The star and the actor

Right after the Government announced the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for Rajinikanth, supporters of Kamal Haasan began their automaton’ s alaap about how the award was given to the wrong actor. They saw politics in the decision to honour Rajinikanth.

Really?! With due respects to Kamal Haasan, who is without doubt one of India’s finest and most accomplished actors, Rajinikanth, whose fan I am not, is also capable of greatness and has achieved a lot more than Kamal Haasan.

In his early films like Thee (1981 the remake of Deewaar), Kazhugu(1981), Pokkiri Raja(1982), Ranga(1982) and so many others, Rajinkanth not only had the masses eating out of his hand, he also had the critics going ga-ga over his performance. This is true of a majority of his films, right up to Enthiraan(2010), Kaala(2018), Darbar(2020).

“Rajnikanth is a bigger star, but Kamal Haasan is the real actor,” is a myth that was created by Kamal Haasan’s fans and media machinery. Rajnikanth never corrected this fallacy. He never needed to. He was too busy churning out the hits.

In our cinema, if you are more successful than the average Joe, you are not considered a great actor. Rajesh Khanna, the biggest superstar of Hindi cinema of all times, was branded mediocre. You only have to see Anand or Aavishkar to experience Khanna’s brilliancy.

Hema Malini, undisputably the biggest female star of Indian cinema, was never taken seriously as an actor. The articulate Javed Akhtar explains it this way: “God has made you so incredibly beautiful. How can He make you talented as well? Chal jhoothi!”

Stretching that line of thought, how can God make Rajinkanth an unparalleled superstar and also give him talent? Rajinikanth was always more interested in stardom than in awards. He never wooed the media (an art form that Kamal Haasan excels in). Damn, he isn’t even articulate, often mumbling incoherently and leaving off half-completed sentences mid-way. He isn’t well-read like Kamal Haasan. Nor does he aspire to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

But you know what? Rajnikanth is a far bigger star than Kamal Haasan can ever be. He has what Kamal Haasan possesses only partially: indelible connectivity with the masses. His fanatical fans see in Rajnikanth a messianic mass leader who genuinely cares for the public. With Kamal Hassan there is always that feeling that he is not one of the masses, but many pegs above them, trying not to look down on them. And being the actor that he is, succeeding in not looking like he is looking down.