We had prevously reported that Rajinikanth will be honoured at the closing ceremony of this year's International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa for completing 50 successful years in cinema. As a part of it, the acclaimed actor's iconic 1995 film Baashha will be screened at the ongoing festival.
Revealing the news, director Suresh Krissna expressed his happiness and called the film a "timeless blessing". "Honoured and grateful that BAASHA has been selected for the 56th IFFI, Goa, celebrating 50 years of Rajinikanth Sir’s legendary journey," he wrote on his X handle.
The film was about an autodriver, Manickkam, who acts as the sole breadwinner for his siblings after their father's passing. But Manickkam hides a truth about himself from his siblings. A truth that threatens his integrity as an honest worker and family man. Manickkam is revealed to be Baashha, a crime boss, who does good for the community in Bombay. When he confronts Mark Antony (Raghuvaran), Manickkam's father, who works for Antony, is killed by Antony himself as revenge. In his dying moments, Manickkam's father extracts a promise from Manickkam: to live honestly and to support his family. But when Antony reappears in Manickkam's life, how Manickkam protects his family forms the rest of the story.
One of the most successful films in Rajinikanth's career, Baashha continues to resonate among audiences as a cult classic entertainer that never fails to entertain even after three decades. The film starred Nagma as the female lead and Raghuvaran as the antagonist. Janagaraj, Devan, Shashi Kumar, Vijayakumar, Anandaraj, Charan Raj, Kitty, Sathyapriya, Shenbaga and Yuvarani played supporting roles. The film continues to have an indelible mark on pop culture, and Tamil cinema fans even today.
Recently, several popular Indian actors had wished Rajinikanth for completing his golden jubilee year in cinema and reminisced their experiences working with him.
Apart from Rajinikanth, noted Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna is also set to be awarded at the same festival for completing 50 years in the industry.
Besides Baashha, many other Tamil films are also set to be screened at the ongoing IFFI festival. While Rajkumar Periyasamy's Amaran (2024), was the opening feature at the Indian Panorama section of the IFFI and is competing at the International Competition for the Golden Peacock award, Anupama Parameswaran's Lockdown is also having a premiere at the festival.