Rajnikanth-Is he the Real Superstar?

2009-09-18

These are my personal views upon superstar and his films…So superstar fans if you think this topic is offending ur beliefs..You can quit at this point.Actually in Tamil nadu this topic creates more controversy and chaos than the topic about existence of god. And my FB’s from North India and those who are not familiar with Tamil movies,very sorry for writing about such an unfamiliar topic and Tamil movies.

“Superstar yaarunu keta chinna kozhandaiyum sollum.”

Even a small child knows who the superstar of Tamil cinema is… But do everyone feels the same as they grow up and mature?

When I was young I too idolised him as a superstar. But if you ask me now,will I say the same?

My answer is a big NO….

 

What can you find in the superstar movies?

Rajnikanth films usually are of same category… A two and half hour pure entertainer..

Analysis About Rajnikanth movies:

Every film starts with an Introduction song.. Where the hero is perfect in everything,the hero never makes any mistakes and he pour lots of advices to the general public.

I should accept he is the Style Samrat. A man who can capture hearts with his unique style.

So as I said before every movie starts with a introduction song.He appears to be a normal ma,n but actually he is a superman who can do everything and who is talented in doing everything.  Let it be love, stunts.He is the best.

 

He has special types of guns.His gun can fly,go and shoot the bad guy and comes back to his hands. So without any trouble and without aiming,he can shoot a person from where he is standing..Regardless of where the target is. Wow…Incredible right?? Is he a Superstar or a Superman?

 

In all his films..He is either a rich man or a poor man. He has never done the role of a common man. If he is rich,he becomes poor half way and then becomes rich again within a short period of time(maybe in a single song).

 

In other case he would have been rich in flashbacks(may be his father or ancestors)..which he realises half way and the remaining film lies with whether he is rich or poor in the end.

There are even some incredible concepts in his films.. In one film “Arunachalam” He should spend 30 crores in 30 days for claiming his remaining property from going into bad hands.

Next in line comes another great film.. Where our superstar is an Atheist.But our superstar accidently meets the god himself. God teaches him a powerful mantra,which he can use for seven times.. The rest of film lies with how and for what purposes he uses the mantra. And he apparently wastes few times in testing it..

 

Is he educating the society by passing some good message through the film? There is nothing wrong if he never passes a message to the society and provide a two and half hour entertainment. But he should not teach something wrong to the society. Don't you agree?I am speaking about the concept of Hawala. I think most of our people were unaware about the concept hawala until he utilized this concept in a film. Such Illegal concepts should not be preached.Especially by rajnikanth as he is considered as something great by our fellow people over here.

 

I accept that he provides a great form of entertainment.But where is the reality? where is the quality?

 

Is he acting in such kind of films from the start of his career? Was he accepted as the superstar in his very first film? The answer is NO. Then at what point of time he started acting such kind of movies? What made him to act in movies which makes no difference and which has no quality or reality?

 

Rajnikanth Before:

Rajnikanth actually started acting as co-artist and as a villain.Especially along with kamal Haasan. His earlier films had some quality and he established himself as a good actor.

His good films includes “Aarilirundhu aruvadhu varai”..(From 6 to 60 years) Where he plays a role of a young man who sacrifices his whole life for the sake of his siblings. The story is about a man’s life from 6 years to 60 years. The film mostly characterises human relationship and bonding. Such an excellent movie it is to watch. And another notable film is “SRI RAGHAVENDRA”, where he portrays the character of lord Raghavendra. Is he the same superstar who acted in such good and quality movies?

 

The Turning Point:

I guess doing such quality movies didn't earn him the required fan base and Image. The turning point came when he acted “BADSHAAH”. The film was a huge hit and created a great image. So inorder to maintain his image and fan base,he started acting in similar kind of movies and apparently his films started lacking the quality.

 

Apart from all the above, all Rajnikanth movies have some good ingredients too. But what I feel is the lacking quality and reality has shadowed the good ingredients.

 

 

Image Courtesy: Google Images.

39 comments:

  • pawan

    Shankar,
    As an avid hater of Indian films irrespective of the language they are made in, I quite idolize Rajinikanth even though his films are low on substance. It is just for the entertaining factor. And we also should keep in mind, common man themes generally do not work for superstars and also Rajini has come to the ripe age, where he can choose much more meticulous characters!
    Anyhow nice analysis.

    Cheers!

  • Unknown

    ha..ha.common man themes do not work for rajinikanth?? he never tried to do such themes..

    agree with last point....thanks a lot for ur comment..

  • I havent seen any of his movies so cannot comment. but in general, all indian movies lack this.. most of them are silly with no good script/story.. english movies are not coz they are based on novels/books and have a strong story as a base.. but yeah always watching serious movies with a message, makes life boring.. watching light movies for timepass also is good and indian movies are good for that :)

  • Shilpa Garg

    Good one!! Have heard that Rajinikanth is like a demi god to his fans, as is obvious when they conduct poojas on huge cutouts of Rajinikanth just before his film releases to ensure his success!!

