‘Puratchi Thalapathi’ title; the term ‘Puratchi’ (revolution) seems very popular in filmdom as well as in politics. All those stars who have got ‘Puratchi’ in their screen titles have gone on to make an entry into politics. While, Puratchi Thalaivar went on to have one of the most awe inspiring political careers in the history of India, the Puratchi Kalaignar’s fortunes cannot yet be ascertained, we may be able to tell something more conclusive in a couple of weeks. Now, we are not trying to say that anyone who adds ‘Puratchi’ to their names will have political ambitions, which would mean that Vishal is an aspirant, as would be Suriya who has a ‘Puratchi Puyal’ title given to him by his fans, which he has politely declined to use.

That was about ‘Puratchi’ and ‘Thalapathis’. Now, we go on to the other more anglicized titles that many stars have. When we talk about such titles, the most well known and perhaps the crispest title ever should be ‘Superstar’. There has never been a shorter and sweeter title that conveyed all that is required in such an effective manner. Perhaps that is why many young actors love to inherit that title some day. But that seems to suit only one man. Then we have other modified versions with ‘Star’ being the key term in all of them. We have ‘Supreme Star’, ‘Ultimate Star’, ‘Top Star’, also, ‘Little Superstar’. There is also the ‘Action Hero’ and ‘Super Hero’.

But, these are the routine titles that we have now known for many years. But, there are also titles that are out of the ordinary. Some names that just stuck and in fact went on to become more popular than the title that was celebrated on screen. First, there was MGR who was called the ‘Puratchi Thalaivar’. That was hugely popular. But somewhere down the line ‘Vaathiyar’ became even more popular with his fans. We don’t know the authentic origin of this title, political or cinematic. To the best of our knowledge, MGR has not played a teacher in any of his films. There is also Vijayakanth whose ‘Captain’ prefix seems to be more preferred to his ‘Puratchi Kalaignar’ title. Of late, there has also been the ‘Karuppu MGR’ alternative. But that doesn’t seem to have gained a lot of mileage. There is also the immensely popular ‘Thala’ for Ajith which tends to overshadow his ‘Ultimate Star’ title.

There are also actors who prefer to avoid titles, maybe they perceive them as a burden that could turn into an image trap for them. One legend who has constantly avoided having titles is Kamal Haasan. Right from his younger days, his fans have given him all sorts of prefixes. Most of them have been inspired from his films and characters. There was a time when he was called ‘Sakalakala Vallavan’. Then, his fans considered giving him the title of ‘Kalaignani’, then for a while he was called the ‘Alwarpettai Aandavar’. But, Kamal proved too versatile to fit into any one title for too long. Maybe, that is why finally he was given the all-encompassing title of ‘Universal Star’, meaning perhaps that he could do just about anything in cinema.

But, it is not lead actors only who have titles. There was the legendary ‘Kalaivanar’, whose legacy is inherited by the ‘Chinna Kalaivanar’ and of course, our very own ‘Vaigai Puyal’. Actresses too have had their trysts with titles, the most popular perhaps being K.R. Vijaya’s ‘Punnagai Arasi’.

Some like it some don’t. But, it is indeed an inseparable part of Tamil cinema. Titles obviously don’t add any value to movies or stars. But, it does certainly add to the spice of discussing cinema and to the zing of stardom. That, as everyone might agree, is a harmless bit of indulgence. The only question that pops up is; Who is more interested in having titles – the stars or their fans?