A few thoughts on Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winner&nbsp;Rajinikanth

It’s just political, plain and simple. I’m not a Kamal fan by any stretch, but at least you can see the oeuvre and make a really good case for him. Rajni? I see his appeal and whatnot, and it is truly a phenomenon, but considering the award is for “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”, absolutely not. Why are we talking about his humility/personal aspects even if they were somehow laudable (which IMO is totally not, but that’s my view).

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ravenus1

Surprised at your lack of perspective on Shashi Kapoor, BR. He has contributed hugely to Indian Cinema with his Filmvalas company that produced some of the best sensible Indian cinema – Junoon, Utsav, Kalyug, Vijeta, 36 Chowringhee Lane. And his layered performances in some of those films are definitely worthy.

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Satya

This video was great, and I do wish Kamal gets it next time. But something else bugs my mind:

The reactions on Rajinikanth getting the Dadasaheb Phalke award are so divided out there, that I am forced to think if being a star or an entertainer isn’t worth considering as a contribution to cinema. Even worse is the state of supporting actors who played comic roles like the late Vivek, Vadivelu and Brahmanandam. Mainstream cinema is cinema too, isn’t that worth of respect?

I mean, what is the criteria for acceptance? Is it contribution to technical stuff, or inclusion of the less discussed topics in mainstream as a writer, or anything that is ‘serious’ and ‘lifeless’?

Really, why so serious?

And to those who ask what Rajinikanth has in his favour to win this award, I have only one thing to say. This man bridged generations together from black and white to colour to motion capture and to 3D, and stood relevant throughout. That is a lot more than anyone has achieved in the past and can achieve in the future. Yes, he deserves it!

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vijay

Like most awards we dole out here, not sure what to make of this. The whole process is hazy.

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Guru

I think Rajinikanth, Shashi Kapoor or Vinod Khanna never deserved this Indian cinemas’ highest award.. And I dread the fact that with all the reasons you mention, we would have more undeserving people getting this award in the coming years. There is definitely one each for Vijay and Ajith in the next decade or so 🙂

I strongly believe this award should be given to people who have contributed for the upliftment or betterment of Indian cinema, rather than other way round where cinema has given money, fame and political influence to actors.

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Shashi Kapoor is highly deserving, Awara, Aag, the Householder, Junoon, Kalyug, Utsav, Dharmaputra, Vijeta, New Delhi Times and Deewar, Shaan, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Suhaag, not to mention being our first crossover star. This is a terrific career, and as producer and also with Prithvi Theatre, he contributed immensely to the art form.

We need to have an honest conversation about how sexist the Dadasaheb Phalke is, 6 winners out of which the last was Asha Bhonsle in 1999. Sridevi didn’t win in 2017 but Vinod Khanna did?! Waheeda Rehman, Vyjayanthimala, Madhabi Mukherjee, Sarada, Vanisri and more, none of them have got the Phalke? Rajni getting the award is great, irrespective of the politics as was Amitabh getting the 50th Award, but the women need to be honored more.

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Rad Mahalikudi

To me these awards, including Oscar awards, are more of “news value” than quality or deserving / not deserving. Make sure you answer the questions correctly in a Quiz competitions!! Beyond that, trying to defend it would be a misadventure. In an Indian Context it becomes more controversial. The issue is not about “who gets it”. Award loses its value when you ask the question “why this person didn’t get it”. Or by the “if” question, “if person A gets it why not person B/C/D? I was little bit surprised by your poser, can Shashi Kapoor do a Mullum Malarum… by that logic we can ask “can Rajni do xyz? If Vinod Khanna is on the list why not Vishnuvardhan? Mohanlal, Mammootty? When I throw in the name of Nagesh, the award pretty much loses its value. “Actors” refers only to heroes? Nagesh’s career spanned for over 60 years covering various roles – hero, comedian, villain, character roles (even as a dead person in Magalir Mattum?

Same issue I have with Oscar awards. Jackie Chan will never get it. Using BR’s logic (!!), asking “can Jackie Chan do a Robert De Niro” is irrelevant – he can’t. By the same logic, the question “can Robert De Niro do a Jackie Chan” is also valid, right?!! No need to answer…this is a rhetorical question. Going back, to me, these awards are only for news value and quiz competitions.

