Since Rajini has been identified more with masala or entertainer
movies which guarantees box-office success (what is being called in
trade parlance as minimum guarantee movies), Rajini has never been
considered for acting discussions - leave alone honours or awards.
Though Rajini did act in many such masala movies he had also acted
in many movies which had scope for exhibiting his histrionic skills
at different points in time in his career. Some of the movies which
come to my mind are Moondru Mudichu, Avargal, Thappu Thaalangal,
Thillu Mullu, Mullum Malarum, Ilamai Oonjalaadugirathu, Dharma
Yudhdham, 16 Vayathinile, Aval Appadiththaan, Johnny, Naan Vaazha
Vaippen, Aarilirundu Arubadhu Varai, Engeyo Ketta Kural, Kai
Kodukkum Kai, Thee, Thambikku Endha Ooru, Ragavendrar, Dalapathy,
Padikkathavan, Moondru Mugam, Badshah, Netrikkan, Annamalai, Muthu
(my favourite), Sivaji, etc.
The human mind is set with prejudices. One such prejudice is to
brand someone as x or y or z. In that manner, many Tamil actors
have been branded as stars or actors. Never once does it cross
anybody's mind that one can also be the other or at least a star can
also be an actor. Thats why MGR has never been considered to be an
actor though he has given one of his best performences in Anbe Vaa
(my personal opinion) whereas Sivaji Ganesan is always considered as
The Marlan Brando of Tamil filmdom though many roles of his can be
considered as over-acting (though I am a fan of Nadigar Thilagam).
Incidentally, MGR has got a National Award for Acting (Rickshakaran)
whereas Sivaji Ganesan has never been conferred with one - even
posthumously.
By the same logic, the second generation (or is it the thrid
generation) of film actors in tamil cinema has been branded as
either an actor or a star. Hence, Rajini has come to be known more
as a star due to many of his masala films whereas Kamal got the tag
as an actor, due to his performance- oriented roles (not make-up
oriented ones, mind you) in his earlier years, which he fully
deserves. But, the prejudiced mind of people and the media or so-
called critics, don't even take any effort to look critically at the
performance of either Rajini, the star or Kamal, the actor.
According to me, Rajini had clearly outshown Kamal in Ilamai
Oonjalaadugirathu, which was a rage among the young generations of
mid-70s. The movie directed by the great Sridhar, had pitted Rajini
and Kamal as friends, who will part ways due to some serious mis-
understanding but will ultimately unite at the end thru some
cinematic melo-drama. At that time I WAS AN ADMIRER OF KAMAL and
used to dislike Rajini. But, after seeing the movie, though I was
disappointed that Rajini did better than kamal, outwardly I used to
argue for Kamal. Whether it was his style (a special pen with which
Rajini will stylishly sign) or dialogue delivery or emotion, Ilamai
gave Rajini ample opportunites to perform, which he utilised to the
fullest extent & outshown Kamal.
But, it was Dharma Yudhdham, which is one of the classic masala
movies in Tamil, directed by R.C.Sakthi, where Rajini gave a
splendid performance, with his style, wit, rage & emotions.
Incidentally, I became, or, rather declared myself as, a Rajini fan
immediately after watching Rajini in Dharma Yudhdham.
Rajini did one of his finest performances of his career in Thambikku
Yendha Ooru, which to this day, remains one of his best comic
entertainers.
According to me, it was Rajini's best ever performance as an actor,
which made Sivaji the biggest hit of Tamil/south Indian cinema. But
for Rajini & his performance, Sivaji would have become a damp
squib. Even a talented director like Shankar had totally
surrendered to Rajini, the Performer & Charmer, in Sivaji.
Like this, I can keep on rattling many memorable performances of
Rajini with his fine & subtle expressions & reactions, but this post
will become too big.
Having said how good an actor and performer Rajini is, I also feel,
to some extent, Rajini himself has to share the blame for this so-
called non-recognition by the media/critics. Even thoguh in the
initial days, Rajini did act in purely performance- oriented roles &
movies, because some of them didn't click commercially, Rajini took
a conscious decision of not acting in such movies from then on. So,
its Rajini's decision not to delve too much into acting or emoting
the way the public perceives it. He is content with whatever
recognition he has already got & doesn't even seem to bother that he
is not considered as an actor. In fact, he himself has told
somewhere that he is not a great actor or dancer like Kamal, etc.
but is content to be what he is.
Finally, some blame has to rest squarely on us, Rajini fans, too as
it is we, who primarily make or break a Rajini movie. If we don't
see Rajini in his usual intro song/fight or style or mannerisms or
standard fights, etc., we don't encourage such efforts. Thats why
even a Chardramukhi story has to be twisted a lot to suit the
sensibilities of a typical Rajini fan.
However, I do see a genuine effort on Rajini's part, to subtly try &
change the trend. At least from the 90s, in movies like Annamalai,
Badshah, Muthu, Padayappa, CM, Sivaji and now Kuselan, Rajini tries
to mix his usual style, mannerism, fights, etc. with some story,
sentiments, melo-drama, emotions, comedy, etc. in order to make his
movies more enjoyable by the entire family rather than by only
specific targeted audiences.
Thats why we can see a marked change in the perception & popularity
of Rajini. From being a youth & C-Centre oriented actor in the 70s,
today Rajini has become the Super Star of all Stars of India, adored
by the entire spectrum of audiences
- from a toddler to a school kid to a youth to an office-goer or a
family-man to a senior-citizen
- from C centre to B centre to A centre to Multiplex audicences not
only in Chennai or other TN towns but all over India and the World
- from a male-youth fans to both male & female fans/audience of all
age groups
- from rural TN to entrie TN, AP, Karnataka, Kerala, North & Other
parts of India to All Over The World.
All this gets translated into huge box-office success of all his
moives which satisfies not only Rajini-film producers/directors /
distributors/ exhibitors but also all the audiences because they
relish seeing Rajini on screen. Otherwise, in this day & age of
satellite TV, cale TV, internet downloads, pirated DVDs, etc. why
would they waste their precious time & money to come to a theatre to
watch a Rajini movie with family?
So, I feel, this is the REAL RECOGNITION FOR RAJINI - THE ACTOR.
Recognition by the ULTIMATE ARBITEUR - THE MASSES. Whether the
critics or the biased media recognises or not, the General public is
recognising Rajinikant as an actor who entertains them & they feel
by coming to theatre to watch his movies with family is PAISA VASOOL.
Period.
With Luv,
Arun
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