When legendary director and Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner K Balachander decided to cast Rajinikanth in a small but powerful role in Aboorva Ragangal (1975), little did he know that the Madras Film Institute alumni would go on to become one of Indian cinema’s greatest icons. Of course, such things can never be planned. They have to happen. It is not just hard work, luck, talent, timing, fate, or any other term to make sense of such random phenomena. Rajinikanth himself hasn’t been able to pinpoint a particular aspect of his career trajectory to say why people not just adore him, but deify him. However, this adulation didn’t come overnight. It started when Rajinikanth literally opened an iron gate to enter the world of cinema. After a topsy-turvy five year run where Rajinikanth explored so many aspects of his acting career, including taking an early retirement from cinema, he took his first BIG decision. A decision that would go on to define his cinematic career. A decision that changed his career path from a promising actor to a promising superstar. And what was that decision?
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Billa (1980)
Rajinikanth in Billa.
When producer K Balaji decided to bring the iconic Don (1978) to Tamil cinema, he zeroed in on actor Rajinikanth to reprise the role made famous by the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan. The template was ready as Salim-Javed ensured a blockbuster blueprint was in place. Incidentally, this wasn’t the first time Rajinikanth was acting in the Tamil remake of an Amitabh Bachchan film. But Billa was the first time he was stepping into the shoes of Amitabh. In the earlier remakes of Khoon Pasina and Majboor, Rajinikanth essayed the roles made popular by Vinod Khanna and Pran. Now, he was the HERO of a stylish gangster drama.
It shifted the spotlight from Rajinikanth, the actor, to Superstar Rajinikanth. Billa was the actor’s biggest commercial success then, and more importantly, it announced the return of the star who would go on to become the ‘Thalaivar’ of all times.
Johnny (1980)
Rajinikanth in Johnny.
Rajinikanth had a beautiful 1980 that started with the blockbuster success of the urban gangster drama Billa, and ended with the smashing success of the rural drama, Murattu Kaalai, which endeared him to the masses. It was the kind of Rajinikanth films we are now used to. Both had a strong emotional core, strong performances, and of course enviable box-office returns. But between both these films, Rajinikanth also headlined a wonderful thriller called Johnny.
This was the second time Rajinikanth played a double role in a film, and it brought out the romantic in him. It also brought out a pragmatic and disillusioned man to the fore too. Can we forget Rajinikanth sitting next to Sridevi, who is on the piano, looking at each other, uttering director Mahendran’s beautiful dialogues, and waltzing through this dynamo of a scene as Ilaiyaraaja takes care of the rest?
Rajinikanth had two contrasting roles to pull off in this crime thriller film, which was a first for director Mahendran too. And boy, did he pull it off!!!
Netrikann (1981)
Rajinikanth in Netrikann.
If Billa established his superstar credentials and Johnny cemented his credibility as an actor, Rajinikanth decided to take on a rather unique challenge for the first time in his career. He was playing father and son in SP Muthuraman’s playful yet cautious film, titled Netrikann. Revolving around a womaniser father and his righteous son, Netrikann allowed us to see Rajinikanth let his hair loose and revel in a film that speaks about morality, choices, and consequences.
While he plays Santhosh as a straight arrow, the complexity of Chakravarthi is beautifully brought out by Rajinikanth. Is Chakravarthi a bad person? Yes. Is he fun to watch? Yes. Did Rajinikanth actually make you root for the person in the wrong? Absolutely.
Basically… Netrikann let the audience and filmmakers know of Rajinikanth’s versatility, and how he was still open to do different things well within the framework of that era’s commercial cinema.
Pokkiri Raja (1982)
Rajinikanth in Pokkiri Raja.
Extending the Netrikkan trope to a more palatable genre, Rajinikanth and SP Muthuraman came up with Pokkiri Raja. Unlike Netrikkan, which was a comedy, but a risqué one at that, Pokkiri Raja was an out-and-out masala film that made optimal use of the ‘switching places’ trope. This is something that Rajinikanth would go on to use multiple times in his double-action films.