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Anu Warrier

BR, adding to the chorus – Shashi Kapoor should have got the Dadasaheb Phalke award much much earlier. His contribution to cinema is enormous – from producing the sort of films that he did, to funding parallel directors like Aparna Sen, Girish Karnad and Shyam Benegal, to nurturing Prithvi Theatre, to being the first truly crossover star and a fabulous actor in the Ivory-Merchant films. It’s not his mainstream career that is a problem.

And I don’t have a problem with Rajnikant getting the award either, but Kamal doesn’t? When the man is a walking-talking encyclopaedia of films and has contributed as actor, producer, director, singer, story-screenplay, and so on? And is, in my opinion, a far better actor than Rajni (I think Rajni is a far better ‘star’ than Kamal too)?

Vinod Khanna got it for what? Where’s Sathyan in this lot? Or Nagesh, as the commenter above pointed out? Mammootty? Mohanlal? Thilakan?

Where are the women? Just from Hindi films – Waheeda, Vyjayanthimala, etc. Sridevi, for her work across multiple film industries for more than four decades?

And these are just actors. Where are the technicians?

On a tangential note – Kangana gets the National Award for Manikarnika?? Seriously? There weren’t any other performances in Hindi film, let alone all the regional industries, that bettered that?

The National Awards are a joke – have been for some time. And political, too (I remember Monisha Unni getting the National Award for Nakhakshathangal and rolling my eyes. But now, it’s also extremely partisan.

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Anu Warrier

@BR – Re: Shashi Kapoor again – did he do something like Mullum Malarum?

Have you watched Junoon, Kalyug, New Delhi Times, Utsav, The Householder, Pretty Polly, Prem Patra, Bombay Talkie, Muhafiz?

Sorry, BR. 🙂 Shashi is a good actor.

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Rambo

These awards, including the national awards, used to be one of the few rewards that truly talented artists, who have spurned commercial cinema, could look forward to. But of late in the past few years, this has been diluted and commercial cinema has tended to dominate. That is a shame. I don’t think it is unfair to say that Rajinikanth has had an influence on Indian cinema, having been one of the original “mass” heros that the vijays and salmans took over from. But there are many others working in producing some captivating cinema that could have done with the recognition much more than he does.

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shaviswa

What is contribution to cinema? Is it only making films with eclectic tastes?

Rajinikanth was a phenomenon. A box office King who has sustained it for close to 4 decades

He deserves the award for being that.

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Yet to watch the video, plan to later today. Meanwhile, agree with the other comments that Shashi Kapoor is probably the wrong example for this argument. Yes, I too am a fan of New Delhi Times.

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shaviswa : Not just catering to eclectic tastes but making a contribution to the art form itself that takes it forward. Like you can pinpoint to Sivaji introducing a highly influential style of acting, one that influenced Rajni himself at least pre Baasha. Speaking of Baasha, Amitabh Bachchan himself was a major influence on actors who came after him including Rajni in Baasha. Rajni has not made a big contribution that way because he decided early on to speak to the narrow echo chamber of his fanbase. Probably Tamil movie watchers will laugh but I don’t see him as that different from NTR or Chiranjeevi in Telugu or Rajkumar in Kannada or indeed MGR in Tamil. Do you think MGR deserves the Dadasaheb Phalke award? Do Ajith or Vijay? If the answer is no, why Rajni?

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A very interesting development I see in Tamil is how there is an MGR influence in Kamal and a Sivaji influence in Rajni, but there is a Kamal influence in Vijay and a Rajni influence in Dhanush (he is THE star-actor in Tamil today).

NTR was not just like MGR in any sense of the word, except their mass fanbase. Missamma in Telugu had NTR, and a lot of Sivaji films were simultaneously made in Telugu with him. Unlike Tamil then, where one was the star and the other the actor, both NTR and ANR were star actors in their own right, only NTR had a repute for his mythological roles and ANR for his romantic/tragedy roles. So, NTR did deserve the Dadasaheb Phalke, but the Bharat Ratna is also long overdue. On that note, Rajkumar was also a star actor, quite a good singer too, and won the Phalke.

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shaviswa

If you question whether someone like Rajanikanth deserves the award, you can pretty much question every recipient of this award. What according to you is a great contribution may not seem to someone else. Even in this comment section, I see disagreement over Shashi Kapoor’s acting capabilities and contribution as a film maker/producer.

