Main Hoon Rajinikanth: Bollywood ‘tributes’ to Thalaivar are hypocritical tripe

It took 40 years for south Indian superstar Rajinikanth to reach where he is today - the country’s biggest film-brand and reportedly the highest paid actor. How would he react if somebody is to make a spoof with his name in the title? Particularly if the title is as blatant as Main Hoon Rajinikanth (I am Rajinikanth)? He promptly went to the Madras high court asking for a stay on the release of the film even as the lead actor, reportedly somebody who has acted in some Tamil movies, maintained that it was a tribute to ‘Thalaivar’ Rajinikanth. “Rajinikanth’s acting, style and distinct personality have contributed to his mass popularity, which he has attained over the years through his larger-than-life appearances, signature dialogue delivery and age-defying stunts in his films,” reportedly, the superstar’s petition said. “Rajinikanth’s popularity is likely to mislead his fans into believing that ‘Main Hoon Rajinikanth’ has been approved by him. It is to prevent such hysteria and confusion among public, he has always chosen to stay away from endorsing any film or product,” it further said. The attempt of the producer of the movie was to cash in on his super-hero image. [caption id=“attachment_1724383” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rajinikanth went to the Madras HC asking for a stay on the release of ‘Main Hoon Rajinikanth.’ AFP[/caption] Nobody knows about the content of the movie other than its makers. The hero of the movie, Aditya Menon, who apparently plays the role of a contract killer named Rajinikanth Rao, told IANS: “Our film is a tribute to the ‘thalaivar’ (Rajinikanth). It’s a comedy satire that will leave audiences in splits. Nobody would dare to show Rajini sir in bad light through a film. How could we possibly do it.” After making fun of him, and south Indians in general, in their movies for years, Rajinikanth became an object of ’tributes’ in Bollywood in the recent years. Obviously, it made tremendous business sense because of the sheer loyal fan base of the actor, spread not only in India, but also among the diaspora across the world. The first sign of this transformation in Bollywood’s attitude, and the smart business of ‘tributes’ was visible in Shah Rukh Khan’s epic dud Ra One. Rajini’s Enthiran (Robot), in which he acted as a scientist as well as his robotic creation named ‘Chitti’, was already out and had gone on to become a huge hit. Possibly with an eye of the slice of the Rajini market, the actor was approached for a cameo and he obliged. It was a ‘tribute’. Shah Rukh and the makers of Ra One were smart - the fleeting sequence would have brought thousands of Rajini fans to the theatres. It was obviously a ploy to cut into the Tamil market. The “tribute” business continued in his super hit Chennai Express, which otherwise made a complete mockery of the south. A distasteful ‘lungi dance’, which in itself was a derogatory idea, was what the film featured as a ‘tribute’ to the “Thalaivar”. There were no complaints, because both, the Ra One cameo as well as the ‘lungi dance’ had the nod of the superstar. Now the makers of Main Hoon Rajnikanth also want to pay a tribute to the star and they did it without asking him. The idea, as the star’s petition argued, is to mislead people and get them into the theatres. Probably they thought if Shah Rukh could do a lungi dance and pay a tribute to the ‘Thalaivar’, why can’t they use one whole film? If Bollywood wants to really pay tribute to Rajinikanth, even for the purpose of business, what they should do first is to stop the misrepresentation of the socio-cultural aspects of the south and avoid the stereotypes they have created. In Ra One, Shah Rukh Khan played a south Indian character and ate noodles with curd while in Chennai Express, he made a mishmash of the entire south reflective of the old ‘Madrasi’ days Perhaps besides stopping the misuse of his name and image, what Rajinikanth should object to is this gross misuse of the south Indian imagery and see through the ‘thalaivar” and ‘tribute’ business. If he doesn’t do it, he will also be seen as being part of the game and that his objection is only the unauthorised monetisation of his brand.