August 1, 2016
A.C.E.
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 13
Holiday in parts of India as
fans revel in Rajinikanth film
The
By Aijaz Rahi
The Associated Press
C
HENNAI, India —
Private companies
declared a holiday
and parents kept children
out of school as an air of
celebration swept southern
India for the premiere of
Indian
superstar
Rajinikanth’s latest film.
Hundreds of thousands
of
Rajinikanth
fans
thronged cinemas across
Tamil-language India and
Malaysia to catch the pre-
dawn showing of Kabali, a
gangster movie that left
patrons jumping from their
seats and dancing in the
aisles at the sight of their
hero.
Crowds waited outside
theaters all night before
the first showing, and in
Chennai, the capital of
Tamil
Nadu
state,
Rajinikanth enthusiasts
burst firecrackers and
distributed sweets outside
cinemas.
Inside the Woodlands
theater, one of the city’s
oldest, fans rose to their
feet, danced, and sang
along as the superstar
made his first appearance.
When Rajinikanth landed
punches on the villain in
the two-hour-long film, he
was egged on with cheers
and whistles.
Huge cutouts of the star
and
gigantic
posters
loomed large in the street
outside the theater. In
several places, fans poured
big cans of milk over the
cutouts in a Hindu ritual to
bless the star and wish him
a long life.
Sixty-five-year-old Ra-
jinikanth is one of India’s
most popular stars and
counts millions of fans who
speak the Tamil language
and even those who don’t.
The film, also starring
Taiwanese actor Winston
Chao, was shot in Malaysia
and southern India.
Kabali was released on
more than 12,000 screens
across India, as well as in
the U.K. and Malaysia,
which has a sizeable
Tamil-speaking population
and millions of Rajinikanth
fans. It also premiered in
400
U.S.
theaters.
Rajinikanth
and
fans
attended
a
special
screening in San Francisco.
The action star has a
huge following in Japan
too, where his subtitled
films are big box-office
earners.
For Alandur P. Sridhar,
an insurance company
employee, the long wait for
his hero’s new film is over.
“I’ve been waiting since
two years for this film,”
said Sridhar, who came to
watch the film in a group of
30 fans, all dressed in
identical white t-shirts
with Rajinikanth’s picture
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FAN FAVORITE. Fans of Indian superstar Rajinikanth stand in front
of his poster outside a cinema hall to celebrate the screening of Kabali in
Chennai, India. Hundreds of thousands of fans of Rajinikanth thronged
cinemas across India and Malaysia for the premiere of his latest film —
a gangster flick — jumping from their seats and dancing in the aisles
as their hero fought enemies. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
on the chest. The group, There’s an aspirational
mostly employees of pri- connect that people make
vate companies and the with him,” Gupta said.
Several private compa-
government, was enthu-
siastically taking pictures nies gave their employees
with a selfie-stick near a the day off to enable them
poster of their favorite star. to catch the film on its first
“He’s a terrific actor. But day.
Fyndus, a Chennai-
what I love about him is: He
may be India’s biggest star, based data-processing com-
but he remains a simple pany, gave away free
man at heart. He hasn’t tickets to employees and
changed one bit,” said said it decided to declare a
Sridhar,
referring
to holiday Friday to “avoid
Rajinikanth’s
humble piled-up leave requests to
its
human-resources
beginnings.
Born
Shivaji
Rao department.”
The
Malaysia-based
Gaekwad, the megastar
worked as a bus conductor AirAsia budget carrier
a
special
for three years in Banga- organized
lore before he joined an round-trip flight from the
acting school in Chennai. southern city of Bangalore
Starting out playing small to Chennai for the movie
roles as a villain in Tamil premiere. An AirAsia plane
cinema, he worked his way dedicated to Rajinikanth
up, landing roles even in and painted with his
Bollywood, India’s Hindi picture was flying to 10
language film industry destinations in India.
The opening scenes from
based in the country’s
entertainment
hub
of the film show a grey-
Mumbai. Since his debut in bearded Rajinikanth being
1975, Rajinikanth has released from a prison,
acted in more than 150 swearing to avenge his
films, many of which have enemies. In his search for
revenge, he is reunited
broken box-office records.
“This film is a celebra- with his family and rains
tion. This day is a cele- destruction on his foes.
Rajinikanth merchan-
bration,” said Sridhar, as
dise
sold briskly outside
he rearranged the group for
theaters
in Tamil Nadu.
yet another selfie outside
T-shirts
and
jackets
Chennai’s historic Albert
sporting
the
superhero’s
Theater.
Sandhya Ramani, a face and his trademark
graduate student at the dark glasses were hot fa-
University of Colorado, vorites. One finance com-
Denver, said she had timed pany in southern India also
her vacation to be in Chen- minted special silver coins
with Rajinikanth’s visage
nai for the film’s release.
“It’s something that can’t and priced the five-gram
be explained in words. It’s coin at $5.30 each.
Associated Press writer Nirmala
just Rajinikanth. He’s
George in New Delhi contributed
mind blowing,” Ramani
to this report. To learn more,
said, as she came out from
visit <www.kabalifilm.com>.
the theater with friends.
q
Shubhra Gupta, one of
Flight info screens at
India’s leading film critics,
Vietnam’s two major
said
the
Rajinikanth
airports hacked
phenomenon was not easy
Continued from page 16
to explain.
“There is no logic to how
The hacking came after
and why Rajinikanth has China condemned an inci-
become the superstar of dent in which a border
superstars,” Gupta said. agent at the Ho Chi Minh
But she referred to his City airport allegedly de-
impoverished background faced a Chinese passport
as appealing to the masses.
after images showed the
“People see themselves words “f--- you” scribbled
in Rajinikanth and the fact twice over maps of the con-
that he has made it so big. tested South China Sea.
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