Height of fandom: five Rajini cut-outs, 45 feet tall

On the eve of the release of Kabali, fans put up huge posters and statues in theatres across Bengaluru to give a grand welcome to their Thalaiva

"Kabali" hoardings and cut-out

If you want to get a glimpse of the fan adoration Rajinikanth inspires, Nataraj Theatre in Seshadripuram is the place to be. For many years now, it has been the nerve centre of the activities of various Rajinikanth fans’ associations in the city. On Thursday, with only a few hours to go before they could watch their ‘Thalaiva’ and bellow “Kabali da…,” hundreds of fans from Agrahara, Magadi Road, Srirampura, Rajajinagar, Malleswaram and Guttahalli were busy preparing a grand welcome for Kabali .

Apart from huge cut-outs and colourful buntings, a five-and-a-half-feet-tall clay statue of the actor with a customised black Italian suit, sunglasses and a European watch will be among the big attractions at Nataraj. “Two [such] statues will be brought in a procession from Magadi, where famous idol makers Shivakumar and Mallikarjuna have designed them. The other one will be installed at Urvashi Theatre,” said L. Siva, president of Dalapathi Fans’ Association.

The fans are also erecting five cut-outs which are 45 feet tall. “While three cut-outs are from fans’ associations, theatre owners have funded the other two. We are adorning these cut-outs with garlands,” Mr. Siva said.

Special show

Nataraj Theatre has arranged a 5 a.m. screening of the film on Friday for the diehard fans. “For the first time, a special show has been arranged for Rajinikanth fans in Nataraj Theatre. We have bought all the tickets for the first day first show…the management of the theatre has honoured our sentiments,” Mr. Siva said.

The atmosphere is charged in and around Lavanya Theatre in Ulsoor. A huge vinyl poster of

Kabali was displayed by Manik Basha Fans’ Club. Ramesh Subrahmani, who heads the club – one of the oldest Rajini fan clubs in the city, has taken up the responsibility of celebrating the event. The excitement is similar in other major theatres such as Mukunda, Kapali, Cauvery, Poornima, Tirumala, Anjan, Tulasi, Srinivasa, Madeshwara, and Radhakrishna, among others.

The multiplex hurdle

The growth of multiplexes appears to have come in the way of the cut-out culture. “Earlier, we used to erect huge cut-outs and garland them at all theatres. With multiplexes coming up, we don’t have the opportunity to erect cut-outs,” said Rajini Murugan, president of the Karnataka Rajya Rajini Seva Samiti, which has distributed T-Shirts and plastic pots bearing Rajinikanth’s image. Besides conducting puja at Tiruvannamalai for the success of Kabali , the samithi is even cutting cakes and distributing food to the poor on the occasion.

The idols and their creators

A family of four clay artists from Ganigara Street in Magadi, Ramanagaram district, toiled for more than 15 days to create two clay idols of Rajinikanth, which are being installed at Nataraj and Urvashi theatres. They have taken up the task of replicating the Kabali look into a clay model of Rajinikanth on a request from Muttuvel, presdient of the Magadi Road Rajinikanth Fans’ Association.

“We have been in the profession of making idols for generations. We have created statues of Dr. Rajkumar, Narendra Modi and others. Being a fan of Rajinikanth, I accepted the offer, despite the pressure of churning out Ganesh idols for the festive season,” Mr. Mallikarjun, who created the statues along with his brother Shivakumar, told The Hindu .

They have delivered two statues of the superstar — one in a grey suit and another in black. “We have promised to deliver another three statues by the 25th day of the film, to be installed in three other theatres in the city,” Mr. Shivakumar said.

“We have not collected funds to pay for the idol. It is the hard-earned money of the fans which is being spent because of our love and affection for the ‘boss’. Mallikarjun and his brother did not demand [payment],” Mr. Muttuvel said.