Rajnikant is a bigger international brand than bollywood

[devauniversal]

Bollywood bigger than stars

I think it’s unfair to compare a man against an institution. Rajnikant has made 200 films during his 27 years in the movie business. Bollywood makes the same number of movies every year.

The industry is more than 100 years old. It has witnessed the making of such classics as Mother India, Kaagaz ke Phool, Pyaasa, Naya Daur, Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay. And over this period and through these films, the industry has produced a pool of unparalleled talent whic includes Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. And then, there is Rajnikant, the South Indian superstar, who, like MGR before him, is worshipped in Tamil Nadu. He has an enviable fan following and is undoubtedly the highest paid actor in India. But it’s important to understand the context of his popularity. Tamil Nadu has always made gods of its screen idols and Rajnikant has been in the game far longer than many of his contemporaries.

Sivaji, by far, is the biggest South Indian blockbuster in history. But numbers are not created in vacuum. If the movie has done as well as it has, one needs to give a nod to the quartet of intelligent marketing, public relations, multiplexes and media. And going by its current speed, my guesstimate is it will probably gross Rs 125 crore. But like I said, this is the only blockbuster of its kind in the history of Tamil cinema and Rajnikant’s career.

When it comes to numbers, Bollywood has the advantage of reflecting the success of many and not just one. In the past 50 years, 25 industry blockbusters have grossed more than Rs 100 crore. By today’s estimates, (inflation accounted for) Sholay earned more than Rs 200 crore, Mughal-e-Azam Rs 170 crore, Mother India Rs 150 crore and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun Rs 142 crore. But even the success of these movies didn’t make its stars bigger than Bollywood.

Internationally, Indian cinema has become synonymous with Bollywood and has received — sometimes surprising — patronage from a variety of audiences. A line-up of stars, from Amitabh Bachchan to the Khans, are crowdpullers; even Munna Bhai and Circuit are a franchise that, by the way, grossed more than Rs 100 crore in revenues just from its theatrical release.

Today, international bids are entertained for staging awards shows and the industry has become an important vehicle for the promotion of various countries. Yash Chopra has a lake named after him in Switzerland, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh and other Bollywood denizens have been bestowed with laurels and doctorates from institutions across the world; London’s Madame Tussaud’s has found it important to showcase three Bollywood icons and Walt Disney has just trademarked the word Bollywood.

What Rajnikant has achieved in his career with Sivaji is outstanding and he is a bankable superstar. And, he is definitely the king of South Indian movies, but Bollywood is bigger than the sum of its superstars. It is a global brand, which is, for good or bad, equated with all of Indian cinema, even Sivaji.

The author is CEO, BR Films


Rajni is indeed the Boss

Vishal Rajan

No matter what people say about the popularity or global appeal of Rajnikant versus Bollywood, my opinion about Rajni being the true Boss is unshakable.

I have grown up watching both Bollywood and Rajni all my life as I am fluent in both Hindi and Tamil. I now live in Mumbai. No doubt, we have good actors here. But then, Rajni is no mean fry. It was Rajni, who despite being an action hero convincingly portrayed Raghvendra Swami decades ago. Playing Big B in a Tamil remake can be jittery for any great actor. But Rajni has done it. I have seen all those remakes — Thee, Billa, Padikadadavan, etc. He played the role of Amol Palekar in Thillu Mullu, a remake of Golmaal. He began his career as a stark villain to become a demigod. It is Rajni, who at 60, still plays the lead role.

The truth is that Rajni is getting bigger and bigger, to the extent of making Spiderman and The Pirates look meek. He has always been larger-than-life and the world welcomes it. A large part of his success is also due to the mindset of people, who believe Rajni can do anything.

Talking about the price, I guess we all know what Rajni commands, what his films have grossed and how many prints have been released. That alone should speak for his popularity. In a nutshell, with Rajni’s remuneration, one can sign all the top stars of Bollywood and still not guarantee a great initial.

My father, a film director by profession, saw Rajni’s posters in Japan alongside Bruce Lee’s and Jackie Chan’s. Rajni is popular even in the US, thanks to his movie Bloodstone. But Sivaji has sealed everything. Sivaji is one of the top grossers in the UK and US. People in Mumbai, who do not understand a word of Tamil, have seen Sivaji many times over.

Rajni’s style is unmatched. The way he looks & walks, his punchlines, flipping of the cigarette & sunglasses — his actions are just out of this world. And yes, he does not go overboard with his performances.

He is popular not because he is a star, but because he is a great human, a philanthropist and a simpleton. Having nearly 65,000 fan clubs is not funny. Stories about Rajni absorbing the losses of his films to safeguard distributors, announcing films and distributing the profits to his team members are true for sure.

