At 64, Rajini still the all-action hero on screen

It was in this month that Rajinikanth’s 40 years in cinema were celebrated. His first movie, in K Balachander’s Apoorva Raagangal in which he had a very modest role, was released in 1975. It is phenomenal that he is still at it with the cinema section dominated by news of the shooting of his latest film Kabali (his 159th) and his young co-star, a newbie called Radhika Apte, gushing that the Superstar is so humble. Long before Kabali is to hit the screen, there is already talk of what Rajini will be up to next in his cinematic avatar. In fact, they are talking of more than one film after Kabali.

The gripe of critics is that while Hollywood is rebranding ageing actors as action heroes, it still discards older women. You could credit that to a universal phenomenon, what with the heroines getting younger and younger even as action heroes are still the stars who can keep the box office ticking over. It is no different in Bollywood or Kollywood although the revered Amitabh Bachchan will be an exception to this in the sense he would not be accepting the all-action hero roles anytime in the near future.

Harrison Ford, another ageless hero who all of us envy for possessing such good looks at that age as he is into his rocking ’70s, was featured in Expendables 3 with Sylvester Stallone who is 68 and Arnold Schwarzenegger, now a young 67 and subject of the latest death hoax attack. And then there is Liam Neeson (63), who has been reinvented as an action hero late in his career and is doing well enough in the Taken series of which we will probably see many more sequels.

It would be churlish then for anyone to write off the legendary Superstar of Tamil cinema, Rajinikanth, as a declining force. He is more than capable of delivering a big hit soon before he contemplates stepping off the treadmill of fame he is eternally on as the all-action hero with a fan base bigger than the population of many small European nations. The reception his films get at their opening is still unique and they also make pre-release news as we are seeing with protests against Kabali already hitting town.

There was a fear in the minds of critics that in the wake of a few films not ringing with the familiar sounds of box office success that the Rajini phenomenon had run its course. Blame it on an experiment with an animation movie in which he resembled a video game hero rather than a real life champion of causes which had made him so popular once that he even thought briefly of joining politics. That he did not succumb to the temptation, which even the legendary thespian Sivaji Ganesan could not, may point to certain indecision but it does finally speak highly of his ability to see it in the right perspective.

His understanding of the spiritual may even have guided him to steer clear as the prospects of being dragged through the mire of politics, so distinctly temporal as opposed to the spiritual. The rumours would start again every time a new movie of his is to be released. They must, however, be the handiwork of those marketing the film rather than any serious U-turn by the star himself. Of course, given the clear links between cinema and politics in the state, it is an easy enough rumour to fuel in the days of the all pervasive social media.

A close relative of his did once confide that Rajini’s mind was made up long ago. Any question like the reporter asked of Ronald Reagan – When does acting stop and presidential work begin? – would probably be futile. Reagan’s memorable line though is worth repeating - How can a President not be an actor? The remarkable thing about Rajini is he is brave enough to be his natural self in real life and has no need for the trappings of cinema like make-up to be amid his fellow men.