India’s long-time Superstar should see the writing on the wall

Rajinikanth…. For close to four decades, he has been at the apex slot in southern cinema, unmatched for his swagger and dashing screen presence. This is apart from his continuing ability to set the cash counters ringing with monotonous regularity for even his average films which have over the years emerged more successful than the hits of his peers and juniors.

The reports that have emerged about his latest Dasara release – Vettaiyan – seem positive as the film has touched Rs 400 crore at the box office all over, a phenomenal record for a Tamil film which had Amitabh Bachchan at one end and Fahadh Faasil at the other to lend heft to the potential the film supposedly carried. However, setting aside carping critics with their inbuilt biases about the titan, the fact remains that Rajini’s latest flick balances so many ‘commercial’ requirements to take a long shot at winning the hearts of his fans.

Something, his solo hero movies never worried about as it was just Rajini and Rajini alone who mattered then.

As, into the second decade of the new millennium, the fatigue factor had set in, even in his case. His health conditions began to bother him, family issues began to gain ground and then the younger crop of heroes hit their sweet spots. Even as generation after generation over the last five decades have tirelessly watched his unique style-laden movies, they began apportioning space for the fresh faces and the next gen heroes like Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Suriya, Karthi etc. who were the darlings of the millennials and also the Gen Z crowd the world over. Suddenly, the throne was under threat.

After a wavy box-office run with his last 10 movies or so, with many of them disappointing his core fan base, it seemed well and truly over for the 74-year-old matinee idol.

After all, he has had the longest tenure as a Superstar in Indian cinema, with no film of his conceding space for any other star to match his screen presence. That was because it was considered unnecessary in a way as the average fan wanted to see his favourite hero for the longest possible time on the big screen.

The trade bigwigs have made the right noises about his recent 170thfilm which is galloping away even after the long festival holiday break. It is good news for his fans who are waiting for his next biggie, due in 2025, which has Nagarjuna sharing screen space with him apart from Upendra and ‘Kattappa’ Sathyaraj, who was once his arch- rival and tough competitor as a villain-turned- hero in Kodambakkam.

Still, the message is clear. Rajinikanth should act his age, desist from hogging the lion’s share as far as screen space goes, blend his USPs with a solid performance, which he is very good at and let market determine his film’s budget and potential to cash in on all the plus points of his movies.

This, by itself, is a pointer to his last phase in Indian cinema, which has given him a slot not allotted to anyone else across generations. Southern cinema has had him as a forerunner in the 1980s when he and Kamal Haasan held the flag high for the later heroes to join the bandwagon in Mumbai. One would like to see him take a considered call about his future and it would be sad to see him wave goodbye. Yet, life will go on for fans of cinema, as usual.