The cigarette toss. The coat flick. The scarf twirls. The glass flips. Put them together as a silhouette, and you can almost hear a Rajinikanth background score erupt in your mind. Without that sound and swagger, they are just mundane gestures without a pulse. Many actors breathe life into fictional characters, but Rajinikanth alone makes inanimate objects come alive.
A prop in one moment, a sidekick in the next, and a fashion statement the moment after. Every object in his orbit enjoys its own character arc. If Midas turned what he touched into gold, Rajinikanth turned what he touched into relics of cinematic worship. In his hands, the suit is not merely clothing, the beard is not about grooming, and the scarf is never just an accessory... They become extensions of his attitude and charisma. Tamil cinema had seen fashionable men before and after him; he alone turned style into legend.
Here's a non-exhaustive list of his iconic accessories that were immortalised simply after sharing the screen space with the one and only.
Suits and Swag
While Rajinikanth did not introduce suits and blazers to the Tamil film industry, he did bring the elite attire closer to a commoner. What was till then seen only on actors who either played a spy or someone from an affluent background, became associated with a lost and derelict person, Pandian (Apoorva Raagangal). Little did anyone, including Rajinikanth, know that the suit that got deglamourised by him in his debut film would metamorphose into a style symbol in the years to follow.
With the cravat and patterned waistcoat, Billa introduced a smooth-talking, suave-looking bad guy to Tamil cinema. We saw the suit as an aspirational choice when Rajinikanth, as the ruffian Manickam from Nallavanukku Nallavan, dons it when he levels up to become an industrialist. This changeover became a theme of sorts in many Rajinikanth films, including Annamalai, and Arunachalam, and it was almost like a coat and suit became a symbol of the elite... but he drilled in the idea that anyone can become elite. Rajinikanth made elite aspirational, and not as something too out of reach of the commoner, and if that is seen as a slight by the elite, then, as Kabali, he proclaimed to the world, "Apdi dhaan da poduven... Style-a geth-a."
Mane and Moustache
What adds more flamboyance to Rajinikanth? There are many answers to this, but nothing that beats the iconic hairstyle of the Superstar. Even today, saloons in Tamil Nadu have the actor's various looks in their catalogue. Of course, there have been tweaks to his hairdo over the years. The centre-parted hairdo of the goofy but careful Vidyasagar (Johnny), the short crop of the unassuming Kumaran (Enkeyo Ketta Kural), and a full head of grey on the soft-spoken and divine Raghavendra (Sri Raghavendra), to name a few.
Can we ever forget the nonchalant intimidation that Alex Pandian's (Moondru Mugam) well-kempt hair, moustache with a slight twirl exuded? What about the salt-and-pepper beard that symbolised years of repressed angst and moroseness of Dharmadurai (Dharmadurai)? He made unkempt hair a style statement in many films, including the iconic Thalapathi, where the silhouette of a man nursing a broken heart was accentuated by his lion's mane of a hairstyle. And the best part... despite his iconic hairstyles throughout the ages, it is his real-life look of being a bald person that won him the most hearts. Here was a man who knew the difference between the onscreen characters and the real-life Rajinikanth, and managed to win millions of hearts with both these personas.
Pride and Proletariat
Rajinikanth films usually have him play someone from a background that is ill-suited to the kind of clothes he wears. It could well be for commercial reasons or to style up the superstar that such decisions were made. But those decisions were crucial to some important psychological awakenings and Rajinikanth's undisputed superstardom. His characters in Annamalai and Baasha do jobs that are generally not the ones we have often seen our 'heroes' do.
How often have we seen a milkman or an auto driver sport a high-end shoe or boots? But Annamalai and Manikkam gave the much-needed dignity to such professions. It is no surprise that hard-working daily wagers march en masse to the theatres on the first day, first shows of Rajinikanth movies. This is one of the reasons why he is still going strong 50 years into his acting career. It was beautiful how these characters never complained when down in the dumps, nor did they gloat when they were at the top, thereby projecting ideals of a perfect human in all walks of life. More than introducing a fad, his films, like Manithan and Uzhaippaali, turned the day-to-day life of a commoner into a fashion statement.
Accessories and Amazements
Very few actors managed to use unique accessories to cook up mass whistle-worthy moments. But very few actors are like Rajinikanth, right? The pince-nez in Baasha was not just stylish but also played an integral part in the serious portions of the film. We are able to see the angry eyes of Maanik Baasha, even without him removing his dark shades. And a couple of decades later, in Jailer, we also saw the mayhem that is unleashed when he takes off his glasses.
Villains in films usually send their sidekicks to warn the hero not to confront them. In Baba, the titular hero also sends his sidekick, but it is not a person, but a thing... A designer knife with an engraving of a deity and a ring. The bandanna worn by Baba is still a rage. Likewise, the golden kaappu (bracelet) in Arunachalam becomes an important identifying marker because his life changes the moment the adornment leaves his hand. In the same film, we also see a Rudraksham finding a life of its own and a story to tell, as it aids in the transformation of Arunachalam.
While the idiosyncrasies attributed to these accessories might seem as something that stands as testament to the kind of aura of Rajinikanth, it also shows the magic he brings to these roles. Of course, his performances speak volumes, but it is these objects, which turn into characters, that give it longevity. We might not be able to be a Rajinikanth, but we can always wear a kaappu, tie a scarf, don a suit, twirl our moustache, adjust our hair, aspire to go ahead in life, and become something that we crave to be... A Superstar.
