How do you measure the size of a star? One of the most famous methods is to observe the shadow cast by a moon, planet, asteroid, or another star as it passes in front of it. The bigger the star, the smaller the shadow. The same goes for stars of other kinds as well, especially the Superstar, who is defined by his shadows as much as he is defined by the blinding light of his stardom. Completing more than fifty years in the industry, Rajinikanth survived several tests, emerged from several eclipses, and outshone several stars over the years. The legend begins with a gate being swung open in Apoorva Raagangal (1975); then the Tamil audience got their first true taste of unapologetic Machiavellian evil with Moondru Mudichu, Avargal, Aadu Puli Attam, 16 Vayathinile, and Netrikkan; all the rage of the young, angry Tamil man gets represented on screen with Mullum Malarum, Billa, Kaali, Johnny, Polladhavan, Murattu Kaalai, Thee, Kazhugu, Moondru Mugam, Naan Mahaan Alla, and more; how even a relatable everyman could carry himself with grace and style, was proved by Ninaithale Inikkum, Thillu Mullu, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Pudukavithai, Kai Kodukkum Kai, Padikkadavan, Dharma Durai, Veera, Muthu, Annaamalai, and Arunachalam; and then there were the quintessential “Rajini” films like Baashha and Padayappa that spawned several clones and defined the formula for a mass commercial hero, the traces of which could be seen in (and not just limited to) the dialogue delivery and body language of almost every single star actor in Tamil cinema to this day.
It is undoubtedly a myopic view to relegate Tamil Nadu’s reverence for Rajinikanth to just celebrity worship. It is the celebration of the foundational virtues of a society which actively cheered on and facilitated the ascension of a common man from a bus conductor to a Superstar, which showered love when that same man with a dark complexion shattered stereotypes of the “fair-skinned” hero; Tamil Nadu became the stage upon which it was proven that if you worked hard, you could become an icon for all the world to celebrate. In retrospect, the magic of Rajinikanth might seem like destiny, a miracle even, but there is method to every madness. As I mentioned earlier, in order to understand a star, we must observe its shadows, its darkest moments.
One of the most common critiques of Rajinikanth is that he dishes out the same stuff every time. Which is not entirely true. As any form of life that managed to survive through the ages, he too abides by the most important law of nature: evolution. He just does it within the bounds of his specific mass masala formula that he perfected over decades. Rajinikanth’s willful drive to evolve is more pronounced following his first major financial failure, Baba, in 2002. After this, every major disappointment was quickly followed by a massive success that pulled him back to the top again. And if you look closely at the post-flop successes, a curious pattern emerges. At the time, these choices were baffling, subversive, and surprising, something that went against our perception of him at the time. Why would he choose to remake a Malayalam psychological thriller? Why would he do a science fiction film? Why would a Superstar choose a two-film-old director? And why would he choose a director fresh off a box-office dud?
It all begins with Billa:
It was the end of the ‘70s, and MGR was well into his first term as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Even though Tamil cinema had its fair share of stars by then, audiences were craving for another larger-than-life “hero” to leap onto the screen. It would take some time, but Tamil cinema had its first glimpse at the birth of a star in 1980. Even though Rajinikanth became a household name by then, it was Billa (1980) that cemented his image as a commercial action star. But, as we would observe later, his biggest turning point (of which he had quite a few) came right after a low point. For the years preceding Billa, it was a personal low for the actor. Due to a combination of career pressure, personal issues, and mental health concerns, it was reported that Rajinikanth was planning to quit acting altogether. And then Billa hit the screens. And then there was no looking back. Until…
Baba and the birth of a new era:
After Billa, Rajinikanth started to perfect his own spin on the mass masala genre. With occasional breaks here and there, with relationship dramas (Pudhu Kavidhai, 1982), family dramas (Netrikann, 1981), some experiments (Raghavendrar, 1985 and Valli, 1993), and lighthearted comedy (Veera, 1994), the actor was largely focusing on what was starting to shape up to be the “Rajini” genre. It arguably reached its zenith with films like Annaamalai (1992), Arunachalam (1997), Baashha (1995), Muthu (1995), and Padayappa (1999).
And once again, rumours of Rajinikanth’s retirement from cinema had re-emerged. The speculations spiralled into monstrous hype for Baba, which was expected to be his last film. The hype-monster gained a big fat shot of adrenaline to the heart when whispers suggested that Rajinikanth would finally give his answer to whether he would enter politics, towards the end of the film. Hype, as it is well documented in Tamil cinema, is like an Anaconda. If you let it grow unchecked, it will coil itself around and slowly squeeze you to death, and unfortunately, no amount of “manthiram” helped Baba. Perhaps the biggest failure in Rajinikanth’s career, Baba resulted in the actor reimbursing distributors for their losses and solidified talks of the Superstar’s retirement. It also spurred debates on “the next superstar.” The world didn’t wait to see what Rajinikanth would do next; it moved on coldly as it always had. And Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, who clawed his way to the top from humble beginnings, knew this fact more than anything, which is perhaps why he didn’t rush to announce his retirement or plans for the future. There was a long pause, and from that silence, he emerged again, but this time with a new strategy.
