Rajinikanth Turns 75: The Dark-Skinned Man Who Dared To Dream Big

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

More than 50 years ago, when a young man with tousled hair and a tie that was as loose as a hangman's noose, pushed open a gate and strode past gently in Apoorva Ragangal, few would have expected him to rewrite the rules of Tamil-and Indian-cinema. Yet, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, better known by his on-screen name Rajinikanth, has been doing that effortlessly.

Just by being himself.

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At any public appearance, Rajinikanth never flinches from flaunting his bald pate. The flamboyance, the cigarette flip or the tailored punch lines, for which he's renowned, are reserved for his films. I should know better.

In 2012, when I was a junior reporter with a Chennai-headquartered newspaper, I was asked to cover the scenes outside his house in Poes Garden, a tony locality in the South Indian metropolis. Fans from all over the southern state of Tamil Nadu and beyond had gathered outside his residence to catch a glimpse of their favourite silver screen idol.

Like Shah Rukh Khan's Mannat or Amitabh Bachchan's Jalsa in Mumbai.

The 12th of December, Rajinikanth's birthday, is an important day for the hordes of his fans. Fan clubs organise blood donation camps, conduct funding drives for social wellness and even distribute food packets to the underprivileged. This one was going to be extra special: It was 12/12/12, a palindrome to boot. However, Rajinikanth hadn't met fans in nearly two decades. Many were hoping against hope that their thalaivar would, at the very least, step out to the balcony of his residence.

I arrived at 10 in the morning and the scene was nothing short of a carnival. Fans were dressed in roles from some of his biggest hits, mimicking him incessantly. Loudspeakers were playing-no, blaring-his hit songs, and the police were doing their best to control the crowds. Suffice to say, there was excitement by the bucket-load.

I remember meeting a fan who had cycled all the way from the temple town of Tiruvannamalai, some 180 kilometers away. All that fan wanted was to see his idol. And he, like the crowd outside, did get to see Rajinikanth.

Clad in a white kurta-pyjama, the superstar gently admonished his fans for creating a ruckus. Rajinikanth's residence wasn't too far from that of J Jayalalithaa, the then Tamil Nadu chief minister known for her no-nonsense attitude towards enforcing law and order.

He delivered a short message.“You have remembered my birthday and I thank you for it. But how many of you remember your parents' birthdays? One's parents must be given priority-celebrate and cherish their birthdays first. Everything else comes next.” The fans dispersed as he walked back in; the police heaved a sigh of relief.

Julius Caesar would have termed it veni, vidi, vici.

Like many others, I too have wrestled with how he continues to receive top billing. His last two movies were blockbusters; Jailer, which sees him play a retired police official in search of his missing police inspector son, raked in Rs 6.5 billion (Dh265.62 million approximately) globally; Coolie, in which he avenges his friend's death, reportedly collected around Rs 5.2 billion-and was considered an average grosser!

The fact that he is unabashedly himself in public, without even a shred of makeup, could be the primary reason endearing him to the masses. Case in point: A video of him making fun of his pairing with the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Enthiran (Robot in Hindi), which is a master-class at self-effacing.

Reinvention is another. After his 2014 flop Lingaa, he has worked with up-and-coming directors such as Pa Ranjith, Karthik Subburaj and Lokesh Kanagaraj. He has wisely switched to roles that suit his age, be it Jailer, Petta, Kaala or Kabali, even as he remains the protagonist.

Audiences in the '70s and '80s grew up watching and learning that a dark-skinned man could play the hero, a stark contrast from his predecessors, the late MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan or Gemini Ganesan, or even his contemporary Kamal Haasan. Rajini may often be defined his Chuck Norris-like persona, but he was no one-trick pony. He was an extremely versatile actor as well. For every Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri, Mullum Malarum or Aarulinthu Arubathuvarai, which showcased his acting potential, there was an action-packed Murattu Kaalai, Moondru Mugam, Geraftaar or Billa, a remake of Bachchan's gangster drama Don. When Rajini reprised Amol Palekar's role from the Bollywood comedy classic Golmaal in Thillu Mullu, the remake felt as good as the original.

As the superstar turns 75 and mulls a sequel to his 1999 blockbuster Padayappa and a project with Haasan, it's time for us to sit back and savour the best of what he has to offer. Actors with such widespread appeal are rare to come by.

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