Rajanikanth has ruled Tamil cinema for 45 years. And for almost 40 years he has been right there on the top as a matinee idol. His movies meant huge business and the entire industry benefitted from that. He has worked with every kind of director, has proven his acting mettle in films like mullum malarum, has shown that he has the charisma to attract the audience even in the dumbest of films. He acted as the angry young man as well as the slapstick comedian (Thillu mullu). He was a villain who raped women but later became the hero who saved women from villains. He has seen it all in his career.

Yes – his films in the early 1980s were mostly Amitabh Bacchan remakes. But he carved his own niche from the 1990s.

What was his contribution to Tamil Cinema? He brought in the money. His films had overseas market (a first for Tamil film actors) as far away as Japan. His films meant guaranteed business. He was and to some extent still is the golden egg laying hen. Many in the industry has benefitted from his films.

Let us not taint his film career because he is a failed politician. There is no reason for the BJP to placate him now – now that he has announced his unwillingness to be involved in active politics. He is no longer their trump card.

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ravenus1

Notwithstanding the well-made points others have posted, I am in two minds about this. One part of me says – commercial/mass films and the people associated with them already get their due in terms of public acclaim, money and numerous public and private awards. The government subsidized national awards should be more oriented to give recognition to works and talents that may be lesser known but display higher aesthetic and cultural value (they may also be popular but that should not be a factor in judging them), i.e. their work should not only entertain, but they should enrich audiences and encourage their inner sensitivities rather than be low-hanging titillation and pandering. How many of us would have seeked out an Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Jahnu Barua or Kumar Shahani film if we had not heard their names in the context of a national award? But if popular melodramas had not then been actively given a lower weightage, these names would have been submerged and man arthouse/parallel cinema fans would perhaps have never discovered them.

But on the other hand, if a nation’s awards don’t reflect the tastes of its people, are they truly representative of the nation’s culture? Also, Dadasaheb Phalke was a pioneer of film-making as an industry in India, but his own films (or the bare scraps that survive) are hardly the acme of aesthetic standards. So an award in his name cannot perhaps be restricted to any elitist definition of what constitutes great cinema.

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I think the BJP meant it for 2020 so as to coax him into the TN Elections 2021, but as Rajni chickened out at the last moment, they couldn’t reverse the decision. But I don’t see why awarding Rajni is a bad thing, early in his career he worked with very interesting directors in some very good films and then went on to become the biggest superstar of Tamil Cinema, he’s a big part of Indian Cinema as well. Given that he is said to be retiring soon, it’s a nice way to start with the sunset.
I hope Annaatthe gives him a much needed hit, you can’t call yourself a superstar when your last hit was 10 years ago:

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“Let us not taint his film career because he is a failed politician” – I know a couple of posts above mentioned it but speaking for myself, I didn’t even think of his political career when I said what I did. Sitting in Mumbai, I don’t follow Tamil politics THAT much anyway and in any case, I give two fucks about Indian politics.

But I maintain that if we reduce contribution to films to “he brought in the money”, that’s setting the bar way too low. And there’s nothing elitist about this statement. There is already an award for popularity and it’s called Filmfare award. A Dadasaheb Phalke award is intended to be much more exclusive by its very design. From 1969 to today, there have only been 51 awardees in ALL film disciplines put together be it production, direction, acting or music and that’s for ALL Indian cinema. In Tamil, only two personalities have got the award before – Sivaji and KB. I don’t see how Rajni belongs in such a super exclusive club. I agree that Vinod Khanna shouldn’t have got it but that doesn’t mean Rajni should. No need to compound old errors with new ones. Yes, it is subjective as to which artist deserves recognition but that doesn’t mean we have to set the bar as low as “anybody who is successful deserves it”. Note again, all disciplines. You can’t tell me Rajni deserves it more than Ilayaraja or Kannadasan, leave alone Kamal or other actors. Dadasaheb Phalke is NOT an acting award, it’s a film contribution award.

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therag

The National Awards has been political for as long as it has existed. There have been multiple threads in this blog alone discussing some truly puzzling decisions. Rajni getting the Dadasaheb Phalke wouldn’t rank anywhere near the top of the pile.