The art of micro-subversions:
Three years after Baba, Chandramukhi hit the theatres in 2005 and became a massive success, shattering all previous collection records, and running for more than 800 days. In retrospect, it was the perfect comeback vehicle: remake of a proven success (Manichitrathazhu, 1993), a stellar ensemble cast including stars like Jyothika, Nayanthara, Prabhu, Naasar, and Vadivelu, classic masala storytelling designed to appeal to a broader family audience, and it gave Rajinikanth all the space for his usual Rajinisms: punch dialogues, action sequences, signature humour. However, beneath the veneer of the usual, Chandramukhi was actually loaded with several sharp yet smaller subversions. At the time of the announcement, nobody expected Rajinikanth to do what was essentially a psychological thriller, which also closely followed the grammar of a horror film. The project was helmed by P Vasu, who had not delivered a big commercial hit in over a decade at the time. One could argue that Rajinikanth’s role in Chandramukhi was a glorified cameo. And the film was not even named after Rajinikanth’s character, as was customary for a big star vehicle. After decades, the star returned to his roots, bringing the darker shade for which he gained widespread popularity in his early years, in the form of Vettiayan. Rajinikanth, the genre, was back, but this time with a critical addition to the formula. Every time the actor faced a monumental flop afterwards, he immediately launched his formula of micro-subversions. “Has Rajinkanth’s reign finally ended?” is a question that keeps coming back, and he keeps finding new and creative ways to answer “No” every single time.
The man of many comebacks
After Chandramukhi, Rajinikanth returned to his regular formula again, with Siviaji: The Boss (2007). With nothing left to prove, the Shankar directorial ended up being a celebration of the “Rajini” genre, and became the first Tamil film to enter the 100 crore club. The next year, the star reunited with P Vasu for Kuselan. Even though it was just a cameo, the film disappointed the audience for several reasons, but the chief among them was that it was “not enough of a Rajini film”. Two years later, the actor once again launched his upgraded formula with Enthiran. It had all the makings of a typical “Rajini” film, but who would have thought we were getting it in the form of a high-concept science fiction. With glowing reviews, Enthiran went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2010. In 2011, however, Rajinikanth faced critical health issues and was largely expected to retire. This time, even the fans, concerned for their icons' well-being, expected retirement as well, but, as we would see time and again, he never stops. Rajinikanth came back in 2014 with a motion capture animated film (Kochadaiiyaan) and an old-school mass masala entertainer with his Muthu director KS Ravikumar (Lingaa). Both the films were widely panned, but Lingaa received the harshest of criticisms, with some pointing at how Rajinikanth’s attempts to play a younger character has finally exceeded tolerable levels. Once again, the more “career-ending” a flop seems to be, the bigger Rajinikanth’s next hit is destined to be. The Superstar surprised everyone in 2016 by signing on a two-film-old director with no record of a mass commercial entertainer. He was also playing his age after a long time. When the teaser of Pa Ranjith’s Kabali hit the internet on May 1, 2016, it had a seismic effect. It became the most-viewed Indian film teaser at the time, crossing 5 million in 24 hours. Some would even argue that the sky-high hype generated by the trailer eventually led to the film struggling to exceed expectations, resulting in mixed reviews. It didn’t matter because Kabali went on to become a stellar box-office success. And it helped Pa Ranjith set a precedent for exploring Dalit lifestyle and anti-caste narratives in a large-scale star vehicle, which essentially opened up space for other filmmakers as well.
The year was 2021, the early post-pandemic era, and almost every conscious experience was now happening inside social media. To make things worse, Annaatthe had just been released. Dated storytelling, stale comedy, and excessive melodrama all combined to make Annaatthe the perfect fodder for social media trolling. At the time, it almost sounded like sensible advice when Rajinikanth’s critics said he should stop doing films in order to preserve his legacy and not tarnish it with botched attempts. And of course, Rajinikanth didn’t see it that way; why would he? If you think like the majority, hold the same beliefs about limits, mirror their thought patterns, can you really stand so far apart as the Superstar? In 2023, he baffled Tamil audiences once again by choosing director Nelson, who was just emerging from a swarm of negative reactions to his Vijay-starrer Beast. And nobody expected Rajinikanth to accede to the newly emerging trend of “pan-India”, which pulled a cameo appearance from almost every other film industry. Once again, the gamble paid off, as Jailer went on to shatter records, becoming the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, sitting right behind the star’s very own 2.0.
It is not a secret that Rajinikanth’s last release, Coolie, amassed a large number of negative criticisms. But if history has taught us anything, it is that the Superstar is going to pack his next project with several mini-surprises, bide his time, and come back with another generational hit. The signs are already there because who would have thought that the industry’s much-awaited film, the Kamal Haasan-Rajinikanth reunion, is finally happening? Who would have thought the man so famously averse to sequels is doing Jailer 2? Who would have thought, with the biggest directors of the country openly expressing their desire to work with him, he would choose a one-film old director, Cibi Chakravarthy, for Thalaivar 173?
Rajinikanth the relentless
Rajinikanth’s unrivalled longevity record is not because he reached the summit and stayed on top for five decades. Sure, some might have dethroned him now and again; there is one for every season, but everyone who reached the top could always catch a glimpse in the peripheries, the daunting image of Rajinikanth climbing up to the top again like Sisyphus. But, as Albert Camus would say, “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” And why exactly would a happy man retire? Or maybe he might, but we know for a fact that until he does, Rajinikanth will never stop reaching for the top. As Rocky Balboa would say, “It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward…,” and the Superstar always will.