The Rajinikanth phenomenon

This might sound like the standard glorification of Rajinikanth by another Tamil movie buff, but I'd rather like to put this as an account from a die-hard fan. Frankly speaking, I do not have much to add about Rajinikanth which is going to be different from what the rest of the world has been saying over the last one month, but it is just the collection of a few memories, thoughts and fan loyalty!

My first introduction to Rajinikanth was when I watched Arunachalam in 1999. I was not used to watching too many movies until then. I had watched Raghavendra when I was 4 or 5, but in those days when someone used to ask me who Rajinikanth was, I used to reply saying the hero of Raghavendra. When Arunachalam happened, and the 'Mathadu Mathadu Mallige' song was played on TV, I was simply blown away by the style of the man. We had a VCR player in Bahrain, and we bought the Arunachalam VCR soon afterwards to catch the movie. I must have seen the movie atleast a 150 times. It was then that one of my friends introduced me to Baasha. I was not allowed to watch Basha for a long long time, as apparently the movie was very violent. Finally, once when they played it on Sun TV, I watched it without the knowledge of my parents. From that, there was no turning back. Style is not something that can be forced upon the public. It is a natural quality. The style statement of Rajinikanth is said to be totally natural. Apparently the guy's cigarette tricks, and matchstick frictional fire trick were famous when he was a bus conductor itself. Then consequently I watched Muthu, Annamalai, Veera and other movies. The craze only kept increasing. Then, Padayappa released, and I caught it in the theatres within four days of its release. The movie was a watershed! Right from the intro scene, to all the fight scenes, to the famous Oonjal scene, everything was stylish.

The biggest plus of the guy is his swagger, the style is inevitable, but the good thing is, unlike many wannabes, he can act really well too. That's why he is the real Superstar! Baba was a movie which released amidst great expectations, as much as Endhiran I must say, but was a dud at the box office, meaning it ran only for 100 days in the theatres. I loved the movie nevertheless. I found the movie totally awesome, and being the believer in Hinduism and certain concepts it encompasses, that I am, I thought, and still feel the movie was a classic. His scenes where the mood is serious, where his sarcastic humour with Koundamani balance the seriousness and humour in the movie. Even now I can remember screaming hysterically in the theatre for "Uppitta Thamizh Mannai Naan Marakka Maaten, Naa Uyir Vaazhnthaal Inge, Naa Odi Vida Maaten". After that, work on Chandramukhi began, and despite no Superstar-ness in the movie, it was a massive hit. Especially the Vettaiyan scenes were a show-stealer. Post Chandramukhi, came Sivaji. The most awaited movie of its time. Shankar-Rajini-ARR, a huge expectation it created, and when it released it was completely worth it. It was a movie made for Rajini's style ONLY, and it satisfied the requirement perfectly. The coin tossing, and the Motta Boss sequence were totally mind-blowing. There was not one dull moment in the theatre, when it was released. I was pretty sure no movie following it could ever repeat the magic. But then Kuselan and Endhiran were signed. I would not like to discuss Kuselan, it was a disaster in an otherwise awesome career. As for Endhiran, I actually felt it was a movie which could be bigger than Sivaji in all aspects such as cast, story, technicians etc.

It did happen! Endhiran is definitely a landmark movie in Indian cinema. No one has seen a bigger Indian movie, and it has kicked ass in the box office as well. It has put out all previous records by Indian movies. The movie watching experience was another exhilirating one. Lots and lots of screaming thalaiva topped it, and made for some awesome enjoyment. Now, its time for Sultan (Hara, its been renamed). Thalaivar on 3-D will be way too cool. It's been an awesome 12 years of watching Rajini movies, and I've cherished every movie I've watched in this regard. Be it the rawness in Padhinaaru Vayadhinile, Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri, the acting in Aarulirundhu Aruvadhu Varai, Engeyo Ketta Kural, Thalapathy the action in Billa, Polladhavan, Pokkiri Raja, the sweeping style of Nallavanukku Nallavan, Baasha, Annamalai, Sivaji, or the all-roundness of Endhiran, it's been terrific! I'd like to end this post saying I seriously hope he does not do Baasha 2 as sections of the media claim, as I feel a classic is best left untouched, and I doubt the magic of Endhiran can be repeated with a sequel!