Rajinikanth Still The Most Famous Tamilian In Mumbai
In 2016, a CNN profile on Rajinikanth inadvertently mentioned him as a ‘Bollywood star,’ an error that sent the Tamil titan’s native fans raging against the media house. The anger was directed at CNN’s naïve ignorance. Was it justified? Probably. Because Rajinikanth is Tamil cinema’s tour de force and though, born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in a Maratha family and named after Shivaji Maharaj, he never fully belonged to Mumbai and Bollywood.
And yet, Rajinikanth, aka Thalaivar, has a strong Bollywood link which can’t be wished away that easily. His Bollywood stint may not have been hugely successful but the Mumbai years helped him gain a new lease of life in Tamil cinema and won him a lifetime’s worth of friendship – and plenty of inspiration – with Amitabh Bachchan. Putting all questions to rest about the constant comparisons with Bachchan, Rajini once replied to a TV reporter, “In the cinema world, Rajinikanth is probably a king. But Amitabh Bachchan is the emperor.” The emperor and the king first came together in Andhaa Kaanoon in 1983. What makes Andhaa Kaanoon special is that it is Rajinikanth’s Bollywood debut.
It is a typical 1980s Bollywood potboiler starring Bachchan and Rajinikanth as vigilantes. United by a drive for revenge and disdain for the law, Bachchan and Rajinikanth expertly subvert the legal process right under the hawkish eye of a police officer played by Hema Malini.
The Bollywood years were not glorious for Rajinikanth but the Bachchan-inspired scripts worked for him in a big way in Kollywood, turning him into a myth. In Bollywood, too, he left behind a formidable legacy. Some years ago, Govinda, who played Rajinikanth’s pampered younger brother in Hum, invoked the Thalaivar when turning down the Marathi film Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho.
“I don’t do art films,” he was quoted as saying. “I believe in the Rajinikanth school of entertainment which has no bearing on real life. I like doing films where you can hit your enemy from a foot’s distance and still get him flying in the air.” Post-Dabangg, Salman Khan was dubbed Bollywood’s Rajinikanth, as much for his force of nature on-screen image and manic fandom as for the phenomenal box-office pull and a Robin Hoodesque charm.
The Boss doesn’t need Bollywood anymore but his dubbed Tamil releases never fail to create a stir. In Mumbai, his cut-outs may not be bathed in milk but whenever a new Rajini film is out, jokes about his paranormal popularity always trends. He’s still the most famous Tamilian in Mumbai.