Truth is bitter especially for fanatics but the last big hit for Rajinikanth if you take the returns on investment ratio as the box-office barometer was ‘Chandramukhi’ after the disaster called ‘Baba’. Even ‘Sivaji’ and ‘Endhiran’ were not as successful as is being bandied thanks to the Shanker factor. The simple logic is that Sun Pictures, the producers of ‘Endhiran’ would have bank-rolled the sequel had they made money. Now this comes from sources in the trade who deal in cold figures rather than coloured facts. It is when a distributor makes money that a film is a hit not when the producer pockets a fortune. The trade figures trickling in about ‘ Kaala’ is nothing short of shocking. I had missed the first fifteen minutes of the film on the day of release in Chennai. I went to a multiplex known to be in the midst of a large Tamilian population in Bengaluru on Monday. Only three others watched the film with me. I sneaked into the other halls during the intermission also showing ‘Kaala’. The collective crowd if it can be called that was less than thirty including three on duty cops. Now the advantage this time is that the film was given to distributors on a commission basis with a deposit in most areas even though there were some good offers for outright sale just before the release. That means nobody will come knocking on the superstars door for compensation. This is a fair deal because producer Dhanush sold the TV, digital and overseas rights for a sum exceeding 100 crores. This module does not push either the producer or more importantly the distributors into fiscal peril. It was apparently a conscious decision by Dhanush and should be lauded.
Reliable rumour is that people close to the superstar tried to dissuade him from doing a film with director Ranjith again, including Dhanush. It’s like a student who’s failed writing the supplementary exams but the stakes here are too high. Rajni reportedly brushed them away claiming ‘ Kabali’ was a success and that distributors were lying about losses. Industry watchers find this strange because Rajni is known to be extremely shrewd in selecting directors and stories and also has a keen eye on numbers. Now, Ranjith had made two very good films, Attakathi’ and ‘Madras’ before impressing Rajni. My theory is that very few people are capable of writing a script for a superstar. It has to be designed with various factors in mind especially what the fans expect from him on-screen. It’s easier to write a script and cast apt actors than to conjure something for a demigod. K Balachander’s last film with Rajni in a full-fledged role was ‘Thillu Mullu’ in 1981. He realised Rajni no longer fit any of the characters he wrote. KB only produced films with the superstar later. Two other significant Tamil directors Balu Mahendra and Bharathi Rajaa just couldn’t satisfy his fans when they cast him simply because it was neither their film nor his. Hrishikesh Mukerjee did cast Amitabh in films like ‘Jurmana’ and ‘Bemisaal’ after he attained superstardom but the response was tepid. K Vishwanath made the delightful ‘Subhalekha’ with Chiranjeevi but that was before ‘Khaidhi’ catapulted him to the top. Their collaboration later, ‘Swayam Krushi’ in which he played a cobbler was a disaster. Right here the immensely talented Shankar Nag could not woo audiences when he cast Dr. Raj Kumar in ‘Ondhu Muthina Kathe’ even though the thespian did not have any set image.
“I’m a puppet in the hands of my fans,” Amitabh told me during the shooting of ‘Inquilab’ and it’s true of all superstars. It would be intriguing to know why Rajni brushed off advise and signed ‘Kaala’. Was it because he wanted people to know that he likes black as well as saffron especially since he’s on the threshold of donning ‘Khadi’? The similarities in plot with ‘Nayakan’ are striking though any other comparison with Mani’s classic would be odious. A kid from a small town in Tamil Nadu migrates to Bombay and becomes a slumlord after his father is killed. One off-spring follows in his footsteps while another has contrary views about the father’s modus operandi. A realtor colluding with some inhabitants to usurp land, a friend who’s always by his side, the wife and son being gunned down and the inter-cutting of a planned massacre with a religious discourse are some. There’s also the scene where his grandchildren grill him about what he really is. The most glaring flaw though is the humanising of Rajni. Like cops in our films he always arrives after an unfortunate incident and saunters in slow motion in the most urgent of situations. He isn’t able to protect his kin and approaches his adversary seeking peace after his wife and son has been killed. Now this is not the Rajni his fans want to watch.
The whistle inducing scenes are few and far between. I don’t believe Rajni’s outburst in Thoothukudi has had any bearing on the films fortunes. Stars with grievous crimes and time in the slammer have been welcomed back on-screen to thunderous applause. It’s just that they are disappointed with the way their idol has been coloured, on-screen. The swagger is intact but the flame in his eyes that KB spotted is now just a flicker.
The onerous task of resuscitating Rajni’s career now falls on the young but broad shoulders of Karthik Subburaj purely because if ‘2.0’ succeeds the credit will be shared by Shankar and Akshay Kumar. The sceptics are sniggering but Karthik’s film will prove whether Rajni still can or Rajnikant!
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