Editorial: Superstar still ‘indecisive’ on decisive battle

Politics comprises real action and pulling some hard punches, a far cry from the reel-life stunts that he performed with great flair in all his films.

Firstly, having propounded a new concept of Spiritual Politics, the Superstar must be mindful and create a set of ‘secular’ policies to wipe the saffron smudge off his sleeves in order to emerge as a leader of the masses. Secondly, as his inner circle mostly consists of political newbies, it’s imperative to get the right mix of advisers and generals, in order to devise poll strategies from the ground up.

And finally, the actor-turning-politician needs to work on his decision-making skills. It was quarter of a century back - in the Assembly polls of 1996 - that Tamil Nadu first witnessed the ‘Rajini factor’ playing a crucial role in the landslide victory of DMK-TMC combine. Over the years, he’s tested his popularity by making several veiled and a few direct statements at key political junctures but has never taken a  clear stand.

The much-hyped March 5 meeting of the Rajini Makkal Mandram was said to be an exercise in establishing the Mandram’s stand on critical present-day issues. But instead of coming out with clear guidelines, Rajini once again exhibited his characteristic ‘indecisiveness’ by reportedly saying, ‘I do not want to be the CM.’

Despite that body-blow, fans and loyalists cling to a popular Rajinikanth dialogue from the film Muthu in 1995: “Naan eppo varuven, epdi varuvennu yarukkum theriyathu. Aana vara vendiya nerathula correcta vandhuduven” (No one can tell when or how I’ll arrive, but when the time is right, I will be there) – and hope that his ‘arrival’ will see him playing the main lead and not a supporting role in 2021.