In the land of matinee gods, fans of Rajini and Vijayakanth lock horns
PLAYING THE OUTSIDER CARD The Superstar’s fans are furious after the Captain questioned the actor’s Tamil roots during a poll rally
CHENNAI: It is the season of fans — both onscreen and offscreen. While Fan, the latest Shah Rukh Khan film, is running to packed houses in the north, down south fans of ‘Superstar’ Rajinikanth are angry.
Khan might have needed a film to show how fanatic a fan can be, but Rajini fans have shown that time and again that no one, not even CMs, can mess with their matinee god. And ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth, chief of DesiyaMurpokkuDravida Kazhagam (DMDK), seems to have done just that.
Vijayakanth, while addressing a rally near Chennai on Friday and another at Tiruvalluar district on Saturday said he was not “afraid of anybody” and when threatened by political parties, he would not withdraw “like Rajinikanth”. Also, in a statement that could be seen as questioning Rajinikanth’s Tamil roots, he said “You call him a Tamizhan? You know who cut (censored) his films…” Vijayakanth was born in a Telugu family in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, while Rajinikanth was born into a Marathi family in Bangalore of the then Mysore state.
Upset over Vijayakanth’s statements, Rajini fans burnt the DMDK leader in effigy on Sunday. However, the protesters fled the scene before police could catch them. “Thalaivar (Rajinikanth) has told us we are free to vote for any candidate or any party of our choice, but to not associate his name with that. In such a situation, Vijayakanth is dragging the Superstar to react,” says N Ramdass, head of the Chennai unit of the Rajinikanth fans’ association. Vijayakanth’s views could cut both ways. His comments could either pull more youngsters into the DMDK camp or antagonise the big fan base that Rajni enjoys across TN According to Ramdass, when membership for the fan clubs was closed in 1996, there were about 40,000 Rajini fan units, each having 25 members Rajinikanth is no stranger to political controversy. If there is one thing Rajinikanth has done routinely, it is keep his fans guessing about possible stints in politics.
Over the decades, Rajinikanth has influenced Tamil Nadu politics in varying degrees. To a great extent, the 1996 poll victory of the alliance between Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) can be attributed to one dialogue by the Superstar. Congress was in an alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and it is said that his “Today, there could be anywhere near 80,000 authorised and unauthorised fan clubs,” says Ramdass Vijayakanth does not want to antagonise the big fan base that the Superstar enjoys
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, led by M Karunanidhi, has come out in support of Rajinikanth. statement “If Jayalalithaa is voted back to power, even god cannot save Tamil Nadu” influenced the poll outcome. Since 2004, he has shown a leaning towards the BJP, primarily backing its river-linking plan. The personal visit by then PM candidate Narendra Modi in 2014 had the state buzzing that Rajinikanth was set to join the BJP.
“Rajinikanth has repeatedly failed to give a convincing answer about his political ambitions, and this has left his fans disappointed. Vijayakanth would want to tap these fans,” says a film director who did not want to be named.