Dhanush’s ‘Kodi’ VS Karthi’s ‘Kaashmora’: Who will win the Diwali race?

Diwali is just around the corner and Kollywood too has a lot in store for the audience on the festive occasion. Two big films with established actors, ‘Kodi’ and ‘Kaashmora,’ will release tomorrow, and at the moment, the competition looks too tight between these two films. So, in case you are confused, check out which film holds the advantage at the moment and decide for yourself…

Star Power

Karthi may be a star in Kollywood and his influence is steadily spreading in Telugu industry as well, but Dhanush is definitely the bigger star here. The ‘Kodi’ actor has a pan India presence thanks to ‘Raanjhanaa’ and ‘Shamitabh’, giving him an edge over Karthi. What’s more, ‘Kodi’ also has Trisha, one of the finest actresses in Tamil cinema and while ‘Kaashmora’ stars Nayanthara as well, her role will be much shorter. So, in terms of casting and star power, ‘Kodi’ is a clear winner here.

Hype

This might come as a surprise, but if you take a glance at social media, there seems to be a bigger hype for ‘Kaashmora’ than for ‘Kodi’. Thanks to Karthi’s intimidating look as a warrior and a really intriguing trailer, people are very eager to see what the fantasy thriller is all about. On the other hand, the hype for ‘Kodi’ has been rather lukewarm in comparison. Even if you take a look at both the trailers, ‘Kaashmora’ has achieved more than 5.5 million views. On the other hand, the trailer of Dhanush starrer fell short of hitting the five million mark. So, in terms of expectations and hype, Karthi’s flick has the advantage.

Storyline

Of course, the actual tale of the two movies is not revealed but from the promos, we can still get a good understanding of the storylines. ‘Kodi’ is a political thriller that is about two brothers played by Dhanush, of which one has fallout with his lover, played by Trisha, who later turns his sworn enemy of sorts. While this is an interesting premise, ‘Kaashmora’ takes the cake in terms of interesting plot. The supernatural fantasy thriller is about one man named Kaashmora played by Karthi, who plays a dual role of an ancient warrior and a modern day faith healer. He then probably realizes that he is special and has unfinished past life business. The movie will involve ghosts, spirits and everything in between and we know that the Tamil audience loves a good horror movie more than anything.

Number of screens

Dhanush’s film roughly got 400 to 500 screens across Tamil Nadu. But the incredible part here is that Karthi’s film will also be screened on nearly equal number of theatres. What makes it so amazing is that the fact that this is the first Karthi movie that got more than 400 screens in Tamil Nadu. This definitely goes to show that he is growing as a star and ‘Kaashmora’ is a horse many distributors are betting on. Of course, in terms of numbers of screens, it is pretty much a tie between ‘Kodi’ and ‘Kaashmora’.

Directors

‘Kodi’ is directed by RS Durai Senthil Kumar, who has made only two movies before this, ‘Ethir Neechal’ and ‘Kaaki Sattai’, both starring Sivakarthikeyan. It must be noted that both the flicks were pretty big hits, so it can be said that Senthil is a bankable filmmaker. On the other hand, Gokul who directed ‘Kaashmora’, has also made only two films before, ‘Rowthiram’ and ‘Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara’. While ‘Rowthiram’ tanked at the box office, the Vijay Sethupathi starrer was a hit. So in way, Gokul lags slightly behind Senthil Kumar considering their previous track records.

Music

Coincidentally, Santosh Narayanan has composed music for both films. Of course, there is a big difference between the two albums. While ‘Kodi’ has a more conventional and melodious approach, he has let himself go a little with ‘Kaashmora’ and experimented with hard rock and other themes. Both albums suit their respective themes and have been equally appreciated by critics. However, it looks like the crowd has taken more of a liking towards the tracks of ‘Kodi’ and so, it has a slight advantage when it comes to the music department.