Rajnikanth!

Okay! Mmmmm! Awwwww…..I tried avoiding this, but just couldn’t do so any longer. So, here comes a post on none other than the…Super Star, Rajnikanth! :) (I've not been through the website that I've linked up for info on Rajni. Got it from Google and thought I'd include it in case you - friends from other countries - don't know who Rajni is).

Now, if you are wondering why I wanted to avoid this topic, well, here are the reasons - One, if talking about Rajni isn’t a potential controversy (at least in TN), then I don’t know a controversy when I go through one. Two, I did not really plan to discuss movies/actors on my blog despite realizing that my blog anyway isn’t really ‘professional’ (Not open to interpretations. You better understand what I mean ;)). Three, I was consciously trying to avoid talking about emotional issues and…hero-worship is a highly emotional affair. Anyways, here I come, throwing all that to the winds….

When I’d been to Coimbatore recently, I did something exciting (may not be so for some). I watched Chandramukhi (Rajni’s latest movie) in a theatre (it’d been long since I had been to the theatre before this) and wait….I watched the second show (9PM to 1AM). :) BTW, if you’ve already concluded that this is a movie review, think again...or even better…read on to see what it is about, then! When the movie started and Rajni appeared on the big screen, I almost went deaf for a few minutes. You guessed it. I went deaf because of the ‘god knows how many decibels’ noise. In other words, the noise (whistles, shouts, screams) was deafening. (thee hee…). I was trying my best to protect my eardrums but despite myself, the noise and the ‘electricity’ of the environment had knocked me out of my senses and made me feel elated (gasp!) for a few brief moments, for some reason. The cult(ure) got to me. (Having said that, let me also tell you that I do like Rajni for the man that he is….his proclaimed spiritual bent of mind, his simplicity, his charitable nature, his on-screen style and most of all, the transformation that he has brought upon himself from being a coolie/bus conductor to the universal ‘hero’ status that he enjoys today – both on and off screen). So, well, I too was mesmerized by the environment for a few moments and took some time to recover from it. Movie done, it was a cool ride back home at 1 AM in the night! OOOoooooooooo

Okay, now, where else did I want to ‘go’? Yes…, the actual reason why I wrote this up follows - Maruti Suzuki has come out with a new (radio) ad for its Maruti Omni model and guess what (in case you haven’t heard the ad on Radio City)? They compare Omni with Rajni (just realized they rhyme!) and are positioning the van as something that fits all – fits into many/any situations. They substantiate the comparison by talking about Rajni’s many faces (spirituality, politics, acting) and fans across the world. I was wondering why they chose Rajni (given that he is more of a regional star) as compared to, say, the Big B (Amitabh) when my question was answered this morning. They aired the second version of the ad this morning and this time the Omni was compared was with Amitabh and how he too fits into any role…! Telepathic consulting? So I’d like to believe! ;) Who’s next?

Psssttt - In reality, I think Omni is perhaps the most boring car (van) barring only the Amby...and that doesn't help in it being compared with such popular stars...! Maruthi seems to be desperate to position Omni as a better vehicle than it is perceived to be...