25 years of RAJNIKANT, and they're still panting for more!

Tamil Nadu has been home to many a revered matinee idol. But for sheer numbers and fervency of their fans, few can hope to rival the one and only Rajnikant...

RAJNI 25 — that will be one ofthe most gala, celebrated events ever in Chennai. Organised by Lata, Rajnikant’s wife, the event will take the superstar’s fans on a trip down memory lane. An exhibition of the costumes and other paraphernalia used by him in films, a photo gallery, and a festival of 15 Rajni movies to be screened in city theatres, comprise the prime attractions to the event. The event’s grand finale will be a felicitation by the film industry, wherein Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha will walk on to the stage with Rajnikant. The proceeds from the event are to go to the Raghavendra Charitable Trust, which manages the superstar’s charity drive.

On the 200th day of the last Rajni blockbuster, Padayappa, Rajnikant had announced at the Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam, that the function was intended not to celebrate the silver jubilee of the film, so much as to thank the people responsible for his growth as an actor, in this his 25th year in Tamil films.

On the dais on the occasion, was writer-filmmaker, Panchu Arunachalam, who had written the story for Aarilirunthu Upathu Varai, which, for the first time, made him popular with the family audience. As was SP Muthuraman, who directed him in innumerable hits, and helped him evolve into a superstar. K Balachander, the man who ‘discovered’ him and gave him his first break, was there, too, along with Kamal Haasan his friend, colleague and perhaps, his only competition. Among the non-filmi crowd, was Rajni’s elder brother, who supported him during his days of struggle, and even now, continues to shun all help from the superstar, remaining content, instead, with his modest salary of Rs 6000 as a government official.

Rajnikant has never been one to forget the past. Neither does he miss an opportunity to talk about his days as a bus conductor in the Karnataka Road Transport Corporation. When he inaugurated his massive Kalyana Mandapam, he had his former colleagues, the bus drivers and conductors come on stage along with other VIPs, for it was his friends who doled out money to him when he was struggling in Chennai. Today, when he is at the peak of his career, his favourite idea of relaxation when in Bangalore is to call his old friends over for a drink, though they don’t discuss films or his superstar status. He has produced two films, and in both, he got all who helped him in his early days as partners who shared the profits. In his firt production, he had all his old classmates from the film institute run by the South India film chamber to work as technicians and artistes.

S Raamanathan the veteran producer of Amitabh movies and a wellwisher of Rajnikant’s, in a recent chat with SCREEN, spoke about the experience of producing the film, Dharmadurai, with Rajni. Rajnikant invited him over from Mumbai, and offered him his dates, on a platter as it were. This, at a time when many of Chennai’s producers were lining up for his dates. After a few days of shoot, Rajni felt the story wasn’t going the way he’d expected it to, and scrapped those portions. They had the film reshot. At the final reckoning, Rajni told Raamanathan to cut the amount he’d lost on the first few days of shoot, a gesture few other artistes would have made.

K Balachander is not only Rajni’s guru and ‘discoverer’ but also a father figure. When Rajni failed to cope with the fluctuating fortunes in his early days he wanted to quit, deciding he’d earned enough, that he couldn’t handle the tensions any more. Balachander advised him to take a break and come back to sign films only with the reputed banners and proven directors, instead of new ones. It’s an advice he followed to the hilt.

It is on the sets of Raja Chinna Roja at AVM Studios, Chennai, that I met him for the first time. Since, then, I’ve met him on numerous occasions on several sets. On the sets of Mapillai he offered me an insight into his philosophy and outlook on life. He is sure about his goals. To him, the commercial success of his films matter more than awards. Repetitions and mannerisms are his trademark and he relishes doing them, much to the delight of his fans. He makes no bones of his fondness for the occasional tipple, but at the same time he can engage you in serious discussions on Raghavendra Swami or Ramanna Maharishi for hours together. As he sees it, enjoying the pleasures of the materialistic world are part of the trappings of his bhogi avtaar, while his trips to the various ashrams and Rishikesh comprise his yogi avtaar.

Though he appeared on the verge of plunging into politics at one time, he now seems to have withdrawn completely from it. In the recent elections, he announced he was neutral, which is attributed to his disenchantment with the system and the parting of ways between DMK supremo M Karunanidhi and TMC leader Mooppanar. After his open war with Jayalalitha, any reference to an arrogant woman in his films, is seen as a dig at the ex-CM. Padayappa, too, has the stock character, played to perfection by Ramya Krishna, who became a household name with it overnight. And Rajnikant even presented her with a diamond necklace in appreciation.

The massive Kalyana Mandapam built by Rajni is no more in his name, as he has willed it to his charitable trust, and the proceeds from it will go to charity. This, in effect, means that half his lifetime earnings has been ploughed back to the people of Tamil Nadu who backed this Kannadiga of Maharashtrian origin.

On the box-office front, no one has yet been able to touch the figures a Rajni film commands. Producer AVM Saravanan, who has been away from films for over three years, when asked why he wasn’t coming back, replied “Tamil filmdom has only one winning horse to bet on, and he isn’t available any more.” Saravanan is right. Rajni stopped working in films by other producers a few years ago, preferring to work in his own home productions, instead. But he still continues to be a thoroughbred at the b-o. Indeed, Padayappa, for instance, collected Rs 3 crore from a small territory like Coimbatore alone. And the Rajni film was sold for a combined total of a whopping Rs 23-26 crore. Try beating that!

Kamal Haasan is perhaps, his only competition at the b-o. They were last seen together in Ninethaley Innikum. They started out together with the same film. Rajni went on to become an anti-hero while Kamal Haasan became a dancing-performing hero. It was Kamal Haasan who told Rajni it does not make sense for both to act in the same movie, because the producer wasn’t going to pay them more. There have been the odd skirmishes between their fan clubs. But ever since both settled comfortably into superstardom, there has been both peace and even true friendship. In his speech at the Padayappa silver jubilee, Kamal Haasan said that despite the efforts of some to create rivalrly between them, their friendship has survived. The two still keep meeting each other occasionally, to compare notes, perhaps, and exchange goodwill. Today, they’re so comfortable together, that Kamal Haasan can attend and speak at a function held to felicitate Rajni, that too, in the latter’s own auditorium admist thousands of diehard Rajni fans.

Always attired in kurta-pyjamas (a habit he picked up as a child when he discovered kurta-pyjamas were cheaper than pants and shirts) and the trademark vibhuti on his forehead, he can be seen travelling in Ambassadors (even taxis) or in his own Fiat. No snazzy imported cars and gadgets for him. To this day, he does not carry a mobile phone around, nor does anyone carry it for him. His trusted aide and Man Friday, Satyanarayana, manages his office and fans clubs along with Ramesh and Arumugham. Another dependable, Krishna Rao looks after the production office.

Two topics never fail to excite the Tamil Nadu populace: Will Rajnikant ever enter politics? And which is his next film? Those are secrets their favourite superstar with the white goatee will never let on in a hurry.

Ayyappa Prasad