On May 15, when superstar Rajinikanth met his fans after nine long years and said that if God willing he would enter politics, he made it clear to his fans and the people of Tamil Nadu that he was still nurturing his political ambitions, but would do only if he could prove to be highly successful like he has been in Indian cinema.
To his fans, he is the godfather and man of style; to the cinema goers of the state, he is an icon of Tamil cinema; to the producers and directors, his name equals success in the box office; and to his family, he is a man of sorts. But to the voters of Tamil Nadu, he is still nobody and just a man who still continues to contemplate politics.
For the man who had attained the demi-god status, every election—assembly or Lok Sabha—will be a time to throw suspense to his whole lot of fans. Though the superstar had not openly identified himself with any political party in Tamil Nadu, his political entry had been debated many a time for the past three decades.
The truth is that even at the age of 66, the matinee idol continues to be the most attractive in the celluloid. His latest movie Kabali did the best in the box office. It earned a whopping Rs 650 crore in the box office and made Rs 21 crore on the very first day of its release. Neruppu da and Kabali da—the punch line in Kabali—set the box office on fire. Even when his earlier two movie—Kochadaiyaan and Linga—did not fare well in the box office, there were huge expectations for Kabali and it set the records once again for Rajinikanth.
Rajinikanth’s every movie and a punch line in each of them will be the talk until he gives a next super hit. One such was “naan eppo varuven eppudi varuvennu yaarukkum theriyathu. Ana appo varunumo appo correcta varuven” (I don’t know when and how I will come. But whenever I should come, I will come). This punch dialogue from Muthu was the most celebrated one by his fans on his entry into politics.
More than a decade now, the dialogue still stands afresh among his fans and they still do not know when the right time for their ‘thalaiva’ to plunge into politics would come. It is all because Rajinikanth had always been a phenomenon for his fans. He doesn’t have any 'good look', not even a macho body or a fair skin which usually obsesses people. He is neither a multi-talented actor nor can he deliver long well written dialogues like Shivaji Ganesan did. Though he took to perform the roles of a do-gooder like M.G. Ramachandran in his earlier films—like god fearing, taking care of mother or sister—his recent movies have been more appealing to his fans.
Tamil Nadu has seen several actor-turned-politicians, right from most successful MGR to his Protegee Jayalalithaa and later Captain Vijayakanth. Looking at the structure of Rajinikanth’s well spread fan clubs (more than 50,000 clubs), it is natural that people expect his entry into politics in the lines of MGR and Jayalalithaa.
But for Rajinikanth, who had always tasted success in his films, taking a plunge into politics will not be an easy decision and he will have to weigh the pros and cons. Having maintained a steady rise through the movie script, he can ill afford a failure or even a small set back like Jayalalithaa or Vijayakanth faced. And for this reason, Rajinikanth missed a political entry several times. First was in 1996, then in 1998 when he supported the BJP. Again in 2002, when he said he would launch a peoples’ movement on the Cauvery issue. He promised to donate Rs 1 core for interlinking of rivers.
Having missed the opportunity in 1996 and several times in the earlier years, Rajinikanth should be having his own doubts if he could do an MGR or end up like Vijayakanth. Now, after Jayalalithaa’s death and Karunanidhi ageing, the actor and his fans might think of capitalising the political vacuum in the state. He has been continuously wooed by several political parties, and for the past two years, the BJP has been keen to get him on board. BJP leaders in the state has been trying to rope in Rajinikanth ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on him in 2014. Recently, Union minister of state Pon Radhakrishnan extended an open invite to Rajinikanth to join the saffron party.
But, even according to his fans, the macho hero, who had always been in dilemma, would keep dropping hints and would never go by his words. Recalls Senthil Kumaran, one of his fans from Pudukottai, “It was during his daughter’s wedding he promised that there would be a feast for fans like me. I am still waiting for that.”
After the release of Kochadaiyaan, when there were several allegations against his wife Latha and director daughter Soundarya, he never came out to talk about it. In June 2015, an FIR was filed against Latha in an alleged case of forgery, declaration of false statements and using of false evidence and cheating with regard to Kochadaiyaan. After the release of Kuselan, which tanked in the box office, there were lots of allegations and Rajinikanth was forced to compensate distribution losses. Again in 2015, when Lingaa failed in the box office, distributors were vociferous and even staged a fast in front of his house. He then reportedly settled their loss. But in politics, compensating a loss cannot be easier like in films.
Answering a few questions from the media on day three of his fans meet, the actor said, “Ask me anything other than politics. Whatever I should, I have said on day one. There is nothing more to add,” he maintained. Yes, this time too dilemma continues as always.
