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| The views expressed
in the article are those of the writer. |
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| By Shoaib Mohamed |
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September 24, 2007 |
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A well-documented incident that happened back in
1992 involving the then Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu, Jayalalitha, aptly illustrates Rajni’s
iconic status amongst the masses. One day in 1992
Rajnikanth's car was making its way towards Radhakrishnan
Salai, a major artery. Suddenly, a police jeep overtook
his vehicle and forced it to stop. "We are
clearing the road for the chief minister to pass,"
the cop announced. Something snapped.
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Rajnikanth got out of his car, walked on to the busy road,
crossed the intersection, went to a kiosk, bought a packet
of cigarettes, shook one out -- and began smoking. Within
a few minutes, a small crowd gathered, just to have a glimpse
of the star. News spread like wildfire and a huge multitude
began milling around the area. Rajnikanth did not seem to
have a care in the world and puffed away merrily. The whole
area was grid locked. It became impossible for Chief Minister
Jayalalitha to come out of her residence. Finally, realising
their folly, the police begged Rajnikanth to drive away. The
chief minister, they said, was getting late. "I am waiting
for her to go as well and I don't mind waiting," Rajnikanth
said, feigning reluctance. Finally, he shrugged, got into
his car and drove off. That was the Superstar's way of making
a chief minister understand that she may be the administrative
boss of the state, but the icon of the masses was indeed Rajnikanth.
A statement that Rajni himself all but stopped short of saying
during an eventful exchange with the late actress Sri Vithya
in his hit film Mappillai. At one stage during an exchange
between the mother-in-law and the son-in-law, the late Sri
Vithya tells Rajni that “She is ‘like’ the
queen of Tamil Nadu” to which Rajni replies in his own
inimitable style “Amma you might be ‘like’
the queen of Tamil Nadu but what I am to Tamil Nadu is……leave
it after all what’s the point of saying it all the time”
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Despite being an iconic Superstar,
Rajni has never betrayed his roots. Despite the antics
onscreen, Rajni never fails to crack a joke or two
about his own self. Like the fair skin sequence in
the movie Sivaji, or the time when he is wooing his
bride-to-be, or how in a song, he parodies his earlier
gun slinging days. In real life too, Rajni never lets
his status overshadow his persona. He stays simple,
quiet, and reserved. Like a true superstar, he is
never sooperla superlative about his demeanour. Rajnikanth
once famously said, “I act only in front of
the camera. In real life I want people to accept me
for who I am” Keeping true to this statement
and once again proving that he is indeed a man who
says what he does and does what he says, Rajni, to
this date appears at public functions as himself,
sans make up, and completely down to earth.
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why indeed is he the king of the masses? The answer is simple.
It’s because he has not forgotten his roots. Pick up
any character he has played so far, it is not the character
people know or remember, it is Rajnikanth. People know that
only he can carry off the antics on screen like no one else
can. Stars like Amitabh Bachchan will forever be Vijay of
Sholay, or Vijay Dinanath Chauhan of Agneepath. But when it
comes to Rajni it’s always Rajnikanth first, and then
Dalapathi, or Mannan or Basha or Sivaji. People know where
he comes from. For the masses, he is still the bus conductor
whose capers made him popular on the streets of Bangalore.
For them, he is the common man who has risen from amongst
them to be the superhero, and yet has not forgotten the grounds
he walked on. Nothing illustrates this better than the very
moving scenes that we often witness in Rajni movies. Two such
scenes that immediately come to mind are the following; at
the very end of the movie Arunachalam, Rajni after having
successfully completed his father’s task of spending
30cr in 30 days in order to rescue a trust worth 300cr from
going to the hands of certain corrupt individuals so that
it can be used to help the poor, walks up to a bus stop to
catch a bus. An old man who spots Rajni at the bus stop queries
from him, “Sir how could you come to the bus stop?”
Rajni then replies, “My life began at a bus stop and
one should not forget his past, so I thought I’ll take
the bus for a change” In the movie Sivaji, when Rajni
goes to meet a lawyer to file a case against the closure of
his university and hospital projects the lawyer demands an
advance payment of 20 lakhs. As a result of being financially
stretched to the maximum Rajni decides to give his sleek looking
Mercedes to the lawyer as an advance payment. At this moment
the lawyer says, “I feel bad to take your car”
Rajni then replies, “Don’t feel bad, after all
I was not born with a car. When I was a youngster, I have
even walked on the streets without a pair of slippers”
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Had it been any other actor other than Rajni who acted
in the above-mentioned scenes, the audience would
have just related to the character in the movie and
not the actor. But as it was Rajnikanth doing those
scenes, it was not Arunachalam or Sivaji that the
masses were able to relate to but rather they were
able to relate to Rajnikanth because what Rajni said
in the above mentioned movie scenes were true depictions
of his humble early life. This is what makes millions
and millions of people in India and worldwide connect
with Rajnikanth like no other. Whether Rajni continues
to act or not or whether he is amongst the living
or not, one thing that is for sure is that he has
taken a permanent residency in the hearts of millions
and millions of people, cutting across, age, race,
class and gender divides / barriers. This is exactly
what separates Rajnikanth from all the other stars
in India and this is also the reason why Rajni is
simply irreplaceable and is and always will be the
undisputed king of the masses.
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During an interview two months prior to the release of Sivaji
the Boss, Rajni’s lady love in the movie, the breath
taking beauty with sheer class and stunning good looks,
Shriya Saran was asked whether Rajni gave her any advice
during their time together on the sets of Sivaji? Shriya
said, “Simplicity is what he always talks about. Stick
to your roots, not to be ashamed of where you come from.
He said where you have come from is who you are even if
you like it or not. One has to be in touch with reality”
Such is the principled nature of this fantastic, yet simple
and humble human being. At the very beginning in the movie
Sivaji, Rajni chides a DJ at a nightclub to stop playing
Gasolina. For Rajni, the best way to set the screen on fire
is to bring out what he has been raised on and in a flash
comes the Balleilakka song in which Rajni reminisces with
much fondness, love and pride, his roots. If Rajni’s
acting heroics on screen are exhilarating and unbelievably
fulfilling to millions of his fans then his exemplary life
off screen in the real world, personified by simplicity,
humility and realism is a perfect model for others to mirror
and follow step for step and word for word.
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The road ahead for Super Star Rajnikanth
seems strewn only with more glory, accolades and success.
Even as Sivaji completes 100 days and Rajni’s
previous blockbuster Chandramukhi completed an astonishing
891 days, the big question on everyone’s mind
is, what will he do next? Ironically, at the Chandramukhi
804 day function, actor Prabhu during his speech informed
Rajni that he was ready to produce Rajni’s next
film and he asked him whether he was ready as well?
However it seems that Rajni is in no hurry. He will
carve out his next milestone all in good time. All
we can say is that we’ll be waiting with bated
breath until the Superstar makes an announcement about
his next venture. One should not forget that while
you and I and everyone else may miss the bus the conductor
never misses the bus.
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Shoaib Mohamed, United Kingdom
incredibleshoaib33@yahoo.co.uk
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