    Have not seen his South Indian movies, but Hindi movies where he flips his cigarette in air or rotates his glasses in a unique style!
    And as you say, his gun shots!! Amazingly silly!

    True, his films (rather most of Hindi films) have very low substance but they are high on entertainment!

  • Indian Pundit

    Shankar.....how could u write such a thing rascalaaaaaaaaaa.......hahahahahaha


    Jokes apart, its good to know about RK and his movies from u.

    Very informative.

    Cheers

  • BK Chowla,

    Any actor who succeeds on box office is the super star,Rajnikant does.
    I have seen his Hindi movies but his style is the same as in Tamil movies.

  • Amit Kumar Singh

    I have seen very few movies like Siva ji; the boss, Hum and Faristey....
    In childhood as I used to like action movies very much; So Rajnikant was obviouly one of my favourites....But Now... I am not in his admirer list, any longer... Nevertheless for fun, I can bear his movies even today......

    Nice post
    I loved the way you wrote it...
    Cheers!!

  • Sandeep

    Hi shankar
    A good review on Rajinikanth's movies. Though i agree with you that his films are pure entertainment but what i have noticed in his films is that in every movie the songs will convey a good message.I 2 agree with pawan and even i am expecting him to see in meticulous characters....

    Hey shankar one small suggestion ur blog takes xtra time to load compared to other blogs, if possible make it faster.

    Anyway you have done a great job

  • Bharathi

    I agree with all that you said though I like him off the screen. I think you missed Mullum malarum, a class act. What a character it was. I cant forget the climax.

  • Sugandha Gupta

    Hey ...
    well I havent seen much of his movies so cant comment abt tht ... otherwise I guess he is more like SRk in Bollywood ... almost similar sorta movies n all(except for Swades) ... n a huge fan followin ... bt ya I have heard Rajnikant is a very Simple n down to earth man !!! :)

  • Raji U

    Yeah Shankar, I accept the fact that everything has become so commercial these days but don't you think its us(his so called fans) who would want to see him the way he acts today!!! Good theme and read. keep posting!

  • Prashansa

    I have seen some Hindi movies of Rajnikant and some Hindi dubbed tamil movies.He is ok.And I think your analysis is true for all the superstars in India.They have few good movies but many others are crap!!!

  • I have never seen any movie of Rajni kant..so I don't have an opinion about him....But the post was quite informative and I must say you presented it very well....
    there were some very witty lines accompanied by some serious ones!!
    great going///

  • pRiYaN...!

    ha ! lots of thinking is put on here for this post !!

  • Prashansa

    You have an award waiting for you on my blog! Please collect it!

  • hey did I say or do something wrong?

  • Unknown

    @ashwini:yup you are true..most of the Indian movies lacks quality...

    @shilpa:thanks a lot for comment shilpa... very high entertainer..

    @IP: thats how my fellow tamil friends will scold me if they read this article...

  • Unknown

    @chowla: but is box office the only factor to determine the super star??

    @singh amith:thanks a lot for the comment..

    @sandeep: thanks for sharing ur views..my blog takes extra time due to sliders..will soon try to rectify.. thanks for suggestion...

  • Unknown

    @bharathi: ya..i forgot..its also a great movie....

    @suga: yup..thats why I like kamla haasan and aamir khan..more than sharukh and Rajni... ya..he is too simple and good person....

    @rajalakshmi: very true..its we fans who decide things.... and fans too have to be blamed..

    @pra: thanks a lot for comment and award..

    @rsv: thanks a lot rsv... Bro..this is the second time... I was busy ..so I couldn't comment u back.. very sorry..for that.....nothing is wrong... It is wrong only if u dont share ur comments... So keep commenting..

  • Unknown

    @priyan: thanks a lot priyan..

  • I know u r a busy person....
    I don't expect you to read and comment n my post every time I write one...
    it is just I felt a pang that (perhaps) u didn't accept my award....
    I know u r a very nice guy and like a big bro to me........

  • I have one suggestion....
    try to make your blog a bit lighter...
    kafi time leta hai ye......

  • Unknown

    @rsv: Thanks for the award rsv..I will accept with delight... thanks a lot......

    and regarding ur blog suggestion..I am working on it... I dont want to waste time in editing this template. Rather I am now working on creating my own template.So it will take a little more time.
    So inconvenience regretted until that time..sorry for that..

  • Unknown

    what the hell u know about him .better u keep all ur holes shut.each and every person likes him as a person more than a superstar.badshaw is not his turning point.it was a movie released after 25 years of his long 35 years career.

  • Unknown

    @anudeep: better read my post fully... Then comment.. I said its not the turning point of his career...

    and dear friend..this is my blog... why Should I shut???

  • Roshmi Sinha

    Its always the case of the "bottom line" and the "top line"...

  • Swetha

    i'm sorry for responding late to this post.. but i have to tell you ..

