Chennai
If there ever was a cinematic equivalent of a moment in Tamil Nadu’s politics, when ardent admirers of a political greenhorn paced up and down a balcony, plucking away at rose petals with the anticipation of ‘Will he, Won’t he’, like a lovelorn starlet in a mass entertainer, it would be Rajinikanth dilly-dallying on his possible foray into the hyper-competitive contact sport of regional statesmanship. The patience of even die-hard fans of the Superstar was wearing thin, considering the Marquezian quarter century’s worth of waiting that left them on tenterhooks. In this case, supporters feared all that pining seemed to have been for nothing as Thalaivar had often side-stepped, backtracked, and exhausted an entire armoury of manoeuvres without ever coming to the point - of contesting the election as a representative of the people.
Until now of course, as on Thursday, the Superstar said he would announce his long-awaited political party on December 31, and subsequently launch it in January 2021. The reverberations will be far-reaching, considering the mass appeal and clout that Rajini wields among his fan base. These developments appear to be a follow-up to the Superstar issuing clarifications on social media this October regarding his entry into politics. Back then, doctors had advised him to take it a little easy owing to a kidney condition, which they feared could be aggravated due to the COVID-19 situation.
A leaked letter about this had fuelled speculations that the actor was undecided about his political career. The actor, however, made it clear that he would announce his decision when the time was right. Rajini’s latest torpedo could leave even far-sighted political observers in the blind, as the question on everyone’s minds is what time could be right for the Rise of Rajini? Could it have been in 1996, when a singular denouncement from him seemingly led to the undoing of late J Jayalalithaa and her subsequent defeat in the elections? Rajini had said during a condolence meet for the deceased Chief Minister in 2016 that it was his campaign speech that ensured the AIADMK’s defeat.
While functionaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram, his fan-club turned party office are working overtime to expedite their chief’s entry into politics, it might be interesting to see the direction in which Rajinikanth steers his destiny in the days to come. His declaration exuding confidence, and cockiness, that his party would win assembly elections and offer Tamil Nadu a blend of spiritual and secular politics, provides political commentators ample cud to chew on for a few weeks. Whether he chooses to head the party and contest for the CM’s portfolio is the million-dollar question.
It could be a return of sorts for TN to its roots, specifically to cinema stalwarts turning ministers - from MGR to Karunanidhi to Jayalalithaa and maybe Rajini. But the Superstar isn’t alone in this. His contemporary and the cerebral foil to his mass effect, Kamal Haasan had also joined the fray with Makkal Needhi Maiam.
However, unlike Rajini, Kamal has hit the ground running and been an active presence in TN politics, through good and bad times. With clockwork precision, his cadre had made its attendance felt during the pandemic as well as through cyclone rehabilitation activities, thanks to a well-oiled PR machinery that is active on Twitter, the lexicon of the youth. Recently, Kamal enlisted the support of Santhosh Babu, a highly respected doctor-turned IAS officer, who had seemingly quit the civil services owing to undue pressure from state departments. In the next five-month-long run-up to the mother of all assembly battles, it remains to be seen how much ground the other two top Dravidian majors would lose to the Superstar if, like in his own words in the blockbuster movie Padayappa, he says in real life, Enn vazhi thani vazhi (My path is my own). For the sake of millions of his followers, one hopes that Thalaivar is armed with more than just dialogues when the New Year dawns, to claim a shot at Fort St George.
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