Friends, just sharing an article from rediff which i read. This article analyzes political fortunes of Superstar. Just passing you what i read. Thanks to our reader Subramanian for informing me about this article.
Why Rajnikanth won’t enter politics
Why Rajnikanth won’t enter
politics
August 29, 2008
M R VENKATESH
At the outset I owe a frontal confession — I am an unabashed fan of
Rajnikanth.
I literally grew up with Rajni, his mannerisms, quirky actions, peculiar
delivery style, not to mention his punch dialogues. I recall that he was the
popular hero during our college days. My colleagues in college competed with
each other to mimic him — from copying his hairstyle to the manner in which he
walked, talked and danced.
That was when he was a popular hero. Slowly yet surely in the next few years
by the dint of his hard work, Rajni went on to acquire a larger than life image.
I have watched him grow from that position into a star and from a star into a
successful star and then into super star.
No wonder fans, media and more crucially his opponents interpreted his every
move. I distinctly recall how even an innocuous dialogue in one of his films in
the mid-nineties was interpreted to be politically loaded against the then chief
minister of the day, J Jayalalithaa. The story of the film incidentally was all
about taming of the shrew, which added more fuel to the political fire in the
state.
The climax of his first brush with politics followed almost instantly.
Claiming that if Jayalalithaa were to get re-elected, Rajni thundered, “Even God
cannot rescue Tamil Nadu.”
Leveraging the anti-Jaya wave that prevailed in the state at that point in
time, the state Congress actually split under the leadership of the late G K
Moopanar. It was not all. The Congress in its new
avatar as the Tamil Manila Congress, which till then held the Dravida Munnetra
Kazagham as responsible for the assassination of its leader Rajiv Gandhi,
suddenly began courting the party. Such was the power of Rajni who could make
and break political alliances.
Rajni has kept his fans
guessing
August 29, 2008
Following his clarion call, the DMK and TMC rode on his popularity to rout
the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and Jaya.
And when the DMK came to power in 1996, political analysts often remarked
that it was Rajni who defeated Jaya. The DMK and the TMC were mere
instrumentalities in that particular election. It was Rajni’s time. Yet he chose
not to take the plunge then.
Since then Rajni has kept his fans guessing (according to
die-hards, it is actually ‘waiting’). Even duets with his leading ladies were
strangely penned only for Rajni keeping in mind his probable entry into
politics. ‘Will he or won’t he,’ has been one of the questions that has kept his
fans, media and politicians in the state engrossed in a animated debate for over
a decade and a half.
While much water has flown through the Cauveri — the big question remains
unanswered even to this date.
Nevertheless, with each passing film his dialogues became more politically
loaded than the previous one, leaving lesser number in the audience in doubt on
his entry into politics. One realises, in hindsight that all these were aimed
more at satiating the appetite of his fans rather than implying anything
serious.
Readers may note that Rajni was the Tamil counterpart of the Big B (Amitabh
Bachchan) who has been labelled by the media as the angry young man of Hindi
cinema, but with a crucial difference. Rajni went a step further — he not only
protested against the system as Big B did, but also promised to cleanse the
system, even change it for the better.
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