Pokkiri Raja wasn’t a very different film from what he was doing in that era, but it showed how Rajinikanth had a knack of understanding his audience. He knew that Netrikkan would only be seen as a one-off, and he had to cater to a crowd that wanted him to be conscientious.
Grey characters had to either meet their rightful end or they must have a heart of gold. The framework was ready, and Rajinikanth was just ironing a few kinks here and there.
Moondru Mugam (1982)
Rajinikanth in Moondru Mugam.
It was impressive how Rajinikanth was using the double action films to further push his career to newer horizons even while firmly placing his feet on the popular cinema ground. Till now, he was experimenting with style with focus firmly on making films bigger and better. Then, ace director A Jagannathan decided to collaborate with Rajinikanth for the first time in the actor’s first attempt at a triple role.
As Alex Pandian, a conscientious cop, who is killed by evil forces, Rajinikanth delivered his most original and stylish character then. As his sons Arun and John, who join forces to exact revenge, there were oodles of comedy and romance intertwined in this story that appealed to a large section of the audience. Such has been the iconic status of the film that even 42 years later, this film and the character of Alex Pandian continues to feature in any ‘best of’ list of Rajinikanth films. It was the pinnacle of his ascension through multiple roles in films.
Dharmathin Thalaivan (1988)
Rajinikanth in Dharmathin Thalaivan.
For almost 40-odd Tamil films post Moondru Mugam, Rajinikanth never attempted to do a double-action film. Call it the Alex Pandian hangover or the saturation in the Superstar’s mind that there can be nothing to top that high of Moondru Mugam, Rajinikanth stayed away from the subgenre. However, when he decided to help his long-time collaborator Devar Films, and joined hands with another long–time collaborator SP Muthuraman, they opted for a remake of the successful Amitabh Bachchan film, Kasme Vaade.
Dharmathin Thalaivan was perfectly suited for Rajini’s diverse image of being an action hero with an impressive flair for comedy. But what Dharmathin Thalaivan truly did in his career is to elevate him to the next level where he plays the guide of sorts to a younger star. He started becoming the ‘elder statesman’ in his films even when playing the Superstar. This marked a change in the kind of films Rajinikanth was doing because he didn’t shy away from taking on characters that are stripped of superstardom but still had the Rajini touch.
Rajathi Raja (1989)
Rajinikanth in Rajathi Raja.
Incidentally, most of the double action roles in Rajinikanth’s career were in films that were centred in urban areas or pretty upmarket themes. Every superstar worth their salt needs to deliver their wares in a rural drama. Of course, Rajinikanth had his Murattu Kaalai, Oorkaavalan, etc… but right from the times of MGR and Sivaji Ganesan, it was important that superstars and superstar aspirants of that era played the village simpleton who is too naive to understand the worldly affairs. The good-at-heart person is often complemented by the wise and street-smart urban guy.
We had seen it in various forms throughout Indian cinema history, and through R Sundarrajan’s Rajathi Raja, Rajinikanth brought out his own version of that trope. It was a classic ‘switch places’ trope, but the drama generated by the writing, the music of Ilaiyaraaja, and the measured performances of Rajinikanth ensured the film lived up to its title.
Athisaya Piravi (1990)
Rajinikanth in Athisaya Piravi.
Ten years after the first time Rajinikanth decided to make a double-action film, he took upon a rare genre for superstars to handle in Tamil cinema. In many ways, it was quite the bold attempt for its times considering the theme of the film. Reincarnation, and life after death wasn’t an unfamiliar trope for audiences of the late 80s and 90s, but it was rare for a Superstar to do it.
In Athisaya Piravi, Rajinikanth played the village bumpkin all over again, and a ruffian fighting the good fight. It wasn’t that different from a Rajathi Raja or a Pokkiri Raja, and there was a ‘switch places’ trope, albeit with a fantasy twist. Despite the rather fantastical premise, and Rajinikanth delivering the goods, Athisaya Piravi marked the first time the box-office returns weren’t great when he played a double role.
Make no mistake, he would bounce back with films like Thalapathi, Mannan, and Annamalai back-to-back, but Athisaya Piravi kept him away from full-fledged double roles for a really long time. During this phase, he shifted gears to cement his legacy as the biggest superstar of Tamil cinema, and there was no time for experimentation.