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“One part of me says – commercial/mass films and the people associated with them already get their due in terms of public acclaim, money and numerous public and private awards.” – Well but not all people working in commercial/mass films make an equal contribution. It is much easier to understand giving the award to KB because he was one of the most influential directors in Tamil cinema…than to Rajni whose sole contribution, that being his Rajnism gestures and dialogues, will die with him because he hasn’t ventured to act as anyone but himself in a long, long time. So this brings us to the larger problem with the way we look at cinema and which even the Dadasaheb Phalke award has not been able to escape – one third of the awardees to date have been actors. In this country, we still think actors make the film and not the directors and we still think singers make the song and not the composers. No wonder. Thank God they gave Naushad the DP before Lata could veto it away.

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Anand Raghavan

@Aman : If I am not wrong Petta was a genuine hit among Rajni’s last decade.

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Ragenikanth kannan

I hope Annaatthe gives him a much needed hit, you can’t call yourself a superstar when your last hit was 10 years ago

this is kind of bullshit that has been spread in the social media due to hate for one person, as per you his last hit is Enthiran and you think producer will pay 100crors for an actor who is churning out flop for past 10 years, come on.

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ram1976

Aman Basha- Annatthe is most likely to bomb at the box office. Rajini’s popularity is waning. Two movies with Ranjith, political fiasco have all tarnished his image. Thats one of the reasons his films dont do well anymore. If anythiing , post Enthiran Rajini movies were much better than Pre-Enthiran movies.. atleast personally for me.. if Darbar or Petta had released few years back , they would have been block busters… Dada Saheb is very underserved .I say this as fan.

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theeversriram

Rajnikanth’s contribution to cinema – he has created an overseas market for Tamil cinema that was non-existent till Sivaji. The business trend that he has set is what has helped Vijay, Ajith to have 100 Cr box office collections and visibility of Tamil movies outside TN.
Whether it is meaningful or not is purely subjective.

And about BJP “giving” him this award so that Rajni will help them in TN? Doesn’t it sound bit childish? Really Team BJP who have delivered such massive mandates in parlimentary & so many state elections can come up with better strategies?

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brangan

https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/bollywood-features/shashi-kapoor-five-memorable-moments/

I really like Shashi, and yes, I have written how how his contribution is more as a producer than actor:

But the line from this article sums up my feelings about Shashi as an actor:

“The performance isn’t deep – it’s a cocktail of casually summoned-up masala-era mannerisms. (Shashi was probably too mild-mannered to summon up real rage, the kind of rage you sensed when Amitabh simply walked into a room). But a subdued, dignified Rekha (as Shashi’s wife) balances out his filmy fulminations. Vijeta is a terrific example of how Shashi vibes and melds with an in-sync co-star not named Amitabh Bachchan. ”

A good role is not necessarily a good performance. Shashi is a “solid” actor — I haven’t ever seen him be great. And I stand by my assessment that the Rajini/Amitabh kind of “acting” — combining gesturality with screen charisma and an inner fire — is something Shashi was completely incapable of.

The Rajini from his first film to the mid-80s was really something else. Hence the MULLUM MALARUM reference,

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For people taking issue with me saying Rajni hasn’t had a hit in a decade, let’s see.

Endhiran was an unqualified blockbuster, it broke almost every record imaginable for its time and would have been a great ending. The daughter’s cartoon movie was totally unnecessary and Lingaa was made quick shot to cover those losses (and also apparently the daughter herself blew a lot of money) but it made a 40% loss and was a disaster for distributors.

Kabali was an out-and-out gamble, but when a 4 hour movie is cut down to 150 minutes, it’s a goner. That earth shattering hype gave a crazy 87.5 Cr opening and yet only ended with 287 Cr, an above average at best. But the worst result of Kabali was that it seemingly destroyed his Telugu and Hindi markets. Kaala was an underperformer, barely crossed 150. 2.0 must have been the rare Rajni film that brought losses to the producer and was only an average film. Petta had the best trending but because of 2.0 being two months ago, a clash with Viswasam, it wound up only as above average although it was also the closest to being a hit, of course that is little to celebrate as Rajni lost a clash for the first time in forever. Darbar was such a disaster that Rajni had to cut his 120 Cr paycheck by half for Annaatthe.

