rajini

Rajinikanth is more than an actor. There is also a rumour that he is more than a man. If we go purely by the films that he has acted in, we find a box-office superstar who can draw throngs of zealous crowds to the theatre with every release. Sivaji is a celebration of this star - Rajinikanth. As with most of his previous films, the plot and suspension of disbelief is non-existent in Sivaji. But this is not a bad thing. Rajini has a searing screen presence that no one in Tamil cinema can match. So, as a film, Sivaji exists only for the purpose of showing Rajini as a superhuman demi-god. For me, a film must be more than what is shown on the screen, for it to matter, it should create a universe with rules that do not change during the course of the film. And Sivaji does this, so very well, with Rajini providing tremendous entertainment, that the film won me over with ease.
Sivaji (Rajinikanth) returns to Tamil Nadu after working as a software engineer in the United States, with a bank account loaded with money and dreams of building a hospital and medical college for charity. The villain prevents all this from happening. Adisheshan (Suman) is a powerfull businessman with his own hospital and college. Sivaji is driven to bankruptcy by Adi when his project gets cancelled after he had invested all his money in it and in the pockets of all the dirty politicians. He also falls in love with a girl, Tamizhselvi (Shriya Saran), sings a lot of songs, does a lot of dancing and marries her. Arivu (Vivek), his paternal uncle exists for the sole purpose of providing comic relief. The rest of the film is about Sivaji starting from scratch and saving Tamil Nadu from the clutches of businessmen with black money, and politicians with black intentions.
Sivaji is essentially two films. It starts as a romantic comedy and turns into the run-of-the mill Tamil action film. However, it does so with self-deprecation (Rajini is best here when he makes fun of himself), a vibrant color pallete (using 4K Digital Intermediate transfer), a pretty heroine, addictive songs, a massive budget (around Rs. 120 crores) and the many gifts of Rajinikanth.

Like most Indian, star driven, commercial films, the hero exists outside the confines of the narrative. Thus, Sivaji is in effect, a continuation of all the characters that Rajini has portrayed before. In the second half of the film, Sivaji the educated immigrant turns into a superhuman rowdy. It is not hard to comprehend the transformation because Rajini has done it so many times before. We identify the pathos of Sivaji-Rajini by referencing his earlier characters.
There is a customary social message. It is lame, dealing with how black money is the reason why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It cannot be taken seriously and the film doesn’t presume that you should. The social message is there so that the hero can beat up numerous henchmen and evil policemen/politicians in every alternate scene, and still seem righteous.
On Rajinikanth
Sharp and brash dialogues, incredibly unrealistic action, cheeky humour, quirky (and immitation inducing) gestures and geriatric girations - are all part of a post-90s Rajini character. There is little that a director can ask of him character-wise; he essentially directs the director. In Sivaji, Rajini is Rajini. He is not a character actor per se, but he does this one character so well, that we can easily forgive the repetition. This character is ageless, woos young heroines, can beat up upto 100 men simultaneously and dance like there is no tommorrow. Rajinikanth is the only reason for watching a Rajinikanth film, and Sivaji is not an exception.
On S. Shankar
Shankar’s skill as a director lies in the packaging of characters and situations into an easily digestible form so that the un-educated, lower-class Tamilian (the majority of the audience) can wean easily on the pulp. For the more refined sections of the audience, there are the pop-philosphies and the Hollywood-esque flourishes. Shankar is a highly technical director with a sharp marketting sense, but artistically, his skills are near non-existent.
Sure, no one can buy into the narrative from the start, the fight sequences are not humanly possible and the plot is, well, implausible. But the film succeeds because of them, not inspite of them. You watch the film to watch Rajinikanth and nothing else. All else - the eye-candy Shriya Saran, the excellent songs by A.R. Rahman, dances choreographed by Prabhu Deva and the comedy of Vivek - are additional components to provide Rajinikanth with a platform to perform his antics.
I haven’t had this much fun watching a film in a while. I stood in the rain and had to fight for my life to get a ticket. At the end of the film, a friend was doing the same to watch the next show. He asked me if it is worth it. I said it’s worth much more.
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