Walking Around Matunga

The Phenomenon that is Rajikanth …..The Thailva

It is said you have to experience the craze to belive the phenomenon of Rajnikanth .. The Boss .. Thaiva the mega Super Star . Adjectives fall short for the man known as the King of Tollywood Rajnikanth ….No one creates a buzz like he does. His fan following transcends age, language , state and even the country.

Did you know the biggest fan following Ranjikantha has outside of India is in Japan , there they even have a Rajnikanth fan club similar to the crazy fan clubs in Chennai (erstwhile Madras) .So much so that normal producers- directors in the south at the most release their movies in Tamil and if the story has inherent strength in Kannada , Telgu and Malyalam. For fact I can vouch even the standard movie in Tamil land has the story and finnes to beat the pants out of our Bollywood movies. Anyways coming back to Rajnikanth, his directors release their movies not just in the 4 languages of the South + Hindi , but simultaneously release it in Japanese , Balanese (Indonesian) and now even in Chinese with the latest being “KABALI”….

The teaser of KABALI not even a proper trailer released on YouTube a month ago gather 27 million views a feat no actor forget Bollywood not even the highest paid actor in Hollywood be it Daniel Craig (James Bond ) or Russel Crowe (Gladitor) can even come close. The adulation among the fans is because of the emotional bond they have created with not just the actor but the person that is Rajinikanth.

Though his on-screen persona is larger than life,in real life he is a down to earth person with no qualms of a superstar. People very close to him know him as a son of a Marathi couple Ramabai and Ramoji Rao Gaikwad a police constable settled in erstwhile Mysore State now known as Karnataka. . Named Shivaji Rao Gaikwad  after the Maratha warrior king Shivaji Raje. With middle class roots  and values but who had a dream of making it big in film and theater. Worked as bus conductor in Bangalore Transport Service with only his passion for films and dream to make it big ,to take him further. He joined the then famous Madras Film Institue (equivalent of FTII –Pune) and tasted success in K.Balachander’s Tamil Movie “Apoorva Raagangal” in 1975 and there was no looking back.

Initial films cast him in negative roles as village ruffian, or a womanizer or dominating bully . Somewher in 1978 he started being cast in positive roles as a prime antagonist in Mathu Tappada Maga which happened to be his 25th release. Bhairavi released in the same year was the first Tamil film to cast Rajinikanth as a main hero directed by M.Bhaskar It was in this film he earned the sobriquet "Superstar" . S.Thanu who was one of the film's distributor placed a cut-out of Rajinikanth over a height of 35 feet . Which became a trend which continue even today.  His next appearance Ilamai Oonjal Aaddukirathu, a quadrangular love story made by C.V.Sridhar, saw him playing the role of a man who sacrifices his love for his friend, played by Kamal Hasan (another great & intelligent actor)

He had nearly quit the film industry by 1980 , but was coaxed by Tamil film fraternity and his fan made a huge come back in “ Billa” a remake of Amitabh Starer Bollywood movie “Don”. With great dialogues , one liners , fights and foot tapping song it was the front benchers delight. It was in this movie he started his benchmark gestures, stylized mannerisms. Remember the way he flips the cigarette and lights it before he takes a puff or the way he swings the sunglasses before he wears it , totally mind blowing.

But the movie that catapulted him into a demi god status was “Baasha “ in 1995. Later in 2002 he wrote the screen play of “Baba” a movie revolving around the reforming of a gangster is shown as an incarnation of Hindu saint Mahavtar Babaji . The film was hyped and marketed well but the audience did not respond as expected. The film distributors faced huge losses. He took it to heart and even returned money to the distributors to cover their losses, such is the persona of Rajnikanth a humane actor than a superstar in real life . Later he gave super duper hits like , Sivaji –The Boss . For Sivaji ,he was given a remuneration of Rs.26 Cr which made him the 2^nd highest paid actor in Asia and next only to Jackie Chan. During this period his also stared in the critically acclaimed Dalapathi along with Malayalam star Mamoothy and directed by The Nationally acclaimed director Mani Ratnam. The story was a contemporary adaptation of Mahabharta with the story revolving around the friendship between Duryodhana and Karan.

