I recently watched the Tamil movie “Sivaji: The Boss” . It stars the superstar Rajini. It has been a few years since I had seen one of Rajini’s films, and going in to “Sivaji”, I was a little non-chalant. Perhaps it was because I’m “americanized” or maybe it was because the screening time was past midnight and my old eyes were ready to shut. Whatever it was, I approached the large gathering of the (mostly Tamilian) Indians, waiting outside the theater, with amusement.
It was the first day of screening. In fact, the movie was released worldwide that same day. In India, the average movie’s first day is a pretty big deal. Throngs of crowds, craving for anything to take them to a fantasy world, devour even the most run-of-the-mill movie. Rajini’s movies are a different league, however. They run sold-out for months. While it helps that he makes movies just once every other year or so, there is something else about him, and his movies, that make the experience a lot different.
As we piled into the theater, that “something else” quickly engulfed me. The non-chalance disappeared. Adrenalin kicked in. And I found myself leading the war cry - “Thalaivar, Vaalzgha” (Leader, Long Live). I felt ridiculously nostalgic of my days back in India.
Over the next 3 hours, the scenery inside the theatre was unreal. Its not every day that you see grown men and women, who are otherwise demure in their daily lives as high-paid professionals at reputable MNCs, jump up and down in dazed frenzy when watching an actor on a movie screen. Only Rajini has that impact on people. Whether he flips a gravity-defying one-rupee coin around his body or jumps a reverse-triple-somersault, people, otherwise logically normal, loudly ooh-and-aah. No, there is nothing cheesy about Rajini’s antics. In fact, you cannot classify them as antics. They are simply attributes of his charismatic personality - its like the saltiness in salt. They go together.
I cannot think of a single person in the entertainment industry, be it Hollywood or Bollywood, command such an awe from the masses. Rajini is leagues above your Brad Pitts and Amitabh Bacchans. People don’t just cheer and admire him, they worship him. Literally.
Rajini is a demi-god. A superstar. The Boss.
PS - The movie itself sucked. But who cares!
