With his latest film Jailer, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has achieved what is considered one of the greatest comebacks ever.
According to trade analyst Manobala Vijayabalan, it has become the second fastest Tamil film to gross more than Rs550 crore ($89.9 million) worldwide.
The action film, which was dubbed in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada and released on Aug 10, entered the Rs550 crore club on its 12th day in theatres, compared with 2.0, also a Rajinikanth film, which reached the milestone in only eight days in 2018.
The resounding success has restored Rajinikanth’s image as a box-officer hero, after his previous two releases Annaatthe (2021) and Darbar (2019) did not do well.
The 72-year-old’s title of superstar has also been reinstated, after fans of rival Thalapathy Vijay began to claim earlier this month that the 49-year-old was indeed the superstar, after stringing together several hits in recent years.
Also starring Jackie Shroff, Mohanlal, Shivrajkumar and Kishore in cameos, Jailer follows the story of a retired police officer, who uses his connections with former prisoners to save his son from a gangster.
Rajinikanth plays the role of the jailer, Muthuvel Pandian, aka Tiger.
His remarkable screen presence, the quirky direction of Nelson Dilipkumar and Anirudhu’s background score have also contributed much to the success of the film.
Jailer is the first film in two years to feature Rajinikanth, who enjoys a demigod-like status among his fans. And they wanted the film to be a hit, to silence the rival group of Vijay’s supporters in Tamil Nadu.
“After a point, I don’t talk. I only slash,” Rajinikanth says in Jailer. And he has once again proved that, if push comes to shove, he will emerge on top.
Tamil actor Sathyaraj, best known worldwide for his role as Kattappa in director SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster film Baahubali (2015 and 2017), believes that the title “Superstar” will now on always refer to Rajinikanth.
“We call a person superstar if he is number one in the film business and remuneration,” said Sathyaraj. “Initially, they called Charlie Chaplin a superstar. Then, they called Rajesh Khanna a superstar. But for the last 45 years, we all think of only Rajinikanth when the term superstar is uttered. That shouldn’t be changed. For me, superstar means Rajinikanth.”
Referring to Vijay’s claims to the title, Sathyaraj further substantiated his opinion: “Thyagaraja Bhagavathar was Tamil Nadu’s first superstar. But nobody addressed him that way. He was referred to by the title Iyal Isai Mannar (King of Prose and Poetry).
“The next superstar was MGR. We call him ‘Makkal Thilagam’ MGR. Nobody else other than these people should be referred to by these titles.
“Will you agree if Rajinikanth was referred to as ‘Makkal Thilagam’ Rajinikanth? It shouldn’t be that way. The title used for Rajinikanth is superstar, and that shouldn’t change.”
At an audio launch of Jailer, the normally reticent Rajinikanth narrated a story about the crow being the most raucous of all birds, constantly trying to pull down other birds. Yet, the crow never manages to reach the eagle, who glides far above all the commotion.
“Social media might go on to compare and draw names on whom I called a crow. I request you not to do that as I have only spoken about what happens practically, and it is not directed at any person,” he said, according to News18.
However, fans of Vijay, Tamil cinema’s GenNow heartthrob, seem in no no mood to relent, with all awaiting the release of their star’s film Leo on Oct 19 to once again up the ante.
Not to be outdone in the game of swagger, Vijay has stylishly played to the gallery in a promotional video of Leo, featuring the song Bloody Sweet.
“I’m gonna take it away… hell yeah! This is how I wanna play. This is how I’m gonna play,” the lyrics seem to make an ominous assertion to the beats of slow, haunting rock.
Jailer was important to Rajinikanth because the film’s success underlines that age is a challenge his popularity has managed to conquer.
Meanwhile for Vijay, born almost a quarter-century later, Leo offers opportunities to set a few records of his own.
Indo-Asian News Service
