Not just Iron Man or Captain America, Rajinikanth was my whole Avengers growing up

Indian Express

14 hours ago

As his fervent fan, I firmly believe that Shah Rukh Khan should not have won that National Award. Not only did he not deserve one for Jawan, but he has never delivered a performance that surpassed every other actor in the fray in the Best Actor category in any of the years since he made his film debut. Neither did he in Swades, nor in Chak De! India. Also, it's not award-worthy performances that we fans tune into SRK movies for. It's to savour the enchanting qualities that he — and only he — exudes. To witness the Shah Rukh-ness and the Shah Rukh-ification of characters that make us say, 'I know his performance isn't the best, but I simply don't care as long as I revel in this.' If there's one other actor for whom this holds true, it's Rajinikanth! Is he the best actor? Absolutely not! Does he have a lot of range as a performer? Nuh-uh. But do I/we care? Hell no!
While it's the cuteness, romance, and wit, among other features, that define Shah Rukh-ness, Rajinikanth's is more like an ism that encompasses and reflects the average common person's life, circumstances, and aspirations. He's not a Raj, Rahul or Arjun, belonging to ultra-rich households and yet oozing cuteness. Both in real and reel life, he has emerged from among the masses, eventually soaring to unimaginable heights through sheer hard work while never severing ties with his roots. While he commenced his journey playing villainous roles, what made him the Rajinikanth was mostly the working-class characters whose lives go through all the struggles and experiences that the average commoner can relate to. Having worked as a coolie and carpenter too, before his well-known stint as a bus conductor in Bangalore, to support his financially struggling family before foraying into cinema, the actor could slip into his blue-collar characters easily, particularly since those lives weren't alien to him.
What made him stand apart was the effortless swagger and style he brought along. From his iconic walking style and the swoosh of his actions to the cigarette flicks and sunglass twirls, he established a persona and an image for us to aspire to. He gave the working-class life, with all its struggles and conflicts, and the dark skin typical of Dravidians, a sexy look. He made people realise that being a proletariat was not something to be ashamed of, but rather to be embraced wholeheartedly because that's part of the identity. When those thriving on generational wealth by doing little to no work walk around with much haughtiness, why should those toiling to earn their daily bread feel embarrassed? Nonetheless, his characters were not smug. They were a reflection of his real-life persona: down-to-earth. 'The hand that offers bread shall never hunger' was the motto his characters lived by, and by extension, that's what Rajinikanth, too, is believed to live by. For such people, he showed through his roles that, no matter the struggles and obstacles, a eucatastrophe 'will happen' that will give them the happily-ever-after they deserve. He allowed us to feel a sense of vicarious triumph through his characters, letting us revel in the joy of someone like us achieving everything we couldn't. In this way, he instilled hope in us that if it could happen for Rajinikanth/his characters, perhaps it could happen for us too.
What's the first Rajinikanth film I watched? I have zero clue. But I have clear memories of watching director KS Ravikumar's Padayappa and imitating the various iconic and stylish gestures of Rajinikanth, and trying to deliver lines like 'En vazhi thani vazhi' as he did. Every time I felt like I nailed it, a feeling of immense satisfaction crept through me. I remember being blown away by the man's infectious smile, swagger, the rhythm with which he delivered dialogues, and at times, his humour. His portrayals in films like Priya, Billa, Johnny, Polladhavan, Netrikkan, Pokkiri Raja, Ranga, Moondru Mugam, Naan Sigappu Manithan, Padikkadavan, Naan Adimai Illai, Velaikkaran, Mappillai and Athisaya Piravi impressed me.
But the movie that hit me square in the chest was Anbulla Rajinikanth, wherein he played himself. Though I knew this was just a film and that the story could have been crafted to satisfy his image as well, the fact that even while playing a fictional version of himself, Rajinikanth chose to be a simple ray of sunshine — a person who, despite being a massive superstar, goes the extra mile to bring happiness to a little girl with a disability and a heart condition — wowed me. He could have ensured his portrayal as anything else. Yet, he chose to be the light of someone's life. For me — a little boy whose childhood was mostly relegated to beds at hospitals and home owing to back-to-back surgeries due to a physical condition — the sight of Rajinikanth going all out to ensure Rosy's (Meena) happiness felt comforting. I felt that one day, he might come and meet me as well. Maybe he would come and beat up all those who bullied me for my limp. Perhaps he would appear out of nowhere and tell them why it was unfair to bully anyone. He left me with a constant sense that he was there for all of us.