It’s just that people in Mumbai are getting to feel Rajni’s radiance with Sivaji. It’s not new to me as I have seen it right from my school days. If only he does a Bollywood film now, there will never be such a debate in future. The very fact that Sivaji is competing with the globally-acclaimed Bollywood means Rajni has a bigger appeal than Bollywood.

The author is a film industry expert


Source : The Economic times

[praka123]

Rajnikanth infact acted in many bollywood films upto end of eighties.

[rajesh_nk22]

Rajnikant is just an actor, I dont know why people talk so much of him, are all his pictures block busters??? He too has flop films... Its normal, some pictures get HITs and this is not only becoz of any actor, its team effort.

[i_am_crack]

thanks for the news.....

[rajasekharan]

he is just an actor acting to make money for living , like people doing jobs to make money for living.dont know whay people get crazy about him , or that matter anyone.

[rakeshishere]

Originally Posted by rajasekharan

he is just an actor acting to make money for living , like people doing jobs to make money for living.dont know whay people get crazy about him , or that matter anyone.

Mhhh..May be u shud do some Research on him..

[chesss]

Can any south indian guy explain whats the big deal about rajni/sivaji?

i heard ppl start dancing in front of teh screen with rajni's first shot. lol

[Charan]

Rajini has followers even in Japan.

[praka123]

Originally Posted by chesss

Can any south indian guy explain whats the big deal about rajni/sivaji?

i heard ppl start dancing in front of teh screen with rajni's first shot. lol

Rajnikanth got biggest fan pull in the state of Tamil Nadu.even in Karnatak,Andhra and in the city of Trivendrum,Palakkad,kerala(tamil population as border town).
Not only Rajnikanth,most of their heroes are getting this type of attention and in tamil nadu afaik youth swear by tamil film dialogues(madras tamil) and mannerisms of the hero.there are fans association all over the states of TN,karnataka,andhra etc for heroes of respective industry.lately in kerala also there are fans association for Mammootty and Mohanlal.
what i meant was south indian ppl esp,tamils swear by films.

[esumitkumar]

he does very big charity and njoys with common man ..and live like them..thats y he is very popular

[nix]

i ask a simple question...
why all this fan frenzy? is he really worth all this? is he really that good? what is so special in him? is it justifiable? i need logical answers.

i dont see anything special in him. his acting is ordinary. his cig-flip thing is...lame. its not something to which you can applause or be in awe. is his acting out of the world type? i dont think so...

poor people who cant afford to eat a sqare meal, are spending rs.1000 just for tickets. isnt that foolish? why spend that much, when you can see it later. i just dont understand why people are going so crazy over him...

[rajesh_nk22]

You Are Right Nix, Its Like, My Boss Or Some One Suprior Is Crazy, Same Thing Is Followed By Juniiors, It Is Wave Effect, Everyone Just Crazy Becoz Someone Else Is Talking Only Of Rajnikant, So They Are Also Talking, Just To Tel People, They Also Know Lots Of That Man ...

[rajasekharan]

yeah, rightly said.....i cant believe there are peoples that go mad even in this century....

[rakeshishere]

Originally Posted by esumitkumar

he does very big charity and njoys with common man ..and live like them..thats y he is very popular

BULL's EYE

[ax3]

he`s simply great ......... down2earth guy ..... & has awesome STYLE .......

flipping his googles, cigratte etc ..........

[ashwin_ka]

Iam a south indian guy myself but i was born and brough up in the gulf..firstly,most of the northies think all south indians are Madarasis(ppl from TN)..guys get a life..there r ppl other than Tamilians living down south...I have never been a big fan of Rajani myself...I dont know y ppl consider him as a God or somthing...I saw his Sivaji...A crappy storyline..the only pros are Shriya(hottie),the SFX and som mannerisms of Our so called BOSS.dont even know how it got such a big opening..
anyways wat i wanted 2 say is he's a normal guy with nice acting skills(thats it) and nothing more...the reason ordinary ppl worship him is due 2 his style and mannerisms which they adore..and his acting too..but pls dont tell me Sivaji became such a big hit due 2 his acting..thats just a minor factor in it..the reasons i mentioned above are the real ones i think...

