Chennai: The Union ministry for information and broadcasting has announced that Rajinikanth will be conferred the award as the ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee’ of the International Film Festival of India being held at Goa later this month. Union minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted the news on Saturday, heaping super joy on Rajini’s huge army of fans.
The award announcement also triggered controversy with a significant section of the Tamil population seeing a political motive behind it, even interpreting it as BJP’s desperate attempt to use the star as a super-pawn to blunt the opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state — what with all those Go-Back-Modi shrill campaigns by Tamil ‘nationalists’ and ultra-left activists — even if not to win power through the coming elections.
Pointing out that MGR had won people’s hearts by his generous deeds, apart from preaching good deeds to society through his films and their thought-provoking songs, Tamil Nadu Muslim League chief V.M.S. Mustafa wondered what Rajini had done for the people to deserve the Iffi award.
“Acting along is no great achievement and worthy contribution to the society. Can anyone deny that many young people got initiated to smoking and drinking by watching Rajini do that in his films,” the League leader asked.
He said it was obvious that the BJP was trying to use Rajinikanth to improve its own political stock in the hostile state, “but those plans
will never succeed and every election will prove that”.
It may be noted that the 50th edition of the film festival, IFFI2019, in its golden jubilee year, is being held at Goa during November 20-28.
