By Deepti D.
Let me see how many of you know this… who is the biggest superstar, who is above all Khans? Well you might say that it’s the most stupid question asked… obviously it has to be Mr Amitabh Bachchan, but hey guys wait, I know Mr Bachchan is THE star of the millennium but there one more person who is as famous as him and no less… well its none other than our own “Anna Rascala” …. the superstar of superstars… RAJINIKANT or RAJINI SIR as he is lovingly called.
What should one say about an icon like Rajinikant. His life is an open book itself, but some people who can be a little ignorant which is very rare and you officially don’t belong on this planet, here is a little flashback on him.
A Capricornian, Rajinikant was born in the month of December as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. Although his mother tongue is Marathi, ironically he has never done a film in that language ever. Before entering the film industry, he was employed as a bus conductor and it was during this time that his interest in acting developed.
The calm and recluse superstar was introduced in movies by the renowned director K. Balachandar in the movie Aboorva raagangal as a co-artist and then there was no looking back for him. Although his role in the movie was just a mere 15 minutes, no one in the audience, even in his wildest imagination, would have thought this ordinary man, who had won the least attention in the film would ever win over millions of hearts in Tamil Nadu or for that matter ride the state like a colossus. He was approached by innumerable producers who wanted to cast him as an Anti- Hero with all his stylish mannerisms and thus he had many releases in quick succession. Later his talent was showcased as a main stream hero and Rajini Sir was an overnight success. The mass adulation, the thunderous rain of applause when Rajini Sir delivered his lines, all put together, made him a phenomenon.
He even debuted in Hindi movies like Andha Kanoon, Chaalbaaz and Hum and he was welcomed with open arms here too. But since he was already a star down south, he could not concentrate too much on Hindi movies and stuck to where his heart belonged… Tollywood!!
If one analysis Rajinikant’s career graph, one would realize that it has been a slow and steady rise up to the top. Rajini’s own career can be divided into three segments. The first as a villain, the second as a hero with negative traits, and the third and present phase, as the reigning czar of Tamil filmdom. With his films fetching crores and his market price skyrocketing, the costs of production of his films became unmanageable. He now of course has cut down on his work and does one film a year or so. It’s now an accepted fact that only a Rajinikant film can break records set by his own films. People have actually given him a status of God and there are temples where he is actually worshipped!!
The list of films of this Padma Bhushan winner is exhaustive and one can continue to write about them for days and days but the major ones among recent times are Sivaji for which he has been awarded the Tamil Nadu State Govt Award for Best Actor, Enthiran, Kochadaiiyaan, Lingaa and of course the upcoming release Kabali.
Kabali is Rajinikant’s major release after 2014. It is one of the most awaited release of the year in India. Kabali is a gangster action movie made in Tamil and dubbed in Telugu, Hindi Malayalam starring Rajinikant with Radhika Apte in which he is fighting for the oppressed Tamil community in Malaysia. All the four versions are released in theatres around the world on the same date.
But before its release on 22nd July, This PA Ranjith directed movie has already seen unprecedented traction and people are waiting with bated breath for its release. The film’s music is already a super duper hit with the song like ‘Neruppa Da’ already climbing on the top in South India. Film’s producer Thanu has even gone on record and predicated that this film would be a much bigger hit than Baahubali and would do more than 500 crore business… now that’s a lot of money!!
Talking about the mania, this film has created, as many as eight major brands have tied up so far with the most eagerly awaited film of the decade: AirAsia, Airtel, Cadbury 5 Star, Muthoot Fincorp, Amazon, Emami, Shop CJ and PVR Cinemas. The advance booking for the film is opened in Chennai city and the suburbs and within 2 hours all the tickets were sold and this is not the case in India, same happened in the USA also where Rajini sir would be present at the time of release. Theatres in Tamil Nadu are also gearing up for the release of Kabali. Nearly 50 theatres have renovated their screens, with some adding Dolby Atmos sound systems.
In fact, AirAsia India, the official airline partner of Kabali, now has a plane which bears the stills of Rajinikant from the upcoming gangster film. Kalaipuli S Dhanu, the producer of Kabali, claimed that this is the first time in history that an airplane is dedicated for a film. The airline has also announced various offers to the passengers who are flying from Bengaluru to Chennai to watch the first-day first show of superstar’s film.
Apart from this magnum promotion, one can see Kabali merchandise on the streets of Tamil Nadu ranging from T-shirts to mugs, key chains to even pens. We won’t be surprised if we see a safety pin also which has Rajinikant on it, so much of fan love!!
All things said, one thing is for sure that Kabali is going to have a gargantuan opening worldwide, and it is nothing like we have seen so far and Rajinikant would never lose his charm, this ‘Thalaiva’ star was the superstar, is the superstar and would remain the superstar of millions of people… so book your tickets NOW!!
