Gunning for Neruppu da

Rajini has created a storm yet again with Kabali today, but the post-release madness promises to continue throughout the weekend and beyond. Offices hosted fancy dress competitions where employees turned up dressed in various Rajini characters at their workplaces that are decked up with Rajini cutouts.

Author and fan Seema Sonik has gone a step ahead and penned a book titled Rajinikanth The Warrior Within, a story of the superstar, a 250-page biographical account. These and many other such fans are reveling in the craze surrounding us.

Every time Thaliava delivered a dialogue in his trademark signature style, his fans have cheered and rooted for him in large numbers. Melissa Arulappan from Quintiles, a global healthcare services company is organising a series of fun activities for the release of Kabali.

“The activities include a specially designed menu (with the first letters of the dishes spelling Kabali) by the caterers, Kabali look-alike employee contest, a flash mob performance to music from Kabali by employees and a photo corner with Kabali cut outs and to add to it all, there will be Kabali music played in the cafeteria.”

Many firms like Payoda and others have made a smart move to hold back their employees from taking off on Friday. They issued a mail stating, “The wait is over! If you’re planning to take off then think again. We are giving away 300 show tickets. All you need is to fill the form and avail your tickets.”

Now their staff will make sure they go to work and watch the movie post office hours. And if that’s not enough, Max Hair has issued a checklist on how one can amp up grey hair to get the Kabali look, urging fans to transform their mundane grey hair into Thalaiva’s famed salt and pepper. There are also Kabali haircuts, Rajini face-painted eggs, Rajini bust made of margarine, cars, window shields, school bags with his face, t-shirts and what have you.  

Smitten by her idol, author Seema Sonik shares of her book The Warrior Within, “It has interviews with Bijon, Pankuj Parashar, Ananth Rao Gaekwad, Swami Vishveshwarananda, Swamini Somashekhari and  Satyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, Rajinikanth oldest brother. There’s a handwritten note by the star’s older brother. The world-wide popularity of this superstar, his ascension and the intrigue of the spiritual world will have a great impact on everyone, irrelevant of age, gender and country .”

There’s a cult following in the city and Vishal Singh of Bangalore Beard Club is following suit. “We have made a video with Rajini, Prajval and myself with split screens. We also have beards like him and we’ve tried to copy his walk. I’ve been a Rajini fan since my childhood,” he says.