[vaithy]

There is a unexplained phenomenon about Rajini.. It is not simply that Tamil people are worshipping hi.. After the release of Muthu in Japan he was a craze there..The Japanese has Fan Association of him in many japanese cities.. Many Japanese people still visit Chennai as a pilgrimage yatra and waiting for his darshan many days..( even the star out of station they simply satisfied by taking photographs infront of his house). He is famous next to Jackie chan and called as 'Dancing Maharaja'. When Prime Minister Manmohan Sing meet the Japanese people he refer the cultural ties through film, how Japanese are very fond this indian Dancing Maharaja..The Japanese who migrated to USA set up their own fan clubs, so Sivaji get biggest opening in USA cities..there Japanese out number south Indians fans in many shows.. But what I could not understand is,' Why in London a traditionally Bollywood stronghold run packed houses of Sivaji with the fans comprising mainly North Indian audiences ? Also in Netherland First week shows of Sivaji has been reported housefull where there is no fan club of him, neither Indian migrants presence there !!

[Gigacore]

Before his fame.... he was a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, bus conductor in Bangalore.

Route: City Market to Nelamangala (258 Now)

[Charan]

http://munmun.moo.jp/
http://rajini.jp/

[praka123]

^tamil cinema got that much reach,how can they understand tamil

[vaithy]

Originally Posted by charangk

http://munmun.moo.jp/
http://rajini.jp/

Dear charangk!!

obviously this is not the Chennai street, Japanes Fan club members are prowling before cinema halls of Japan cities...(I think it is the backgrounds of Tokyo ) cannot you provided the backgrounds explanations.. Also the Fans are now trying to create the same maniac fever by displaying his flag ( his would be launched political party soon).. Can we expect the next prime minister of japan from India ..young mothers clinking their babes before cinema halls are unheard in Japan..But Rajini change the Rule..
I can understanf the poverty stricken , illiterate peoples are worshipping him.. But why Japanese? They are the most intelligent and quiet peoples in the earth !!

with regards,
vaithy

[chesss]

@charangk Great post!!

[Charan]

@Viathy.. sorry I cannot provide a background explanation. I just know that there are many fans in japan. I was just trying to find if there is any fanclubs run by non-indians by google and found some of the posts which I gave. Im not sure, but I read that they were planing to shoot a song/sequence in japan for shivaji but was cancled as it would have created havoc in japan, sorry i cannot remember where I read it. Also I have seen many tamil concerts in TV like in singapore/malasia and the larger audiance were not indians :O .

@Prakash .. All the movie .. They have subtitles and also many movies are dubbed into Japanese.

[surendhar]

Originally Posted by chesss

Can any south indian guy explain whats the big deal about rajni/sivaji?

i heard ppl start dancing in front of teh screen with rajni's first shot. lol

Nobody can't be Rajni......no more

A MAN BORN WITH STYLE

[nix]

why do the japs love him so much? what was there in muthu?
or forget it, why argue...
ok dudes, you win
no logical explanations, just blind glorifying...go on...

[vaithy]

Originally Posted by nix

why do the japs love him so much? what was there in muthu?
or forget it, why argue...
ok dudes, you win
no logical explanations, just blind glorifying...go on...

Before Muthu, many Tamil films, and bollywood films released in JaPan all have good story lines than in Muthu, but just went off couple of day shows.. But in Muthu the distrilbuter being very smart, give subtitles in Japan, promoted with Japanese posters declaring, Come !!See the Indian Jackie chan in Action !! That pays off the rich dividend..Though Rajni is no match for him in fast action, it was his style in fighting and the rapid dancing in the film , cached their fancy,, When some of the Japanese Youths who viewed the film attempted to imitate him in the Middle of the road by dancing the Muthu songs, the police catch them for nuisance case, but when the Police Chief himself see that film, to understand their strange behaviour, he release them without any charge ...that is how the culture spread... the subtitles led the japanes understand the Indian cultures.. more Japanese come to learn the Indian values through cinema only.. It is strange but true... I was three years in Karnataka.. where there is anti tamil feelings wide spread.. But I was surprised to learn that many Kannadiga try to learn Tamil so they can watch Rajini films, ( They don't like anyone of dubbing movie) Thus Rajini prove cinema can bridge human races ...who are divided by race religion, nationality,

with regards,
Vaithy

[praka123]

Is that so in karnataka I think in Kerala Rajani fans are lesser.
In kerala,he forced released on all major centres(90 theatres).before one week his filum replaced by local films except thiruvananthapuram and palakkad where tamil population is high.-the point is u cant force someone, assuming the mindset is the same all over south india.
But one thing to tell you,in my state ppl will watch any language film be it hindi or tamil shud be a good film will be a hit.I remember kadhalan,Ullathai allithaa,ddlj,kuchkuchhotahai and all running in packed houses.Even in India,Only Malayalam Channels are the only one,who are showing Hindi,Tamil,Arabic,Telegu Songs and Videos where can we find any Tamil or Hindi or Kannada Channels showing other LANG songs/videos!