What was the fuss all about? Kaala did get released and those who enjoy movies must have taken it in as they would any Rajinikanth entertainer, except that the sense of expectation was higher than usual, what with this being his first movie as a fledgling politician. There was none of the hysterical reactions to the opposition from Karnataka that we saw in the case of Padmavaat in the northern states. And Rajini had triumphed in this matter by keeping his cool and dramatising it only to the extent of appealing in Kannada to HD Kumaraswamy to allow the film to run in his state.
The issue is not about the film’s success which, in the reckoning of some, will be determined solely by what it brings in at the box office. There too, the film makers have already made a super hit of it as the theatrical and music rights were sold for '230 crore even before its release. The film holds a far higher meaning in Tamil Nadu, the State famous for certain indistinctness between the reel and the real. How people perceive Rajini’s role as the champion taking up the cause of the downtrodden will probably determine how much of his charisma is left intact after the Sterlite damage.
Rajini made a political blunder in lumping the genuine protesters with the anti-social elements who may have been behind all the violence in the Sterlite stir that had been peaceful for 99 days. This may have been his first lesson in the real world of politics about perception being even more important than the facts. In the case of celebrities like him, the image could be everything. It is not as if he is unaware of this, just that his inexperience showed in choice of words and phrases. He may not have thought through the issue enough before committing himself to saying what he did.
His role in Kaala, including his martyrdom in the long and endless fight for justice for the underprivileged against the rich and the powerful, might help erase the memory of what he said of the Sterlite protesters in a sweeping statement. Rajini may not have been far off the mark in pinpointing that certain elements brought the violence into the stir on behalf of vested interests. But he erred in not choosing to isolate those elements when speaking of the stir and its gory climax in police firing upon agitators and killing 13 of them.
In reel life, it is different as sets, scenes and dialogues are carefully prepared and everything is edited. And it is in reel life that Rajini has excelled. In fact, there was a quick conclusion to be drawn after the Kaalarelease that the movie would do more for his film career than it would for his fledgling political career. But, after a more careful analysis of where the Pa Ranjith film was heading, it is possible to believe that Rajini’s charsma would come through unscathed and the comment on Sterlite protesters will soon be considered just an aberration.
In real life, anger management is an issue that all public figures must face and live up to. Rajiini will know that he erred on the day he faced pesky and repetitive questions from the media, who however must stand up and fire questions like bullets, hoping one would strike home and elicit just the kind of response it did in the Superstar. His gesture would have looked good on a Dharavi slumlord as he shooed away a question and the one who posed it, but not on a celebrity stepping into the political stage.
Being the spiritual politician that he is, Rajini may have realised his folly already.
This is beyond the age of political correctness. Politicians do say bold things these days, even if they tend to step on people’s toes. Kamal did much the same thing in going across to Bengaluru and agreeing with the new Karnataka CM that talks were the best way forward on Cauvery. What talks? The top court has given a final verdict and it is up to the upper riparian state to go by the order and share water. Where does the question of negotiations arise, particularly when the process of forming the water management board is apace?
Let us just say that the greenness of the two cinema stars has been showing in their early sallies into the world of real politics. They will learn and they will improve. It is important that they keep speaking up for the downtrodden and the dispossessed. For, if they don’t, who will? The career politicians are too busy building their own nests leaving only the stars of the reel world to speak up. It should matter little that there may have been a few goof ups from them in their fledgling political career. Rajini and Kamal are not to be evaluated yet on the basis of how many votes they are likely to attract in an election. It is far more important to see them raise the questions and speak the truth to power.
(R. Mohan is the Resident Editor of the Chennai and Tamil Nadu editions of Deccan Chronicle)
