King, Airbrushed

But what is it that makes Rajnikant, at age 57, such a phenomenon? Stars in Tamil (MGR), Telugu (Chiranjeevi, N. T. Rama Rao) and Kannada (Rajkumar) cinema have indisputably enjoyed megastar status. Unlike an Amitabh Bachchan or Shahrukh Khan, the southern stars have spawned fans' associations that have names, registration numbers, official stationery and even offices. Yet, Rajni stands notches above a Telugu contemporary like Chiranjeevi. Points out S.V. Srinivas, Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore, who has been studying the superstars of south India: "Although the media is intent on giving the false impression that he is a 'Tamil' phenomenon, his films have been hugely successful across south India and bettered the collections of most local stars on a number of occasions."

Notes AVM's Babu: "The intensity of the fan following here is much higher. Since Amitabh is all over themedia-- attending film festivals, launches, interviews, and selling all kinds ofproducts-- we take him for granted. Whereas you see Rajnikant once in two or three years in a film. Even the sun and moon can be seen everyday, not the superstar." It is this scarcity of circulation of his image that imbues an aura and triggers an unprecedented demand each time a movie releases. Ahead of Baba in 2002, Tamil magazines cashed in on the Rajni hysteria with some 40 cover stories on the superstar in less than five months. Notwithstanding the odd appearance of the 'real' image of his cigarette-scorched lips, balding pate and grey, scraggly stubble, what counts is his screenpersona--boosted in Sivaji by an airbrushed jawline and countless colourful wigs. Reinvented in every film, this persona retains certainconstants-- mannerisms, style and gestures topped by what are known as 'punch dialogues'.

Srinivas believes that Rajnikant's significance does not merely lie in his widespread popularity beyond Tamil Nadu or even the cult following he has acquired in Japan after the success of his 1995 film Muthu, released in Japanese as Odoru Maharaja. He adds: "More than any other actor living or dead, he demonstrates how much of the pleasure of film-viewing is derived from the star. He is a pure agent of spectatorial desire. His films are an elaborate choreographed game of anticipation and fulfilment of expectation." Such is the pleasure Rajnikant offers, that French actor-director Alain Chabat, known for his Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, featured a five-minute fight sequence from Rajnikant's Muthu in his 2006 film Prete Moi ta Main (Lend Me Your Hand). In the film, asked what she is watching, the female lead character replies: "Muthu, a cult Indian movie," and adds when Rajnikant's face appears, "I love that scene!"

It is not as if Rajnikant films were always like this. Having worked as a bus conductor in Karnataka, Rajni began his film career in 1974 with what we may, in retrospect, term 'art' roles. Even then, Rajnikant introduced a distinctstyle--laughter, the manner of lighting cigarettes, flicking his hair, a certain pace, celebration of his dark skin, key one-liners repeated through the film. It was only in the mid-1980s that the superstar image got cemented, abetted by a particular style of camerawork, editing, sound and special effects.

Such a signature Rajnikant ensemble will only be boosted in Sivaji by Shankar's penchant for grandeur, computer graphics and technicalwizardry-- elements that are not necessarily fused with the film's content. It will result, at once, in an awesome and awful film.