As I grew up, he also grew on me. I started noticing that, unlike the characters depicted by other beloved actors, the roles Rajinikanth chose to play had a bigger heart. They were not just characters but paragons of righteousness and goodwill. 'Verum panam (It's just money),' they could say without second-guessing. Even if not always for oneself, they stood up whenever those around them were in dire straits. As Annaamalai, Manikkam alias Baashha, and Muthu, he showed that he would always be there for the downtrodden, the marginalised, and the wronged. No matter if he was a milkman, an auto rickshaw driver, a charioteer, or a mechanic like in Mannan, he served as a beacon of hope for all, like a superhero.
Rajinikanth and his characters weren't just confident and charismatic like Iron Man; they were selfless and righteous like Captain America, powerful like Scarlet Witch, brave and godly like Thor, strong and smashing like Hulk, resilient like Black Widow, and highly skilled and sharp like Hawkeye. Rajinikanth was not just one superhero for me; he was the whole Avengers. While he initially led me to believe that he would appear whenever something bad happened to me or those around me, as time passed, he and his characters made me realise that they were actually a benchmark for all to strive for. Along with their strong anti-caste politics, Pa Ranjith's Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018) became the epitome of such Rajinism as well, also emphasising that 'united we stand, divided we fall'.
While I have no doubt that there are actors with greater talent than Rajinikanth across the country, does that mean that he doesn't know acting at all? Absolutely not! Interestingly, there's a tendency among a segment of the 'intellectual' audience, as well as industry professionals, to disparage and dismiss other styles of acting they deem inferior to the 'absolute best' or those they consider benchmarks; as if to say, 'if not peak cinema/acting, then it ain't cinema/acting at all.'
Despite the existence of several acting techniques, we, particularly in India, tend to idolise only Stanislavsky's system and the Method. While an actor's ability to deeply dive into a character's skin and psyche, extracting their raw emotions and presenting them in an unfiltered manner, is of great importance, another talent that doesn't receive enough credit is the capability of certain actors to make characters feel relatable.
Take, for instance, the performances of Mammootty and Mohanlal, two of the finest actors in India today, in emotional scenes. When Mammootty cries, we can see the soul of the character he's playing, the predicament they are in, and their heart-shattering emotions, which move us too to tears. When Mohanlal cries, it makes us imagine a scenario where we, or someone like us, are in that position, which makes us emotionally affected or makes us cry in real life. While Mammootty makes us empathise with the character and understand how much a particular tragedy has affected that person, Mohanlal makes us experience how we would have felt had we been in that situation. While Mammootty's acting is hardcore and well-defined, one can't simply dismiss the style of Mohanlal, which is more about the audience's identification. After all, art is fundamentally about how a work resonates with us on a personal level, which is inherently subjective.
In a broad sense, this is Rajinikanth's style too. But rather than letting us place ourselves in a character's position, he assumes the role of our all-encompassing alter ego who can also do everything that we can't and won't in real life. He becomes our Tyler Durden (Fight Club, 1999). And that too isn't easy.
It's been 50 years since Rajinikanth's debut in K Balachander's Apoorva Raagangal (1975) and over four decades since he was accorded the title 'Superstar'. And yet, the hype surrounding any new film of his is unparalleled, with Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie being the latest example. Despite being only an average actor with limited performance skills and range, to reign over an entire country's cinema landscape for so long is no small feat, and that's something only Rajinikanth can do. This does not simply mean that one should overlook the problematic and pro-right political stances he has taken at times. They, too, must be addressed and condemned when required. But that's not going to erase his zilch-to-zenith life story.
As Upendra rightly said at Coolie's audio launch, 'There are so many stars in various film industries across the country, and they all have their fanbases. But if there is one person for whom even these stars turn fanboys who queue up for FDFS, that is you!' Had it not been for Rajinikanth and the on-screen Rajinism that stood against the tyrants and the elite, our lives would have been far duller and even directionless.
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