Rajinikanth: Mass hero faces the political 'acid test'

The fire in his eyes, the innate style quotient and an electrifying presence on the screen made Rajinikanth a phenomenon in the Indian film arena.

From an ordinary bus conductor to the superstar of the celluloid world and the highest-paid actor in the country, Rajinikanth has seen the best of what life had to offer.

And now at 70, the superstar wants to test his charisma among the people who worshipped him when he appeared on screen and spent sleepless nights to watch the first-day-first-show of his films at the dawn.

He wants to “change Tamil Nadu’s fate” by taking the formal plunge in politics.

While it is too early to assess the impact that he can make, many believe Rajinikanth’s time in politics was a quarter-century ago in 1996 and not in 2021. He could have easily repeated the magic of M G Ramachandran or N T Ramarao if he had listened to his well-wishers like veteran politician G K Moopanar and the venerable Cho Ramaswamy.

The atmosphere then was conducive. J Jayalalithaa’s popularity was at its lowest, and Rajinikanth’s statement that even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if AIADMK came back to power echoed across the state. The actor ended up backing the DMK and Moopanar’s TMC, helping Karunanidhi make a comeback as chief minister.

Rajinikanth was hesitant then—his film career was at its prime and he was in his mid-40s. His indecisiveness lasted till 2017, till Jayalalithaa died and Karunanidhi was confined to his home.

Rajinikanth seems to have developed cold feet more than once even after an announcement in 2017 declaring his political entry, apparently realising that he may not be able to win over people just by his popularity. The suspense, however, came to an end, on December 3.

Born into a Kannada-speaking Maharashtrian family in south Bengaluru as the youngest son of Ranoji Rao-Rama Bai couple, Shivaji Rao Geikwad’s transformation into Rajinikanth is self-made, of course, with help from his elder brother Sathyanarayana Geikwad and friend Raja Bahadur, who was his colleague in the then Bangalore Transport Service (BTS).

Veteran K Balachandar introduced Rajinikanth in his 1975-film Aboorva Raagangal. S P Muthuraman and J Mahendran among others brought the best out of the actor.

Rajinikanth mastered the art of marketing himself as a mass hero who stands up against evil by imitating the legendary MGR as the “do-gooder”. As he nursed political ambitions, dialogues laced with politically-loaded messages in his movies kept everyone guessing about his moves for about a decade.

But his 2002-film Baba bombing at the box office and his appeal to his fans to defeat candidates of PMK failing to impact 2004 elections, Rajinikanth’s films underwent a shift, getting rid of political messages or content.

His critics say he always endeared himself to those in power and refrained from attacking them. Even his current advisor Tamilaruvi Manian had used harsh words as recently as in 2017 to take a dig at Rajinikanth’s “neutrality.” Some point to his Kannada origins to take a dig at him.

Rajinikanth is a man who never let his stardom come in the way of remaining close to his roots. He is known for walking the extra mile to help people who helped him. Though he lives in a palatial bungalow in Chennai’s Poes Garden, he visits the modest Hanumanthnagar house in Bengaluru, where he grew up when he is in the city.

Rajinikanth stuck to his vintage ambassador car for long despite the best vehicles in the town adorning his garage. A senior journalist recalls that Rajinikanth would drive the ambassador himself after it went dark to meet Cho. Ramaswamy at his office.

As he makes an effort to position himself as a politician, Rajinikanth faces a challenge. His statements on several issues were not taken lightly by people in the last three years. The term ‘spiritual politics’ which he promises to follow bewildered many. He is perceived close to the BJP, and might not sway the voters today as he would have had 25 years ago.

The actor is now not in the best of his health. Rajinikanth’s mass appeal was never in doubt on celluloid. His charisma will face the acid test in the 2021 elections.

The man believes in miracles. He had termed his ascension from a bus conductor to a superstar as one. Another miracle, in the offing? As Rajini often says, only God knows.