Another anecdote about the power of Rajikanth’s communication skill and his fan following was evident when in late nineties the wily Tamil politician GK Moopanar broke away from the Congress Party and formed his regional party Tamil Manila Congress just a few months before the state assembly elections. Though he tied up with the MK Karunaniddhi of DMK and was ready to fight against Amma J.Jayalalitha’s AIADMK . He shrewdly registered the common man’s mode of transport the Cycle  as his party symbol. At that time a recent Rajnikanth starer the film Annamalai  had him riding the Cycle. He also enlisted Rajnikanth for campaigning who rode the cycle at a few rallies and in a much publicized television interview he dropped a bombshell by saying “ Even God can’t save Tamilnadu if ADMK returns to power”  . The result was a a 2/3^rd majority for the DMK-TMC alliance in the assembly.

The craze among his fans when any of his movie is about to be released, can be gauged from their enthusiasm , the fans pre-book the tickets months in advance. The distributors to make the most out of the opportunity have shows as early as 5 am and around 8 shows for the day in single screen theaters. And around 18-25 shows in Multiplexes. Another thing unique to the releases are the processions and abhishekam of Rajnikanth’s Cut outs at various theaters.

With the release of his latest “Kabali” this craze has gripped our Matunga. Matunga is the only part of India outside of Chennai (formerly Madras) where you have the official Rajinikanth Fan Club. The president of the Maharashtra Chapter Mr. Anand Raj lives on 90 feet road in Dharavi a stone’s throw away from Matunga and runs a CD/DVD store dedicated to all Rajini Sir’s Movies. At the Arora Theater ,the 700-seater Theatre in King’s Circle, a bastion of Tamils settled in Mumbai –there is a semi permanent shrine to Rajinikanth and is run by an ardent fan Mr.Nambi Rajan. It is the only place where each of the Thalaiva “Rajinikanth’s” movies are celebrated with a huge procession of fans culminating in an Abhishek of Rajini Sir’s Poster with milk & Panchamrit. The laltest Kabali cut out has been erected at the theater . To keep up with the craze the first day first show was held at 3 am. with the following shows scheduled at 6 am, 10 am, 3 pm, 6 pm, and 9 pm,. It was published in the newspapers the next day that Inside the theater fans gave a standing ovation and culminating their cheering with maha-aarti when the character of Kabeeleshwar came on the screen. 

Such is the emotional connect Rajnikanth has with his fans. A good human being ,a great actor , the larger than life “superstar” , The Boss …….The one and only “ Thalaiva”

Some of the gems - one liners from Rajnikanth’s movies

Idhu eppdi irukku? (How's this?)

See-eeviduven! (I'll lop off your head!)

Nallavana erukallam annal romba nallavana erukakudathu (You can be a good person. But you shouldn't be a very good person)

Naan eppo varuven, epdi varuvennu yarukkum theriyathu. Aana vara vendiya nerathula (No one can tell when or how I'll arrive -- but I always do, when the time is right)

Andavan solran. Arunachalam seiran (God commands, I obey)

Naan solrathaiyum seiven, sollathathiyum seiven (I'll do what I say. I'll also do what I don't say)

Pera kettaale chumma adhirudhulla! (Doesn't everything quake at the mere mention of my name?)

En vazhi, thani vazhi (My way is my own)

Naan oru thadava sonna, nooru thadava sonna maadiri (If I say something even once, it's as though I've said it a hundred times)

Kannaaa Pani Thaa Kutama Varu Singo Singala Tha Varum (Only pigs come in groups, a tiger comes alone)

And the latest joke trending on Whatsapp which is more fact than fiction…

Salman releases his movie on Eid because it’s a holiday , Shah Rukh releases his movie on Diwali because its an holiday , Aamir releases his movie on Christmas because it’s a holiday . But Rajnikanth releases his movie in the middle of the week and it is declared a holiday……

My Salute to Rajnikanth …………..The only Superstar……