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Sivaji
 
The views expressed in the article are those of the writer.
By Shoaib Mohamed
September 24, 2007
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.
Rajnikanth
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”
Rajnikanth

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.

So 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”

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.

Arunachalam

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.

Chandramukhi

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.

Shoaib Mohamed, United Kingdom
incredibleshoaib33@yahoo.co.uk

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