How Rajini's Kuselan rocked in Thane - Economic Times

Friends, a very good article which lightens our hearts at this juncture. Hope more such articles flows hereafterwards. I will be using the pictures i shot during the release time. Hope these pictures will make the article to read more interestingly. - Sundar

First person account of how Rajini's Kuselan rocked in Thane
9 Aug, 2008, 0120 hrs IST,Krishna Gopalan, ET Bureau

It was an expectant crowd at Thane's Cinemax multiplex on Sunday, two days after its release. The occasion was the release of Rajinikanth’s new film, Kuselan. Strange as it may sound, the film found its way into the movie halls devoid of the hoopla that characterizes the star's films. Sivaji - The Boss was Rajini’s last release in June last year and it was clear that Robot would be his next project scheduled for a release not before 2009.

Against this backdrop, Kuselan was a quickie in terms of production and the crowds were eager to see what the star had to offer this time. For sure, Kuselan is not a typical Rajini film. There are no killer dialogues, not a single fight sequence and believe it or not, Rajini is not the protagonist.

So, enter Superstar, as he is popularly called, on a horseback a la Zorro half and hour into the film and the audience went into another orbit. The frenzy would have you believe one was watching it in Chennai. His first song was met in a medley of outfits in plus his trademark sunglasses met with even more thunderous applause.

Rajini plays a superstar in the film called Ashok Kumar though he is referred to only as superstar throughout. For die-hard fans who could recall lines from Rajini’s films far easily than the letters of the English alphabet his use of dialogues from his earlier films like 16 Vayathinile (released in 1977 where he played a lecherous villain) and his 1995 blockbuster Baasha was absulotely paisa vasool. So when he says, Ithu Eppadi Irukku (How’s that?) from 16 Vayathinile, there was an almost insane level of whistling and clapping. At 59 even Rajini’s worst critic would concede that he does not look his age in Kuselan.

With political activity peaking in Tamil Nadu, Rajini’s role has been closely monitored. Few would forget the effect of his speech on television in 1996 which saw a landslide victory for the DMK-TMC combine. When confronted with questions in Kuselan on his political views, he casually dismisses his innuendoes in earlier films maintaining that he was just an actor mouthing dialogues written for him.

Hard to believe for most of us who still think he will cast some kind of an influence on the state’s political story. Either ways, as the star went on in the film to describe his sabbatical to the Himalayas or more amusingly, his admiration for rival Kamal Haasan, the audience frenzy just peaked. A fisherman imploring the star to do at least three films a year was met with affirmation covered in din however by the hundreds who joined me on that Rajini experience that afternoon.

The last few minutes in the film was arguably maudlin though it revealed the softer side to the artist. As the film veered to the last frame, it was clear that it had to end with a high-quotient dialogue. Naan oru dhadavai sonna, said Rajini, one finger pointing skywards, and three children in unison completed it by saying Nooru dhadavai sonna madhiri (“If I say it once, I’ve said it a hundred times”). If I thought, I was going to hear just three voices at that stage; I could not have been more off the mark. The theatre almost erupted by giving the finishing touch to the dialogue. As the titles took charge of the screen, there was unanimous appreciation for Rajini's performance and the film.

For Mumbai’s 27 prints across 74 screens, Kuselan has even met the expected one week ‘houseful’ and occupancies have averaged at 40% but the maturity of his role has been appreciated. I watched the film three days later in a South Mumbai multiplex and it was hard to be excited about Kuselan's dialogues with less than a dozen other viewers for company. By all counts, the audience is what facilitates the frenzy and Rajini confirmed to most of us that he is well in command. We await Robot, Boss.

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