“Superstar **** …. Rajni” ..Whistles and claps greet these wonderful words on the screen and before long, the whole hall erupts into a thunderous applause. Wow… before long, my own two fingers are locked above my tongue letting go of one more appreciation.. What a man… Just the mere mention of the name itself evokes such a response, I wonder what would happen if I have the good fortune of meeting him.. That’s Rajnikanth for you.. A wonderful human being, an almost perfect rags-to-riches story, a superstar, a phenomenon …. A very down-to-earth individual who has become an inspiration of sorts to me.,
Kamal Hassan and Rajanikanth have ruled the tamil industry as 2 parallel towering personalities. A time will come when I will write about Kamal Hassan, but today is reserved for “Rajni Sir”.. cos it’s 12th December.. The day a phenomenon called Shivaji Rao Gaikwad was born to become Rajnikanth in a future point of time..
As I sat stuck in busy early morning bangalore traffic, I wondered about the movies which leave an imprint on some of us. Recollecting the different Rajni movies which I have watched over and over again (Watched Padayappa for nth time last evening), I was thinking what lessons I could take away from them. This is one unabashed Rajni fan’s view of the different life lessons from some of his very famous movies. I am very aware of the fact that there would be enough critics of the views of the author and some may find some factual mistakes…. So what.. I feel that the payoff in terms of values is much higher that it would be prudent to believe the same….
Baasha
One of the first movies I first encountered and man was I mesmerized… Wow… I still remember me imitating the walk of Baasha (sans the Chutta of course !!)..Style, Persona, Enigma all rolled into one… Beyond these aesthetics, I reflected on the story after watching over and over again.. Needless to say that I aged and was in a better position to take an analytical take on this movie..
In the movie, the protagonist becomes a Don when his friend is killed and gives up all the glamour and power to take care of his siblings and almost hides his entire past until it decides to catch up with him. In this I found one valuable lesson….”As a leader (or elder in a family), it is my foremost duty to block all the worst things life can throw at us, while ensuring that our siblings or team members are given a more comfortable environment to express themselves”
Annamalai
A super duper hit.. A typical Rajni rags-to-riches movie.. The protagonist is a simple milkman who has a friend who happens to be the son of a businessman. Everything is hunky dory until the businessman happens to put self-interests and therein starts the treachery, animosity, subsequent rise of hero and final climax wherein the hero’s friend realizes that money is not above friendship and our hero’s value.
The first value I would take away from this movie is “Life throws it’s punches and you will face adversity… What you become depends on how you approach the adversity”
The next value I took from this movie “Hard work always pays off.. financially..you need to put in your end of bargain of working hard.. life will pay you.. its only a matter of time..or rather it’s a function of time”
Before I go to my next value, I recollect one vivid scene in the movie where the hero and his wife reflect on their life and look at the cycle which our hero used when he was a milkman and in which he wooed his lady love.. WOW… “We may reach heights in life.. but we should know where we came from or rather remain grounded .. Humility is a core essential human value which we should all have” .. One of the most important life lessons I have ever learnt.
Arunachalam
Another fantastic entertainer where the hero undergoes sea of transformation from being a leader of masses to a realization that he is an orphan to finding out that he had a super-rich dad who wants him to spend money like water in a few days to get over the quench for money so that one can serve the society or work for common good, to loosing his lady love because he is true to his mission and final climax where everything ends well.
Herein again lies the message of life so beautifully interwoven into the midst of drama.. To start of, I would consider the point of the hero requesting for the cassette of his father’s message rather than take money… “In Life, there are more important things than money.. Human relationships matter”
Next, our hero takes up the challenge reluctantly because his dad’s partners are actually scheming to swindle the money.. “Sometimes we have to identify ourselves with a greater purpose and work for a better cause which is not necessarily self serving”
At the end, the hero leaves his money in the trusted hands of the will executor (brilliantly portrayed by Visu) and becomes a common man again … Wow.. that’s personality for you… “Stick to ones values and be true to yourself…”
Padayappa
Probably, the movie… which has made maximum impact on me as an individual… “En vali.. thani vali”…literally translating into “my path is a separate path”… one of the most iconic dialogues ever delivered on the silver screen.. Another typical rags-to-riches against the backdrop of a family feud leading to a clash and ultimate climax where the antagonist who happens to be an arrogant lady (played brilliantly by Ramya Krishnan… can’t imagine anyone else portraying with such intensity) kills herself, instead of leading a life which has been saved thanks to hero…
There a lot of lessons some which have been vividly described above.. but a couple of more important core values remain ingrained … “Arrogance Kills” Simple and straight as that… In the movie the hero repeats a dialogue “A man who has an unquenchable greed and a woman who is arrogant have never prospered in history”.. WOW…..
Sivaji
Last, but definitely not the least.. Another typical Rajni movie which I happened to watch first day and plan to do so in 3D.. I would not spill the beans for those uninitiated into this movie.. but one value which sticks out for me is brilliant… “Give back to Society”.. Hero earns a lot of money through hardwork (and recollects the same when he is well accomplished), yet wants to do good to the society .. Wow…
Before, I end this running commentary of adulation, it would be unfair if I don’t mention “Sri Raghvendrar” which marked the transformation of a human being (in this case Rajni sir) and lead to spiritual enlightment.. Someday, my time will also come for such a transformation…
You have given me and a lot of us to look forward to and which we indeed continue to do so even now… All I can say is “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAJNI SIR”.. may you entertain and teach us more in days to come…
Footprints 