Wary Warrior
THE WEEK|June 17, 2018

Rajinikanth has chosen to build an organisational machinery before formally launching his party. But his response to the Thoothukudi protests have angered even his ardent fans.

Lakshmi Subramanian
Wary Warrior

On May 31 morning, as he set out from his Poes Garden residence in Chennai to meet the people of Thoothukudi, everything appeared perfectly scripted for Rajinikanth. “I am going as an actor to meet the people and console them,” he said. “If they see an actor like me, they will be happy.” But, at Thoothukudi, things went awry for the superstar as he lost his cool, caught in the middle of angry protestors. When he returned in the evening, he looked like an inept politician.

“If you go on protesting for anything and everything, Tamil Nadu will become a graveyard,” an angry Rajinikanth told the media. “There were anti-social elements in Thoothukudi, and they were the reason for the riots. They attacked policemen in uniform. That is wrong.” Rajinikanth got upset after a young man, as a mark of protest, asked him at a Thoothukudi hospital, “Who are you?” He maintained decorum at the hospital and replied, “I am Rajinikanth. I have come from Chennai.” But, he decided to return to Chennai immediately. He had planned to meet some of the injured and hand over a compensation of 02 lakh to each of them. But, it was left to officials of his fan club, the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), to distribute the cheques.

Rajinikanth, who on December 31 announced that his brand of politics would be “spiritual”, is turning out to be not so different from other politicians. On May 9, Rajinikanth fans who were gathered at the sprawling YMCA grounds in Chennai for the audio launch of his latest movie, Kaala, were stunned when they found that everything was painted black. Even the cast and crew members were dressed in black to suit the theme of the movie. It was perhaps an indication of how Rajinikanth, who normally prefers saffron, is changing colours, with an eye on the chief minister's post.

Esta historia es de la edición June 17, 2018 de THE WEEK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición June 17, 2018 de THE WEEK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE WEEKVer todo
Divides And Dividends
THE WEEK India

Divides And Dividends

Contrasting narratives on the scrapping of Article 370 define the elections in Jammu and Kashmir

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
Playing it cool
THE WEEK India

Playing it cool

Everybody knows what 420 means in the Indian context. But in American parlance it is something very different: four-twenty or 4/20 or April 20 denotes cannabis celebration; its cultural references are rooted in the hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s.

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
The heroine's new clothes
THE WEEK India

The heroine's new clothes

Who else but Sanjay Leela Bhansali could bring on a wardrobe reset like the one in his just-dropped period piece—an eight-part Netflix series called Heeramandi?

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
AI & I
THE WEEK India

AI & I

Through her book Code Dependent—shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction—Madhumita Murgia gives voice to the voiceless multitudes impacted by artificial intelligence

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
Untold tales from war
THE WEEK India

Untold tales from war

Camouflaged is a collection of 10 deeply researched stories, ranging from the world wars to the 26/11 terror attacks

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
Hair force
THE WEEK India

Hair force

Sheetal Mallar, in her photobook Braided, uses hair as a metaphor to tell a story that is personal yet universal

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES
THE WEEK India

THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES

The first time Adarsh Gourav made an impression was in Ramin Bahrani's 2021 film The White Tiger, a gripping adaptation of Aravind Adiga's Booker-winning novel.

time-read
4 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
The art of political protest
THE WEEK India

The art of political protest

The past doesn’t always remain in the past. Sometimes, it emerges in the present, reminding us about the universality and repetitiveness of the human experience. Berlin’s George Grosz Museum, a tiny gem, is a startling reminder that modern political and social ills are not modern. Grosz lived through World Wars I and II, shining a torch into the heart of darkness in high-ranking men and women—who were complicit in the collapse of the world as they knew it.

time-read
2 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES
THE WEEK India

REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES

A Chennai company is making waves in the world of space tech startups

time-read
6 minutos  |
May 19, 2024
DIVERSITY IN UNITY
THE WEEK India

DIVERSITY IN UNITY

THE SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY IN THE US HAS SEVERAL THINGS IN COMMON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS, THERE ARE WIDELY DIFFERING OPINIONS AND FEELINGS

time-read
5 minutos  |
May 19, 2024