In May 2018, when the entire state of Tamil Nadu slipped into shock after 13 people were shot in a police firing at Thoothukudi, movie star Rajinikanth took to visit the injured, and stirred a controversy by saying, "If you protest against everything, the country will become a graveyard." Exactly a year later, at a time when his well-wishers and ardent fans are waiting to see his direct political plunge, the superstar has sparked yet another debate by expressing his views on the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, praising Home Minister Amit Shah for his speech in the Parliament.
On a Sunday, when a gathering in Chennai was waiting to hear Amit Shah and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, at the latter's book release function, it was Rajinikanth who took to the dais to lavishly hail the home minister. His name did not figure in the list of speakers in the invitation. Rajinikanth, with a glee and smile on his face, took to the stage, where the home minister, vice president, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy and other dignitaries were present. "My heartfelt congratulations to Amit Shah for mission Kashmir. The way you conducted it. Hats off to you sir. And especially your speech in Parliament was fantastic. I am happy about that,” Rajinikanth said.
While the audience seemed confused by the positive views from Rajinikanth, his next two lines were even more surprising. “Amit Shah ji and Modi ji are a Krishna-Arjuna combination. We don’t know who is Krishna, and who is Arjuna. They only know that,” said Rajinikanth.
Rajinikanth’s statement likening Modi and Shah to Krishna and Arjuna, and not explaining why he said so, or who was Krishna and who was Arjuna, has triggered speculations. In Mahabaratha, at the Kurukshetra, when Arjuna was confused, seeing his uncles and relatives on the opposite side, Krishna’s Gita and preaching helped Arjuna rediscover his spirit. Again, Krishna was the charioteer of the Pandava warrior, while the battle at Kurukshetra was at its peak.
Shortly before Rajinikanth's praise for the leaders in Delhi, Kollywood’s popular actor Vijay Sethupathi, in a radio interview to SBS Tamil Australia on Kashmir, said, “It is against democracy. Periyar had said earlier that people themselves should decide on their problems and issues. Can I interfere in the affairs of your house? It is you who live there. I can be concerned about you, but cannot impose my decisions on you. Both these are different. The reports I read about Kashmir caused great pain.” He reiterated that while people outside Kashmir can be concerned about them, they should not step in and offer suggestions.
However, the state BJP leaders, including its president Tamilisai Soundararajan, reacted in no time. They criticised Sethupathi's comments, with Soundararajan saying, “Actors should not talk about Kashmir issue without knowledge.”
On the other side, Rajinikanth’s comments received sharp reactions from the political leaders in the state. Actor-politician Seeman, the founder of Naam Thamizhar Katchi asked, “Krishna or Arjun is ok. But tell us, who is the war against?”
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K.S. Alagiri said, “How can those who snatched away the rights of crores of people be Krishna and Arjuna? Dear Rajinikanth, please read Mahabharata again, please go through it again properly,” he added. And CPI(M) state secretary R. Balakrishnan said the superstar will soon realise that Modi and Amit Shah are more akin to “Mussolini and Hitler.”
Political comments apart, the 69-year-old superstar still enjoys a cult status in the tinsel town. For an actor who has always been caught up in the fear of failure when it comes to taking a political plunge, this statement and his body language in the dais made apparent his attachment towards the BJP.
In fact, there could be no surprise for the people who remember the actor who has been talking about clean, spiritual politics. On December 31, 2017, when he finally ended the surprise saying that he would get into politics, speaking about spirituality, everyone wondered what this new concept would be like. Again, Rajinikanth, who floated and revived his Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), months after his announcement in 2017, has not been very active in steering the RMM. Reportedly, the RMM office at his Kalyana Mandapam premises in Kodambakkam in Chennai remains locked, while he has instructed the RMM members to carry out social welfare measures on their own in the places where they live. Just before the elections, when political leaders, including the BJP, expected a voice of support from Rajinikanth, he chose to stay away.
It is a known fact that the BJP has been banking on Rajinikanth even before the 2016 general elections in Tamil Nadu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him at his Poes Garden residence in 2014. But, Rajinikanth, unlike his counterpart Kamal Hassan, is still weighing his prospects in the state, through his statements now and then. However, the actor still embraces his cinema profession with back-to-back movies in the pipeline.
