Thalaivaa Preview - SWOT Analysis

Vijay and Vijay's Thalaivaa is ready for a major release in more than 1000 centers worldwide. The expectations are high among fans who are confident that Thalapathy will continue his winning form with Thalaivaa. 

Strengths

• 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay

• The new combination with director Vijay is expected to bring a new dimension to Thalapathy's acting. Director Vijay is known for neat story-telling and his ability to emotionally connect with audience while retaining all the commercial elements.

• Santhanam and Vijay have impeccable comedy timing as seen in past movies. This is also the first time Vijay is pairing with talented Amala Paul. The first half set in Australia is expected to be a fun-filled laugh riot. 

• Director Vijay is continuing to collaborate with his regulars Neerav Shah (DoP), GV Prakash and Editor Antony. Director Vijay's movies have always been strong on technical front. Thalaivaa is expected to be no different with Vijay looking sharper and smarter than ever before. 

Weaknesses

• Ever since the trailer was released, a number of comparisons have been made to a number of God Father genre of movies. Thalaivaa appears to have the most resemblance to Ram Gopal Varma and Bachchan's Sarkar. Some scenes showing Vijay taking over the leadership after his father's death and subsequent Santhanam's dialogues shown in the trailer reminds of Devar Magan. The Mumbai location and a few scenes may invoke Nayagan and comparisons with God Father series. However, these are not necessarily weaknesses as long as audience and reviewers expectations are managed accordingly.

Opportunities

• The movie is releasing in almost 80% of the leading screens in Tamil Nadu. The movie is also expected to open strongly during the festival long weekend. In the US, Thalaivaa will be releasing in 70 screens breaking Singam-2's record set recently.

• Vijay's fan base has grown sharply among neutral and multiplex audience after Thuppakki and Nanban's success. This is expected to give as big or bigger opening than his past releases. The success of Thalaivaa will help push Vijay closer to the top spot.

Threats

• A number of smaller movies have also announced the release date of Aug 15 and Aug 23 allowing Thalaivaa unhindered run of only a week. Despite the relatively low hype surrouding these movies, the newer movies will nibble into screen counts from Thalaivaa starting 2nd week.

• The slightly lengthier than average running time of 2 hours 52 minutes could go either ways depending on the tautness of director Vijay's screenplay.

Watch this space for our First Day First Show Review of Thalaivaa in less than 48 hours...