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Producers pay Rajni such crazy amounts as producers rarely make losses these days and with Rajni, they always make huge profits. It’s the distributors’ ROI that determine hits and flops.

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@ BR saab: Trying too hard to legitimize this award. Am talking as a west Indian [meaning living in Bombay] who can be passed of as a Northie..

Shashi deserved the award because he whacked us commercially with SUHAAG or SHAAN or whatever number of films with Amit but still, still, didn’t give up on films like KALYUG or JUNOON [oh which, by the way, the great NASEER disowned]. Shashi was a rare embodiment of an artiste, not an ‘actor’ where he channeled his energy toward such rare films and the Prithvi theater which gave us rare gems like Nana in ‘PURUSH’ thanks to Vijaya Mehta..He contributed, apart from cinema, to the living arts, and much more. KALYUG, which remains, at least for me, a master-stroke on a modern-take on the Mahabharat, with scintillating performances from Shashi and Anant [watch out for the scene where Anant yells out his frustration of being nomenclatured as a ‘bastard’].

Bachchan deserved it highly. Why? The sheer landscape he has been through! From working with Mala Sinha in SANJOG in 1969 to working with Mukherjee and Yash Chopra and remnant the Chopras and the Johars–and succumbing to their level of ‘acting’ expectations — and then being the darling of Sircars and Ghoshs who are more than 40 years younger than him, that speaks a lot, ain’t it? Amit is the ONE actor in the Hindi film industry who proved that one can still be accountable in the monetary balance-sheet, as well as a cultural currency. [Remember where the Khans are stuck at; except Aamir, not one superstar Khan can play an aging person gracefully.]

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ram1976

I think the last genuine hit was Chandramukhi.. even Sivaji and Endhiran made huge money only in urban centres.. many rural areas reported minor losses.

Rajini has completely lost it.. The trailer looks pathetic.. who would work with Siva, especially after a string of flops..Rajini thought his rural popularity was on the decline and wanted to reach out to those audience.

The film is most likely to be another disaster. He should have quit gracefully after endhiran or do low budget lead roles.

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kaizokukeshav

Don’t understand what’s all this fuss about. Infact Dada Saheb Phalke should be happy if he gets Rajinikanth Award.

Jokes apart, people who say Rajinikanth got this award due to Political bias should understand that they are building a similar case for Kamal Hassan when he gets the same award in future.

Rajinikanth is a master entertainer… he entertained crores of people for so many years. He definitely deserve this. Even his late blockbuster movies have interesting contemporary concepts for the audience unlike a regular star hero vehicles (Arunachalam, Endhiran, Padaiyappa, Basha etc..)

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KayKay

“I think the last genuine hit was Chandramukhi”

Which is saying something.

It came 3 years after his last film, the super-flop Baba. Fans were hungry and far too forgiving of this mediocre bore-fest and made it a hit. A much anticipated Rajini movie that most of my buddies, hard-core “Thalaiva” fans returned from the FDFS saying..”Well it’s worth watching…for Vadivelu!”

Cue 10 years later: Kochadaiyaan and Lingaa BOTH came out in 2014. There was a 2 year gap before Kabali which also accounted for it’s massive (undeserved) hype. After that you no longer needed to impatiently anticipate a Rajini film. They rolled off the assembly line regularly. Kaala AND 2.0 released in 2018, and barely 6 months later in early 2019 you got Petta, then Darbar last year and now Annaathe. The man saturated his own market with increasingly uneven movies.

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Also Kaala is one of the best movies Rajni has been a part of, that movie really deserves a re-evaluation and resurgence. It’s a very unique film in a lot of respects and really took enormous risks with Rajni’s image, and kudos to Rajni for agreeing to a movie that no other star would accept (although I wonder what went in his head). Kaala should have come out before Kabali and he wouldn’t be where he is now.

Anyone got tea on why he made so many movies though? I did see some gossip about financial problems but don’t know the exact story.

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vijay

Kamal in fact made his debut a good number of years before Rajni did, even as an adult actor(and his contribution wasn’t limited to just acting). So I wonder how they decide this, is precedence a factor at all? Or should I take it to assume that Rajni’s “contribution” somehow far exceeds even that of those who preceded him in the industry and had an illustrious career? In addition to debating whether should he get it, discussion should also be around whether should he get it NOW before xyz got it..