Muthu (1995) and Arunachalam (1997)
Rajinikanth in Muthu and Arunachalam.
By now, Rajinikanth was in GOD mode in cinema. He had just completed Baasha in Tamil, and delivered the father of all cameos in Pedarayudu in Telugu. It was a different level of high. Now, Rajinikanth was in full commercial mode, and he didn’t have time to do double-action films that didn’t excite him as an actor. In this phase, Rajinikanth loved playing the person who is unaffected by wealth. It was also the time he started expressing his political affiliations, and it was important people understood that he wasn’t money-minded.
Soon enough, Rajinikanth worked with young filmmakers like KS Ravikumar and Sundar C in Muthu and Arunachalam, respectively. Both these films featured Rajinikanth in dual roles, as a father and a son. However, the focus wasn’t on this relationship. In Muthu, it was the relationship between him and his ‘mudhalaali’, and in Arunachalam, it was the relationship between him and his ‘money.’
Both films featured a father role that asked his son to show to the world that money isn’t everything. Both films featured a son who readily relinquished his wealth to remain a ‘commoner.’ Basically, Muthu and Arunachalam dangled the carrot of the biggest ‘what if’ Tamil cinema and Tamil Nadu politics had ever seen.
Enthiran (2010) and 2.0 (2018)
Rajinikanth in 2.0 and Enthiran.
For the first time in his career, director Shankar was collaborating with the same actor in consecutive films. It was almost like he found his muse. The canvas of Rajinikanth allowed Shankar to paint his most ambitious picture, and the result was the film that created cinematic history. Enthiran was the first time a star of Rajinikanth’s stature attempted a sci-fi film in Tamil cinema. It also brought back the ‘villain’ Rajinikanth after several years.
Enthiran gave the audience the space to enjoy a Rajinikanth they missed seeing on screen, and also gave his new audience an extra reason to be enamoured by him. As the straight-arrow Vaseegaran, he was just playing the foil to the amped up dual characters of the robot, Chitti, who oscillates between a child understanding the world, and a powerful evil out to rule the world.
Then eight years later, Rajinikanth acted in his first-ever sequel as he reprised the roles in 2.0. While the scientific temperament is rightfully questioned, the superstar template was very much in place in 2.0 too. In fact, Enthiran and its Hindi version, Robot, was the biggest crossover to happen from the South to the North before SS Rajamouli happened to pan-Indian cinema. 2.0 had the biggest Hindi cinema import of its times as Akshay Kumar played the antagonist in the film. Basically, Shankar and Rajinikanth tore down the divide, just in time for the South juggernaut to break down the walls.
Kochadaiyaan and Lingaa (2014)
Rajinikanth in Lingaa and Kochadaiiyaan.
For four years after Enthiran, Rajinikanth suffered major setbacks in his health, and his medical status became national news for a while. When things were finally alright, and he was set to make a comeback to the silver screen, he opted for filmmakers that understood him well. He found solace in the familiar, and in 2014, he returned to the big screen with two films — Kochadaiyaan and Lingaa. It exemplified his vigour at that point as he made his first animation film in Kochadaiyaan, which was directed by his daughter Soundarya. It was India’s first photorealistic motion capture film. It allowed him to take things slow, and yet experiment with form. In contrast, he starred in KS Ravikumar’s Lingaa that was based on a story as old as the hills. Both films featured him in multiple roles, and both films received bouquets and brickbats in not-so-equal measure. What did this back-to-back setback do to Rajinikanth’s career?
He worked with even younger filmmakers, and decided to back the vision of a young director who had just made two films. The director was Pa Ranjith, and the film… Kabali.
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Since Kabali, Rajinikanth has been in the best phase of his life. He is working with younger filmmakers. He is adhering to the present type of films. His movies are making impressive numbers and creating records all over. Even when he is so close to completing fifty years as an actor, has crossed the age of 70, and starred in over 170 films, Rajinikanth continues to be a force to reckon with. He is the yardstick. Basically… Superstar Rajinikanth is simply what many would call… The GOAT.
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