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Ticket please! To unlikely superstardom

Some routine things happened this week.

Several Japanese cinema enthusiasts flew down to Chennai, India to be there amidst all the action. Hordes of youth in Tamil Nadu took a day off vowing to watch multiple shows throughout the day, of a newly released movie. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his good wishes to an elderly film-star on his birthday.

In the USA, following the practice in Tamil Nadu, a group of fans anointed a giant cut-out of Tamil Nadu’s biggest film-star with milk; symbolising God-like devotion. Motorcycle processions took over Chennai. Trucks made over as chariots carrying billboards of this actor roamed the streets. His fan clubs worldwide distributed sweets and contributed to charitable causes.

In the Emirates, over twenty screens sizzled with his film, possibly a record number for a ‘regional’ film. As invariably happens every time, the star’s ‘entry’ scene was greeted by his fans with manic excitement, cheers, claps and frenzied whistles, flowers and coins being tossed towards the screen.

Like I said, very routine things; the kind of things that has been associated with Rajinikanth’s films for decades. His fans’ love for him borders on mass hysteria. Hysteria without borders.

Years ago, when India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan, he made a reference to Japanese film enthusiasts’ fondness for Rajinikanth as an example of Indo-Japanese closeness. Rajinikanth’s Muthu released way back in the nineties was dubbed in Japanese. It earned nearly two million dollars from Japan alone.

In 1999, Newsweek commented that Rajinikanth had “supplanted Leonardo DiCaprio as Japan’s heart-throb”. Chandramukhi was dubbed in Turkish and German to meet demand from local fans in those countries. In 2007, his Sivaji ruled the box office not just in India but even in the UK and South Africa, turning up in the top ten lists. Following the massive triumph of his 2010 release Enthiran (Robot), the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad introduced a case study analysing the success of this film as well as Muthu as part of a post-graduate elective management course! The success of ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth is taken so much for granted that when Baba failed to click, the star personally compensated distributors.

For Lingaa which released this week on his sixty fourth birthday, the star has reportedly been paid a whopping sixty crore rupees, almost ten million dollars, a figure which would probably make him Asia’s highest paid star. The film’s advance booking figures alone crossed a hundred crores globally with little or no publicity from the film-makers. His fans generate all the publicity that his film needs.

In a country that is still obsessed with fairness creams, chocolate heroes and dancing stars, Rajinikanth is an extraordinary phenomenon. Born to Maharashtrian parents, he was named Shivaji after the Maratha warrior. Brought up in Bangalore, he learnt Marathi and Kannada as he grew up. After trying several jobs including most prominently that of a bus conductor, he enrolled with an acting institute. While acting in a stage play, he was noticed by leading director K. Balachander who asked him to learn Tamil and gave him his first role. Starting with modest ‘villain’ roles, he grew from strength to strength. He moved on to character roles in the eighties and then, as his popularity soared, secured lead roles.

Known more for his style, his mannerisms, his ‘punch’ dialogues and his stunts than for his histrionics, ‘Rajini’ is a cult figure. Such is his charisma that his every mannerism gets emulated, every punch dialogue repeated a million times over. His fan clubs are everywhere. ‘Rajinikanth jokes’ have gone viral since many years now. His magic refuses to fade. Even Bollywood’s King Khan felt the need to add on a song that referred to Rajinikanth and seek his support in a guest role for his film Chennai Express.

Earlier this week at home, my eighty nine year old father had his usual telephone conversation with my sister in Canada, a daily routine. She always wants to know what he ate, whether he is feeling fine and if he went for his walk. He only wants to tell her about cricket, politics and about the latest stories on Indian films. Consequently, this can sometimes lead to some slight friction! After that call, my father was looking thoughtful. ‘Anything?’ I asked, walking towards him solicitously. ‘What are you thinking about?’

He shook his head, a look of incredulity on his face. ‘How’ he asked, waving a disbelieving hand in the direction of the phone, ‘can she not be interested in Rajinikanth?’

Indeed!

P. G. Bhaskar’s most recent book ‘Mad in Heaven’ has been published by Harper Collins. Please visit www.pgbhaskar.com to enter his world.