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madhusudhan194

You take any star in the last few years – Rajini, Vijay, Ajith, Shahrukh, Salman etc, you would find that most of their films are uneven. That is because the newer generation of writers and directors don’t know what to do with their stardom. That’s why you either get uneven films like Kabali or Fan or Zero or Master or you get downright bad films like Darbar or Dabangg sequels or Jab Harry Met Sejal. Petta was an undisputed blockbuster. Kaala was an average grosser. You cannot say it’s a blockbuster only if it makes 500 crores or runs 125 days. What a blockbuster or a “genuine hit” meant in 90s or early 000s doesn’t mean the same thing anymore. The right measure would be to look at the money a Rajini film makes today vs the money a Vijay or Ajith film makes. It is right up there. And that’s some seriously long period of sustained stardom. The fact that his successful films of late also have not catered to the elitist tastes of regular members of this blog or their idea of a blockbuster has nothing to do with his stardom.

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Ragenikanth kannan

Kabali was an out-and-out gamble, but when a 4 hour movie is cut down to 150 minutes, it’s a goner. That earth shattering hype gave a crazy 87.5 Cr opening and yet only ended with 287 Cr, an above average at best. But the worst result of Kabali was that it seemingly destroyed his Telugu and Hindi markets. Kaala was an underperformer, barely crossed 150. 2.0 must have been the rare Rajni film that brought losses to the producer and was only an average film. Petta had the best trending but because of 2.0 being two months ago, a clash with Viswasam, it wound up only as above average although it was also the closest to being a hit, of course that is little to celebrate as Rajni lost a clash for the first time in forever. Darbar was such a disaster that Rajni had to cut his 120 Cr paycheck by half for Annaatthe.

Atleast 90% of above is not true and regarding his cut in salary for Annaathe is ridiculous.

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Ragenikanth kannan

Anyone got tea on why he made so many movies though? I did see some gossip about financial problems but don’t know the exact story.

Financial problem i think you hate for Rajini very clear with your new theories

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Why are we even bringing BO discussions into this award? I am quite sure many of you have seen Mokashi’s HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY, the marathi movie. There’s a scene in there where an actor tries to convince Phalke as to why he has a moustache on him when he’s playing a woman: kahi kahi baikana aste woh teh mooch; tar techat kai ghosti kaadata tumi? Paraphrased: [Don’t some women have moustaches? So if you are aiming for perfection, let it be]; and then Phalke just lets it go!

I would like to believe that this award is associated with the trajectory of an artiste; not the minutiae associated with that artist. My only point is, aren’t we missing the woods for the trees if we keep on harping about Rajnikanth’s box office successes or failures?

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

While the extent of Rajni’s contribution to films may be debatable, what’s undeniable and likely irreplaceable, is his impact on TN society as a film star. You then consider the fact that he was a rank outsider from humble origins as BR points out in his opening comments, Rajni’s story becomes extraordinary. In fact, I would think this is exactly the type of career that the film industry should celebrate especially at a time when its flagship industry, Bollywood, seems to be at some sort of an ebb. If you were to look at the impact of films on society, it would be hard to look past Rajni.

If you grew up in TN, you are bound to have these Super Star crazy fan anecdotes – like this paati opposite my home who proudly claimed to have read Kanda Shashti Kavacham daily while he was supposedly admitted to Stanley in his younger days, I remember as a school kid we went to the first day show of Chandramukhi only to get caught amidst a lathi charge outside the theaters as the police was unable to control the crowds, and I know of so many kids born much much later than his peak, who have become massive fans watching his old movies and so on.

One can very well say all this does not deserve a DP, timing is wrong, XYZ are more qualified etc. Fair enough. However I say why not him and why not now, given his seemingly fragile health in the recent past.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

“Anyone got tea on why he made so many movies though? I did see some gossip about financial problems but don’t know the exact story” – I agree with Ragenikanth, this comment doesn’t seem to be in good taste given the content that precedes it 🙂

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KayKay

“The fact that his successful films of late also have not catered to the elitist tastes of regular members of this blog or their idea of a blockbuster has nothing to do with his stardom.”

Yup, most of us here are waiting for that art-house mood piece Rajini film shot in grainy B&W where he’s a quadriplegic in a wheelchair staring out the window, contemplating his existential angst.

