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The charisma of Rajni
 All he did was appear briefly at the function to celebrate the success of the Vikram-starrer
'Samy'. A brief promo of the function was telecast on Sun TV. An excerpt of
Rajnikanth's speech was shown in the trailer. "Oru Samy, Rendu Samy, Moonu
Samy, Naalu Samy, Anju Samy, Aaru Samy... Appadinnu sonna udane...enakku theriyum padam periya hit
aagumnnu," said the superstar about Vikram's dramatic entry in the film.
This remark of Rajni, rendered in his usual racy style, had fans agog, waiting to hear his full speech on the telecast day. Not just his fans but a vast section of the Tamil audience was glued to the television sets that day.
The programme on the
'Samy' function had an unprecedented TRP points of over 36, whereas even the best of films or the serials on Sun TV would not cross 27 or 28.
Such was the lure, attraction or charisma, call it what you will, of
Rajni.
The film was a crowning moment for
Vikram. But Rajni, with his characteristic speech at the function, showed why he is in a league of his own. As Vikram said, there is only one superstar and no one can reach his heights. Vijay and
Surya, who spoke at the function, referred to Rajni's unique position in the film industry.
 The superstar doesn't make too many movies these days.
'Baba' came after two years. The next film may take an equally long period. But there is no doubting the staying power of
Rajni. 'Baba' was a flop but even his flop film earned more revenue for the producer/distributors and the actor himself (after he gave away a share of the profits to the distributors to compensate them for the loss) than the biggest grossers of the day.
The grapevine has it that 'Baba' ended up with at least a 50
per cent profit. There can be no official confirmation of this but the industry believes that this is the figure even after the superstar's magnanimous gesture of compensation to the distributors.
The next film of Rajnikanth is widely believed to be based on the current trend of the grey character for the hero as in
'Dhool' and 'Samy'. The 'Samy' director is tipped to have been entrusted with the next film. However, Rajni is said to have put on hold the commencement of the project until, perhaps, the most propitious time for the launch.
 Rajni himself, during his speech at the Samy function, said he was aware of his fans mounting pressure on him to announce the next film.
He said the next film will be not just to his liking but also to that of all his fans. This was an apparent reference to the Rajni fans themselves being unhappy with 'Baba'.
However, there is also speculation, partly fuelled by Rajni's associates themselves through their silence, that he would enter politics after his last film. Their silence is not just intriguing, it is a clever move to generate suspense and excitement about his every move and about his next film. It was this sense of expectation that made relatively ordinary movies like
'Muthu' and 'Padayappa' hits.
Rajni's fans are also not too keen to carry the palanquin for someone like
P Chidambaram, who they feel doesn't have a mass base, or find him on a different wavelength altogether. They want Rajni himself to form a party and lead it to power. They want to see him as the next chief minister.
 There is little doubt that Rajni is the one individual who enjoys tremendous credibility among the masses. Whatever he does is genuine, they feel. His image of a
Good Samaritan is amazing. This is despite his love for liquor and cigarettes - he has made no attempt to hide it
- and therefore his popularity, as against M G Ramachandran's carefully cultivated image of good habits both on and off the screen, is all the more spectacular.
On his birthday on December 12, his fans will expect him to throw light on playing an important role in the fortunes of the
state. But knowing Rajni, he may do no such thing. At best, he may throw some hints and not throw light
- just enough to keep the media pot boiling, his fans praying and his opponents guessing!
R Rangaraj
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