“The publisher was surprised that the book sold over 5,000 copies in a month. But then, I knew it would do well,” smiles P.C. Balasubramanian, as he narrates the story behind his maiden writing venture with Raja Krishnamoorthy — “Rajini's PUNCHtantra”, a book of value statements based on actor Rajinikanth's on-screen one-liners.
“I have been Rajini's fan since the 1970s, and I've found him to be an unconventional person and a phenomenal performer. About five years ago, I made a Power-Point presentation, explaining how a few of his ‘punch dialogues' were great messages to follow, in a business environment. I forwarded it to a few of my friends, and soon, with the Internet being what it is, it went viral! That's when the idea for the book came to me,” the chartered accountant narrates.
He then approached Raja Krishnamoorthy (‘Kitty' in film industry), an HR consultant-actor, with the idea earlier last year, after which, the duo completed the project in seven months. “I've known Raja for about five years, and I approached him as he has acted with Rajini in many films. Raja took care of the life management part of the book.”
Making an impact
Says Raja: “The easier thing for me would have been introducing Bala to Rajini. It's a rather miniscule role.” But, as Bala says: “The book itself isn't as important as the person who tells the message, for Rajini's one-liners are still very popular, and when his words are used to say something, they have an impact.”
After meeting the actor and introducing him to the concept, they went back to him with their first draft. “He called us back, congratulated us on the book, and agreed to write four lines about what he thought of the idea,” says Bala.
Challenges faced
Were there any problems putting information together? “Making the content short, crisp and interesting — that took us many nights and weekends,” says Raja while Bala adds: “Getting the photos for each one-liner was difficult too. We had to go through a lot of people to get the right ones. And somehow, the lines themselves just came to me, except, perhaps, the last four or five. If you grew up watching Rajini's films, chances are you know them all by heart!”
While the book has already been published in English and Tamil, its immediate success has motivated the publishers and authors to make a Japanese version too. A sequel too seems to be in the pipeline. And, the authors fittingly sign off with “when it will come and how, no one knows. But, it will come when it has to.”
(“Rajini's PUNCHtantra” is available at all leading bookstores for Rs. 125)