As Patrick Swayze said to Whoopi Goldberg’s charlatan medium in GHOST: WHAT.A.CROCK.OF.SHIT

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AnJo: They are talking about BO because they don’t really have an argument otherwise. They know deep down that for all that his style may be entertaining, it holds no great artistic value beyond his cultish fan base. This is not a comment on his acting abilities – the early Rajnikanth was a riveting watch and displayed tremendous range within the constraints of popular Tamil cinema. He was particularly good at essaying negative roles but hand in hand didn’t always have to contrast it with macho action hero (films like Jhonny or Puthu Kavithai come to mind). The problem is at the end of the day, he decided the only way to be a fail safe box office machine would be to zoom in on the Rajnisms and make the entire film a vehicle for them (where it was more of an add on in the 80s). And with that, he changed his career trajectory into one that the hardcore fans love and others find repetitive.

NOW I don’t mind him deciding to serve his yuuuge fan base. Chuck Norris did that too. The problem begins when Chuck Norris also wants the same validation that is accorded to an Antony Hopkins. I am sorry but you can’t have it both ways. You cannot choose the commercial route, constantly sneer at the ‘pretentiousness’ of art movie operators and then also desire the validation that those art movie operators get. If you make a choice, own it and be at peace. Which Rajni himself seems to be anyway, I have never heard him diss Kamal for his choices. It’s the fans who have resorted to mental gymnastics to justify the award.

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Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly also won the AFI Life Achievement Award. If Dadasaheb Phalke never went to such cultural icons like Rajni before, let this be the first.

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Satya

This thread is turning out to be fun. 🙂

Well, guys, how about Rajinikanth playing a cannibal who is dreaming of killing and eating his young apprentice but is holding himself back due to professional and moral sanity? Now that would be a very “actorly” experiment. Tamil and Telugu cinema will learn a trick or two for future similar portrayals. 😀

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avanthika

National Awards lost its credibility the day Saif Ali Khan won the best actor award for Hum Tum!

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Great comment Madan. And to add to that, something from a non-Tamilian perspective:

My memory just jogs down to that one scene in his B/W movie where the kid, if i am not wrong, or the woman, throws a stone at him. Rajni’s reaction was superb. He had to hide his humiliation, but also, not display himself as a weak person. He did it fantastically. And the movie 16 vayathinile, was an out-of-world experience for me. Hassan, Sridevi, and Rajni, in no particular order, were simply outstanding in an outstandingly written movie.

Also, I feel there’s an additional burden on actors like Hassan, Rajni and Dr. RajKumar. Folks always want them to carry the burden of the language, of the state-hood they are associated with. For instance, Rajkumar with the GOKAK CHALUVALI moment, Rajni/Kamal with the anti-Hindi opposition. [Never seen this in Malayalam film industry.] In Andhra, I think it is less thanks to old Hyderabad and the abundance of the Hindi language there. No wonder DEEWAR ran for a golden jubilee there.

I would rather focus on Rajni’s career from Balachander [ my FAVORITE director to capture the ’80s Tamilian cultural landscape] to his mis-adventures with LINGAA and its ilk. But then again, as I mentioned, his fans are responsible for putting an additional burden on him.

Compare that with Amit, what’s happened is, even in Tamil Nadu, Hindi, as English, I believe, has been accepted as a ‘communication’ language, when compared to the ’80s. And there’s nothing called Hindi acceptance. In the North and in Bombay, and even below Bombay, Hindi is just a way of life. So that way, Amit carries a lesser burden in terms of language but a greater burden in terms of being a national icon. In fact, Kamal is on record saying that Tamilians missed Hindi movies and watching Dilip Kumar because they were too absorbed and were purposely drowned in the anti-Hindi agitation. He also mentioned that he was pissed off with Mehmood in PADOSON without even watching the film!!!

Rajni is an emotional person; he should NOT succumb to any BJP tactics or anyone’s just for the sake of politics. He just had an operation…

To me, as a non-fan of Rajni, I still enjoy the fact from where he started, and where he is today. That, in itself, is an achievement for me and Rajni richly deserves this award. Kamal Hassan, has deserved it decades before…but I don’t want to get into the time-lines…After all, this is a country where Nehru dedicates a Bharat Ratna to himself. Why quib on time-lines then?

