada
Executive Producer(s) S. R. Prabhu
S.R. Prakashbabu
Mahesh Ramanathan		 Suriya
Kyle Ambrose
Delon Bakker		 S. R. Prabhu
S.R. Prakashbabu
Distributor(s) Sun Pictures 2D Entertainment Pen Movies
Story, Screenplay and Dialogue Writer Hari
Music Director(s) Devi Sri Prasad Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography Priyan
Editor(s) V. T. Vijayan V. T. Vijayan
T. S. Jay
Art Director K. Kadhir
Lyricist(s) Na. Muthukumar
Viveka
Hari
Megha		 Viveka Pa. Vijay
Thamarai
Viveka
Hari
Harris Jayaraj
Ramya NSK
Dinesh Kanagaratnam
Maalavika Manoj
Lady Kash
M. C. Vickey
Stunt Co-ordinator(s) Rocky Rajesh
Anal Arasu		 Kanal Kannan
Anbariv
Choreographer(s) Brinda
Shobi
Baba Bhaskar		 Raju Sundaram
Robert
Baba Bhaskar		 Brinda
Shobi
Baba Bhaskar
Costume Designer(s) Vivek Karunakaran
Pallavi-Neha
Bharani
Anu		 Nikhaar Dhawan
Uma
Chaitanya Rao		 Neha Gnanavel Raja
V. Sai

Reception

Sify described the film Singam as a "predictable entertainer that follows the age old formula", while Suriya "carries the film to the winning post. His passion and the way he brings an ordinary regular larger-than-life hero character alive on screen is lesson for other commercial heroes".[34] Rediff.com felt it was an "unapologetic... entertainer and has Suriya in every frame. Lovers of commercial potpourri will definitely get their money's worth."[35] The film was the third highest-grossing Tamil film of 2010, earning more than ₹5.38 crore in Chennai alone.[36] In Malaysia, the film collected $1,471,508 and $12,956 in United Kingdom.[37]

With regard to Singam II, Rediff.com felt "the film has a lot of power-packed action sequences and the story races along with a tremendous pace keeping you engaged throughout... The only negative would be the length – the movie runs for almost three hours. A slightly shorter version would have created a greater impact".[38] Deccan Chronicle gave it the verdict: "Even if you are not a Suriya fan, Singam 2 is worth a watch. The film roars rather well."[39] In contrast, Zee News felt, "Suriya is the only character that makes you feel satisfied in the entire movie".[40] Singam II had a sold-out opening with as much as 95–100% occupancy.[41] According to Sify, the film stayed inside the top five positions at Chennai box office continuously for eight weeks after its release and was declared a 'Superhit'.[42]

Reviewing Si3, The Times of India lauded Suriya and Hari, writing,"[His] consistency in handling cop stories convincingly and entertainingly needs to be commended as he has been proving his expertise repeatedly".[43] The New Indian Express similarly praised Suriya, but found "as a commercial film director, [Hari's] storytelling methods also suffer from following a set of rules, which include frequent yawn-inducing songs".[44] In contrast,The Hindu felt it was "loud, fast, and without a single memorable moment".[45] Likewise, Sify called the film "a cocktail of harebrained predictable plot, exhausting action scenes and slapstick comedy".[46] The film collected ₹20.15 crore (US$2.8 million) in domestic box office on its opening day and ₹77 crore (US$11 million) in 5 days of release.[47] It collected ₹100 crore (US$14 million) worldwide in 6 days.[48]

In other media

Soori imitated the character of Durai Singam in Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013).[49]

References
  1. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/singam-franchise-a-milestone-in-my-career-suriya/articleshow/57053638.cms
  2. "#DecadeOfRoaringSINGAM: Here are some interesting facts about Suriya's action-packed cop drama". The Times of India. 28 May 2020.
  3. "'Singam 4' after five years: Suriya". The Times of India. 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  4. "Suriya in Singam".
  5. "Suriya – Tamil Movie News – What impressed Suriya – Suriya | Hari | Singam". Behindwoods. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  6. "Singam:25th film for Suriya has more reason to be special". talkkolly. 7 December 2005. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  7. "Suriya's Kakka Kakka sequel? – Behindwoods.com – Tamil Movie News – Suriya Singam Hari". Behindwoods. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  8. "Hansika in 'Singam 2'?". IndiaGlitz. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  9. "' Singam 2' gets Hollywood Villain". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  10. "Anjali to do item number in Singham-2". Sify. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  11. "Singam 2 completed". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  12. "Not sure if next film with Suriya is Singam 3: Director Hari". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  13. "'Singam' franchise a milestone in my career: Suriya | Tamil Movie News". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  14. "Suriya's 'Singam 3' to be shot across four countries". The Indian Express. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  15. "In one hell of a Hari". The Hindu. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  16. "Exclusive: Director Hari reveals Suriya's 'Singam 3' will take off from where 'Singam 2' ends". Dnaindia.com. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  17. "Suriya, Hari to team up for 'Singam III'". The Indian Express. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  18. "Singam 3 begins with song composition". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  19. "My sense of humour has kept me going during tough times: Vivekh". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  20. "Singam 3 gets Soori onboard now". Top 10 Cinema. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  21. "Singer Krish Plays A Cop In 'Singam 3'". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  22. "Singam 3: Behold the bad lion as actor Thakur Anoop Singh reveals his look, see pic". The Indian Express. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  23. "Singam 3 Si3: Here's Suriya's workout and diet regime for 'Singam 3' | Tamil Movie News". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  24. "Suriya's Singam 3 Shoot Delayed Due to Chennai Rains – NDTV Movies". Movies.ndtv.com. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  25. "Shooting for Suriya's Singam 3 to begin from next week | regional movies". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  26. Manohar, Niveda. "Singam 3 Shoot Moves To Romania". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  27. "Shooting restarts for Suriya's 'Singam 3' in Vizag". The News Minute. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  28. "Suriya's Singam 3 team heads for Malaysia to shoot the climax scene | regional movies". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  29. "Singam 3: Suriya shoots climax sequence in Talakona forest : Regional cinema, News". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  30. "Singam 3 Georgia schedule underway". Only Kollywood. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  31. "Suriya's Singam 3 working stills in Malaysia – Photos". Ibtimes.co.in. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  32. "From S III to Si 3". Deccan Chronicle. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  33. "It's official: Suriya's Si3 new release date is Feb 9". Sify.com. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  34. "Movie Review:Singam- Review". Sify. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  35. "Singam, the mother of all masala films – Rediff.com Movies". Movies.rediff.com. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  36. "2010 – TOP 20 MOVIES IN CHENNAI BOX OFFICE". Behinwoods. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  37. "Singam Box Office Mojo". Box office Mojo. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  38. "Review: Singam 2 roars louder than ever". Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  39. "Review: Suriya's Singam 2". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  40. "Review: 'Singam 2' bigger but not better". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  41. "Singam 2 gets grand opening". The Times of India. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  42. "Chennai Box-Office — Aug 23 to 25 – Sify.com". sify.com. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  43. "Si3 film Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  44. "Singam 3 movie review: Si3 is Suriya's show all the way". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  45. "Singam 3: Loud, fast, and without a single memorable moment". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  46. "Review : Si 3 review: Loud and exhausting!". Sify.com. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  47. "Singam 3 box office collection: Suriya's Si3 racing towards Rs 100 cr, Singam 4 on cards". The Indian Express. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  48. "Singam 3 box office collection: Suriya's Si3 collects Rs 100 cr, Singam 4 on cards". The Indian Express. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVjUOr4zUyA
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