Vishnuu Vishal hands Chella Ayyavu the keys to a new SUV
A pre-release promise, paid out at Rs 46 crore: the Gatta Kusthi 2 hit has now put a car in the driveway of nearly everyone who made it.
The promise came before anyone knew whether the film would work. If Gatta Kusthi 2 landed, Chella Ayyavu was getting a car. It landed, and on Thursday Vishnuu Vishal drove his director out to a driveway, handed him a set of keys, and let him find the black Toyota SUV parked at the end of it.
“For the last 11 years, you’ve stood by me through every high, every low, and everything in between,” Vishnuu wrote alongside the video. “Your loyalty, belief, and friendship have meant more than words can ever express. Enjoy the ride.. You truly deserve it.”
Eleven years is a long time to keep count, and the fact that Vishnuu did says something about what those years held. The friendship predates the first Gatta Kusthi by most of a decade, which means it predates the hit that made it look like a good bet.
It is also the second one to change hands in nine days. Ishari K Ganesh of Vels Film International, who co-produced the sequel with Vishnu Vishal Studioz, gave Vishnuu a BMW 3 Series at the film’s thanksgiving meet, where Chella walked away with a 10g gold chain and a bracelet and the rest of the cast took home 40g silver coins each. Chella has now been upgraded from the gold chain to the car, which is roughly what a Rs 46 crore worldwide gross does to a gift budget. The film is inching towards Rs 50 crore and still holding screens.
What is worth noticing is who the gesture is aimed at. Chella Ayyavu is not a name that carries a marquee. He directed the first film, he directed the sequel, and outside of that he has spent most of his career being the person other people rely on. Tamil cinema’s success gifts usually flow toward the star, the hero, the person whose face is on the poster. This one went the other way.
Gatta Kusthi 2 has Vishnuu as Veera, the house husband who keeps his promise to back Aishwarya Lekshmi’s Keerthi through her wrestling career, until parenting and a daughter’s future pull the marriage apart. A film about a man honouring a promise, from a man who honoured one. Chella can drive to the next set.
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