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A Brief History Of Rajini… Wearing a shabby looking coat and trousers, un-tucked shirt and loosened tie, one man opened a gate and entered into Tamil cinema’s collective consciousness. The fact that his on-screen entry in Apoorva Ragangal was accompanied by dissonance, has since become irrelevant given that his 30 year sojourn since then has been anything but that.

Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in Bangalore to Ramoji Rao and Rambhai on the 12^th of December 1950, very little is known about his formative years. Also little known is the fact that he is a graduate of the Chennai campus of the Film Institute. But what he did for a living before coming to Chennai is part of folklore. Rajinikanth or Thalaivar as he is known to his millions of fawning fans (including me) is India’s most famous ex-bus conductor.

During his time at the Film Institute, Shivaji Rao caught the attention of one of Indian cinema’s most astute auteurs, K.Balachander, who saw the hunger in his eyes and offered him that bit and yet landmark role as SriVidya’s husband who after tormenting her, leaves her and returns later, afflicted with a terminal disease. After that short 15 minute appearance in the path breaking Apoorva Raagangal, a string of negative roles followed in movies like Moondru Mudichu, 16 Vayadhinile and Gayathri.Then S.P. Muthuraman decided to mix things up and Thalaivar’s first leading man role followed in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri.

But it was not a complete transformation. In the years that followed, Rajini followed Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri with movies that established his place among the pantheon of great actors that have graced Tamil and indeed Indian cinema. Though, broadly speaking, he was doing some roles with a negative tinge, the sheer variety of characters he played is really mind-boggling. It is almost impossible to slot him in a stereotype based on the movies he chose in these first few years after Bhuvana… Notable among these are Kali, the one armed cable car operator who lives for his sister (Mullum Malarum), the lead guitar player (Ninaithale Innikum), the lawyer who searches for the kidnapped actress Sridevi in Singapore (Priya), sadistic husband (Avargal), henchman who takes the blame for a rape committed by his master (Bhairavi). The list is endless.

Then came Aaril Irundhu Aruvathu varai. The success of Bhuvana… and his recognition of Thalaivar as a raw talent capable of more than just gimmicks (more on that later) spurred S.P.Muthuraman to coax Rajini into accepting the melodramatic role of a family man who has to single handedly bring up a trio of siblings while circumstances force him to make a number of self sacrifices. In Aaril Irundhu Aruvadhu Varai, Thalaivar consented to play the un-glamorous role of the lower middle class everyman, even appearing in the garb of an old man towards the end of the movie.And there was Netrikkan. Rajinikanth’s dual role as a womanizing industrialist and his good natured son was something no one in similar career phase would care to touch. Rajini pulled that role off with aplomb. Somewhere unbeknownst to many, Rajini the actor had truly arrived.

If the highlights of the first phase of Rajini’s career, i.e. 1975 to 1980, were his movies with his mentor – K.Balachander, then the next phase was set off by his movies with S.P.Muthuraman. Between 1977’s Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri and 1990’s Adhisiya Piravi, S.P Muthuraman made at least 15 movies with Rajinikanth. And to put it lightly, these movies hit the mark more than once. In a way, S.P.Muthuraman’s movies were what made Rajinikanth the Superstar as he is known now. These movies revolved around the main protagonist, played naturally by Rajinikanth and involved him fighting for the general well being of society. The villains were caricatures and the girl, not more than arm candy.

During this period, Rajini was perhaps one of India’s busiest actors. In the 80s, Rajini starred in an average of 6 movies an year, many of them Hindi. However, if his Tamil movies roles were spread across the spectrum, his Hindi movies solely slotted him as a comic hero with moderate success. And though movies like Giraftar, Andha Kaanoon and Chaalbaaz did make waves in the box office, the public in the North perhaps did not warm up to him as much as he would have liked. This is evident from the unfamiliar amusement that the public derives while equating Rajini with actors such as Mithun Chakroborty. As with the other stars that made the trip across the Vindhyas, he did not get his due.

But then, just like that, after 1990, Rajini started taking it easy. This perhaps contributed to his
meteoric rise above his peers like Vijayakanth (they were both doing the similar kind of movies). And as Oz mentioned, it was during this post 90s phase that Rajini grew in stature as a cash cow, a sure winner. While movies like Pandian and Naatukku Oru Nallavan were widely reviled, these were far and few in between.Stories abound about distributors becoming rich twice over just with one of Rajinikanth’s movies. One story that I personally have heard is this Madurai distributor who bought the local Madurai city rights for Mani Ratnam’s Dalapathi for 75 lakh rupees and sold it the very next day to the highest bidder for 1.25 crores. Not much, but then the mind boggles if you consider that this incident took place 15 years ago in 1991, when Madurai’s population was much lesser than the current estimate of 1.1 million (11 lakhs).

Since 1995, most of his movies have broken records for box office receipts. Even his much maligned Baba reputedly made enough money to recover costs. And that in itself is an achievement since the biggest single cost in a Rajini starrer is the payroll for its leading man which these days runs close to 20 crores a movie. From an average of 6 movies a year in the 70s and the 80s, Rajini’s has since reduced his output to just one movie every couple of years. In doing so, he has shrewdly transformed the Tamil movie industry into one whose annual fortunes sometimes depend on whether one of his starrers is releasing that year or not.

As I come to a point where I can take a break, I find that I have merely scratched the surface. I am pretty sure that the comments will generate a much wider discussion on every single point in Rajini’s career that I have missed. And all I can say in my defense that, only a voluminous book can do justice to the career of a star like Rajinikanth. My aim here has been just to touch on points that a lot of people (apart from the hardcore fan) might not be aware of. I shall soon continue on what I think are responsible for his meteoric rise – the external factors and the people involved, the usual suspects and the hidden minds. So, as Thalaivar would say, “How eeees it?”… And that’s your cue to say –“Sooooper”.