In the warren of lanes at Gavipuram is the Government Kannada Model Primary School. But locals don’t identify the school by this name. “Oh, you want to know about the Rajini school?” asked an elderly lady, her “You should have said that in the first place!” remaining heavily implied.
The once-dilapidated school that the superstar went to as a child has been replaced by a swanky new building that would look more at home in one of Bengaluru’s tech parks. The children, who have yet to move in to the new school, are caught up in the Kabali fever. Mahadesha M., a class 7 student who is scribbling in his Rajinikanth notebook, says, “Thalaiva became a superstar after studying in this school. I want to become an actor too.” He shows off his dance moves even as he breaks into a “Neruppu da” every now and then.
Proud of their ‘heritage’, the students are gearing up for the release of Kabali . The Karnataka Rajini Seva Samiti has organised a special movie screening for them next week. Samiti president Rajini Murugan G. said they also plan to distribute bags with Kabali prints to the students.
Kokila Vani, the English teacher at the school, says that over the past 10 days, her students have only been talking about the film and screaming dialogues from it even during class hours. “They have also put up banners of Rajinikanth near their homes and say they will celebrate the ‘Kabali festival’ on Friday,” she said.
The teachers and students take great pride in the school and celebrate the superstar’s birthday on a large scale every year. But they are hoping that Rajini keeps a date with his alma mater and does his bit for it. According to school records, the young Rajini, then known as Shivajirao, completed studies in this primary school in the 1960s.
Next month, the students will move out of their current location — the basement of a civic school — into the new Gavipuram Government Kannada Model Primary School. And, while its claim to fame will always be Rajinikanth, the school has a history that dates back to the pre-independence days — it was established in 1943.