    An actor act in a movie just for the sake of money.. And Rajini is the most highly paid actor in India.. And he has some fame established.. so he wants to continue with that.. Rajini is not versatile .. he does the same kinda movie ... with diff actress on his side.. he maintains a good style wiht his movements on the screen ... and he became famous because of his simplicity!

    he is a good entrainer .. thats all i can say !! you can watch his movie once!! HE is a commercial actor! What do you say?

  • Unknown

    @pranksy: thanks for the comment... I too feel the same. actually I got bored of such movies..with vijay,ajith everyone doing the same.. from dhanush to simbhu...its boring.. I prefer kamals film..i always like him a lot... unnai pol oruvan was good.. dasavadharam was different..VV was also great... all his films are different.. He is a great actor..not rajini..

  • The Solitary Writer

    hehee another post on rajni sir....

    infact he wd be happy if he reads this..

    well my take on rajni wd always be humorous one....check my blog i have written 3 posts on our gr8 superstar

    kanna rajni always rocks

  • Unknown

    hey thanks for the comment solitary writer.... please provide those links...

  • Varun

    """His gun can fly,go and shoot the bad guy and comes back to his hands. So without any trouble and without aiming,he can shoot a person from where he is standing."""

    NAME THE MOVIE PLEASE ? :)...

  • Unknown

    @varun: havent u watched Shivaji??...

    athiradi song.....

  • Unknown

    Dear Shankar, your opinion on Kamal hasan is very high, but he is very ordinary actor, when Mullum Malarum project was started, Director Mahendran wanted only Nadigar Thilagam, and Super Star. When producer told Kamalhasan and M.R.R. Vasu, he told I will not direct this film. This shows the acting ability of Sivaji, and Rajini. Rajini can act very realistically unike Kamal, who is more of a technical actor. Even S.P. Muthuraman approached only Super Star Rajini when he had good stories, novels. So do not over estimate Kamal and under estimate Rajini, because Kamal is also having lot of weaknesses in his acting.

  • I agree with ur comment, but can you show me one hero who can do the same style of rajinkanth and that can be accepted ?

    he is unique in his own way....

  • Unknown

    @anonymous: can you name yourself??? so that I can reply to your comment.... Buddy..Dont take me wrong.... I will reply to only those who comments with their name.... else the comment is treated as spam... no worries buddy..its my policy... if you happened to visit again and see my comment.kindly leave your name and I will surely share my views.... And thanks for the comment....

  • Unknown

    Hi kirthi.....

    First of all thanks for the comment... I never said rajini is not a good actor.... He is very unique as anonymous said and I specified at the starting of this article that he is style samrat....

    and If you havent gone through my last few lines..I highly recommend you to go through it and check back your comment... I have seen the past movies from rajinikanth and I am a great fa of him.. You didnt read the last few lines I think...

    I have just made the comparison between the earlier rajinikanth.... and todays rajinikanth... Please check the paragraph "Rajinikanth Before"... hi films like arulirunthu aruvadhu varai and mullum malarum are great films... that is during the same S.P. muthuraman period... can u name one such present movie of rajinikanth? where he has enacted himself in a character role and abolishing all those superstar image.... I am just asking what happened to that rajinikanth...

    Sorry If i am being rude.... better read the whole post before commenting... sorry once again... and I am very sory if my post is not interesting to read till end... I think so only you discontinued it half way> I put the blame on myself for that...

    And one more point... the film in which rajinikanth is acting now a days can be done by anyone... even vijay does the same..so does vikram...

    But films like unnaipol oruvan. only kamal can do...

  • Unknown

    Respected Shankar Sir, I agree that rajini's acting ability has come down and nowadays, he is considered to be another MGR by the common public, which is not true. But he has to accept the public opinion (Makkal Theerpu Mahesan Theerpu). But I want to tell is that Kamal Hasan even though doing variety of roles, he is considered to be a technician, and his acting is based on his techical abilities like getup, and other things. Simply, he is a very tough guy for common man to understand. You are talking about logic, can any comman man stand in one place and give message to the police about the extremist activities like the one he has done in unnai pol oruvan, even kamal is doing illogical things, and even in dasa, he has not done the same realistic and pure acting as nadigar thilagam in navarathiri. In short, both kamal and rajini cannot be compared with great nadigar thilagam, and even nadigar thilagam is having lot of weakness in acting. Do not underestimate any actor for another actor. But I should appreciate your comment that rajini is acting like MGR. That is 100% correct, and rajini being a realistic actor, should change his attitude. Thank You Dear Shankar.

  • 100% SivajiGaneshan + 100% MGRamachandhran + 100% Nagesh + 100% KamalHassan + 100 % of himself is Rajnikanth.

  • shankarlal

    Indian film industry has only one superstar and that is the Rajesh khanna,actually Rajesh khanna first and last true superstar some people say Amitabh bacchan and Rajnikant true superstar of the indian cinema but fact is that they are not a superstar, true superstar is only one name is Rajesh khanna Amitabh bacchan and Rajnikant 'nothing' compare to Rajesh khanna he is gareatest superstar ever no other actor call a true superstar indian film indusry never fink superstar just like Rajesh khanna.

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