Chennai Corner

Will He Won't He?

He might be a Superstar but his political baptism is akin to the fable about the boy and the wolf.His sheen seems to has worn off even among his die-hard fans who are convinced that Rajnikanth is "confused". "You may be a good actor but you cannot succeed in politics," isRamadoss' take. Or does friend and former union minister Shatrughan Sinha, who met Rajnikanth at his residence last Saturday, know better? According to ShotgunSinha, "He (Rajnikanth) is a public asset now. He cannot be in a shell. People of Tamil Nadu are in for a big surprise."

Sinha says right now Rajni is concentrating on his film. But after his last dud at the box office in the shape ofKuselan, Rajni might want to leave tinseltown in a blaze of glory. That opportunity comes in the form of the overhyped Aendhiran (Robot) in which he stars opposite Aishwariya Rai. Now, AishwariyaRai, despite her aura and beauty has not exactly made the cash registers jingle in the past.

But Chiranjeevi, megastar from tinseltown who fielded eggs from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi during his AP road show last week, said something that ties in with what Shotgun said. Claiming that he too had an inside track to the Superstar, he said:"Rajni told me that he might take the plunge in 2011. That's when he'll turn 60."

But Rajni is in great demand by the BJP, which has not made much headway here politically unlikein Karnataka where it has formed a government. But efforts are on as demonstrated by BJP's PM-designate dropping in at Rajni's residence this week and exchanging talks while Rajni's wife,Latha, and high-profile daughter Soundarya played gracious hosts. A little later, Rajni was the surprise guest at the release of Advani's autobiography(My Country, My Life) in Tamil. But Rajni was noncommittal as always. Besides, he does not want tojeopardise his film career, considering that breaking bread with the BJP will not go down well with theDMK.

Will Vijay Get There First?

But here's a word of caution for Rajni. Actor Vijay is playing catch up -- both in films and politics. On his 34th birthday on June 22, he had launched a flag for his fan clubs. Recently at his say so, his fans peppered the PM's office with telegrams seeking his intervention for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. In fact 30,000 telegrams were sent as compared to 1,200 sent in response to Karunanidhi's appeal to his cadres and 5,000 sent at Jayalalitha's urging to her cadre "over his(Karunanidhi's) somersault on the Lankan issue." Later this week, Vijay's fans are going to join him in a hunger fast on the issue. His PRO P T Selvakumar says: "Vijay has always been in the forefront of protests for people's causes including the fund mobilisastion drive for Kargil war." Reliable sources say that Vijay's father director-father S A Chandrasekharan is grooming his son for a future political role. Looks like he's got a head start.

PMK-DMK: Back to Bhai Bhai Soon

After being consigned to the doghouse a couple of months ago, PMK's S. Ramadoss is well on his way to becoming the proverbial prodigal son. The groundwork has been laid after his meeting withunion minister T R Baalu and all that is left for the kiss and make up ritual is a meeting with DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who jettisoned the PMK from the rainbow coalition that was formed after he came back to power a little over two years ago. Karunanidhi's problem is that hisruling coalition is in tatters because the PMK's exit was soon followed by the commies which left him at the mercy of the Congress. The CM also got fed up of the Congress (with 35 MLAs), which did not let goof any opportunity to needle him about having to sharing power with the Grand Old Party.

On the Sri Lankan issue, even though TNCC president K V Thangabalu got bamboozled into becoming,well, party to the all party resolution of October 14 that threatened the resignation of all MPs unless the centre ensured a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, Karunanidhi is far fromestablishing himself as the protector of all Tamils. In fact, his plaintive cry is that he's ready to quit because beyond ensuring that nearly Rs 15 crore of supplies was sent to Tamil brethren, he has been able to do precious little. On the other hand, Vaiko has added to his pro-LTTE credentials by spending more jail timeearning many brownie points.

Ramadoss' dilemma is also that he had to deal with the ego of AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha. And that was difficult considering that he himself is considered a megalomaniac. He's biding his time but the signs are there-- for instance, he's not using the DMK or its chief for target practice. Instead he's picking on actor turned politician Viajaykanth and dispensing advice tothe superstar Rajnikanth who cannot make up his mind about politics. But it's just a matter of time. Or as politicians love to say "it'll happen at the appropriate time."

The Acorn Does Not Fall Far From The Tree

Like father, like son. Chip of the old block. These are expressions used when a son blazes trails like his father. But in the case of the Saravana Bhavan father and son duo, it might be appropriate to say the acorn does not fall far from the tree. In 2001, P Rajagopal was arrested in connection with the murder of one of his employees, Shantakumar. The local press had a field day projecting him as a philanderer and that he coveted his employees' wives. The whole controversy was played out when it became known that the murdered employee's wife, Jeevajyoti, went to the police commissioner and complained that Rajagopal was stalking her. Rajagopal was convicted in 2004 for the murder of Shantakumar and was sentencd to 10 years in jail and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakhs. He subsequently went in appeal and is currently out on bail. Now it transpires that Rajagopal, while in Trichy jail, almost got beaten up by other inmatesfor telling them he was "not a criminal like you." Prison officials had to intervene and rescue him from the angry inmates.

Now family and friends of Saravana MD P R Shivakumar have been sending feelers to police officials saying they are worried about his safety in the prison. Shivakumar was denied bail in the human trafficking case against him. He was arrested for producing forged documents to obtain visas for four of his cooks, following a complaint by the American consulate. Shivakumar heads the overseas operation of the hotel chain which has over 20 outlets abroad including in the US, UK, the Gulf and Malaysia.