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https://rec.arts.movies.local.indian.narkive.com/0ehu7DgF/review-chandramukhi

October 31, 2021

“Also, I feel there’s an additional burden on actors like Hassan, Rajni and Dr. RajKumar. Folks always want them to carry the burden of the language, of the state-hood they are associated with. For instance, Rajkumar with the GOKAK CHALUVALI moment, Rajni/Kamal with the anti-Hindi opposition. [Never seen this in Malayalam film industry.] In Andhra, I think it is less thanks to old Hyderabad and the abundance of the Hindi language there. No wonder DEEWAR ran for a golden jubilee there.” – I am not completely sure of all of this because post Rajkumar, Kannada has struggled a bit to find one mass star to build tentpoles around whereas Telugu industry continues right on. I mean, it’s from that kind of view point that Sandeep Reddy Vanga convinces himself that his Arjun Reddy is an utter masterpiece where someone like Myskkin had already gone a long way on technique by that point.

Also, AB was definitely popular in TN also…in the 70s. I don’t have figures but I remember BR saab writing about Ilayaraja’s first film Annakilli and mentioning that at that point Hindi films did better business in TN than the top mainstream Tamil films of the day and producer Panju Arunachalam decided to change the music as a way to re-ignite interest in Tamil films. I have heard stories about my uncles in their childhood indulging in mock fights saying Gabbar Singh Main Aa Raha Hoon :P. In the late 70s, there was a revival of interest in Tamil films which somewhere got conflated in turn with Tamil pride and chauvinism. I THINK people in my age group or younger are once again interested in Hindi films. Can’t say for sure because that is based off what I see from my interactions with people I know in Chennai. I live in the heart of tinseltown (ok about 35 km and 2 hours of horrible traffic away from it) where AB is still king.

But I am not sure how much of that (Tamil pride) I would attribute to Rajni’s success anyway. As we have discussed, somewhere along the way Rajni films became a conversation between himself and his fans and I don’t think the latter understand how many people that ends up excluding. It is no longer a classic tentpole that appeals to all sections of the audience which is what AB’s films with Manmohan Desai tried to be and which was the game Rajni too tried to play in the 80s. My gripe about his getting the award isn’t even really about him getting it before Kamal but that only two others from the Tamil film industry overall have got it. I don’t think he occupies THAT exalted a place in Tamil cinema, as much as Rajni fans will vehemently disagree with me. I mentioned two people – Kannadasan and Ilayaraja. I believe MSV and Sridhar should have also got it before they decided to give it to Rajni. He may be a phenomenon to his fans but at the end of the day, he is still ‘only’ an actor. As far as I am concerned, this has opened the floodgates to one day recognize Ilayathalapathi, Thala and other jokers with this award but let’s see.

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Ravi K

October 31, 2021

I still find Rajini captivating to watch on-screen, though I wish he had put his incredible talents to work in better films in the last 20+ years.

I wonder if he was an artistically-inclined younger actor who saw that he could be a superstar and never looked back, or if he always wanted the mass stardom, and the smaller, more offbeat films were the only ones he could get as a young actor.

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Voldemort

October 31, 2021

In other news, BR’s review of Chandramukhi, all the way back in 2005.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16_Vayathinile

It is quite stunning the way 16 vayathinele worked out… paychecks were considered? However, loved the quote by Balachandar saab

The trailer, here…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBzxy78lAn8

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Ragenikanth kannan

He may be a phenomenon to his fans but at the end of the day, he is still ‘only’ an actor.

Big B who won this award was not only a actor , superstar but great filmmaker

Sadly Rajini is just an actor

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Anu Warrier

@BR – we will agree to disagree on Shashi’s talent, 🙂 but the Dadasaheb Phalke is supposed to be for ‘contribution to cinema’ is it not? I still wager that Shashi did more for the cause of cinema – even if, you argue, only as producer – than Rajni did.

Again, I have no issues with Rajni getting the award. Just with your larger point that ‘If Shashi and Vinod could get it…” (I did have a problem with VK getting it, though, because honestly, I don’t think he contributed much to cinema per se. And I quite liked the actor.)

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Yajiv

@Voldemort: Thank you so much for that blast from the past.

“…where graceless dancers keep waving handkerchieves like flags to invisible bulls.”

I miss BR’s print reviews so much!

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