Buzz around Sivakarthikeyan's Remo unprecedented; will it be his ticket to superstardom?

Sivakarthikeyan is one of those actors who has risen up the ladder of success and fame, and is today considered a step away from super-stardom. Upcoming film Remo is his 10th release in four years is releasing in over 1000 screens worldwide for the 5-day Pooja weekend starting on 7 October. It has become one of the hottest films for advance booking in Chennai city and rest of Tamil Nadu. Tickets for the film have been sold out in all multiplexes in the city and suburbs for the weekend. [caption id=“attachment_3037822” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Poster of the film. Youtube screen grab.[/caption] Sivakarthikeyan started his career as a stand–up comedian and television presenter, and went on to star in Marina. This was followed by a string of small budget movies like Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, Ethir Neechal and Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, which went on to become top grossers. Then came the typical mass entertainers Maan Karate, _Khakki Satta_i and Rajini Murugan, which made him one of the most saleable stars in Tamil cinema. His last release Rajini Murugan did the kind of business a Vijay or Ajith film does. He also has a huge following among family audiences. Today, Tamil film trade has put him among the top five stars in Kollywood, with a phenomenal reach in B and C stations mainly rural Tamil Nadu. The trailer of Remo, directed by debutant Bhyakaraj Kannan, was an instant hit and crossed 5 million views. In the film Sivakarthikeyan in a drag as a nurse tries to woo the heroine Keerthi Suresh a doctor. His perfect get-up as the nurse made the trailer a huge success. There has been online buzz that the film is a rip-off of Dustin Hoffman’s Tootsie, but yet there is huge anticipation among audiences to watch Siva in a drag avatar. Kamal Haasan had donned the female look in Avvai Shanmughi in the 90s, which is where the fad began. The sound-mixing of Remo has been done by Oscar winner Resul Pookutty and camera is by national award winning ace cinematographer PC Sriram.  The music of the film by Anirudh became an instant hit, creating a lot of hype around the film. Remo has been sold at high price to the distributors and the buzz around the film is huge. Trade feels Sivakarthikeyan has the potential to be the next the big thing in Tamil cinema. A lot is riding on the film as the entire Kollywood industry is waiting for the film’s box-office results which will determine whether Sivakarthikeyan an outsider will rule the roost.