“In the next 10 years, there is going to be a big increase in the semi-literate population. I shall be their leader. My determination will be to keep them semi-literate,” C.N. Annadurai said during a public meeting in 1967.
And as said, he was the leader of the masses. His scripts and storylines in the movies of yesteryear like Or Iravu and Velaikkari made a silent revolution. After him, following in his footsteps came M. Karunanidhi. His powerful dialogues in movies like Parasakthi changed the rhetoric in the state.
Annadurai, Karunanidhi, MGR and, later, Jayalalithaa ruled the state for more than five decades, thus making apparent the nexus between culture and politics in the state. All the four leaders, right from Annadurai, were at the peak of their popularity, either through their movies or through their political overtures for years before they stepped into politics.
While for Annadurai and Karunanidhi, their fiery dialogues and strong scripts took them forward, for MGR and Jayalalithaa, their political personae were extensions of their cinematic selves. In fact, the number of cinema screens in Tamil Nadu is more than 3,000, giving way for higher penetration of cinema. In fact, there is no village in Tamil Nadu that is so isolated as to be beyond the reach of film. Tamil Nadu, for that reason, had always catapulted cinema into the centre stage of politics.
But a little of history and the caste divisions in the state will be a better explainer to say how cinema took centre stage. The anti-Brahmin, the anti-north and anti-Aryan crusade was the basic rhetoric. The early 60s saw a phase of the DMK’s orchestration of cinema as a means of political assertion, dominated by words.
This was radicalised and elaborated into a doctrine by E.V. Ramasami Naicker. Thus be it Anna or Karunanidhi’s scripts or MGR's film storylines. they were mostly focusing on uplifting the labour class through their self-respect message. Undoubtedly, following Periyar’s footsteps, Anna, Karunanidhi and MGR used the medium having clear political overtones.
And now five decades later, Tamil Nadu is again likely to witness the concepts broadcast in cinema and embodied in the superhuman feats of a swashbuckling hero. Nevertheless, Rajinikanth is trying to get closer to the masses, particularly the downtrodden, after many decades of his experience in acting. Like MGR, Rajini too through his next few films is all set to portray himself as brining succour to the needy in many walks of life. His next film Kaala is no exception.
The political overtones of Kaala
Superstar Rajinikanth’s Kaala teaser has stirred up a storm. Within 24 hours of its release, the film’s teaser, by its producer Dhanush K Raja, has had over 1.5 crore views on Facebook and YouTube. The producers and makers of the film expect much more hits in the next few days before its audio launch, likely to be during the fag-end of March.
For a Rajini movie, the 1 million hits and counting for a teaser might not be surprising. But this time, Kaala, right from the teaser, sets the tone of catapulting Rajinikanth from just a superstar to a most lovable and bankable politician who can deliver. The teaser begins with the voice of a crowd shouting, poraduvom, poraduvom, meaning “We will protest.” Of course, it is not a grand beginning for a Rajinikanth movie, under the brand of director Pa Ranjith. In fact Ranjith’s earlier films, be it Attakathi, Madras, starring Karthik or Rajini’s Kabali, all had political commentary. But in Kaala, the director has gone a step ahead to fit Rajini into the political glove, bringing in more of Ambedkar and more of the life of the downtrodden, so as to catapult Rajini as the leader of the masses.
Again, everything in the teaser, right from the visuals to music to punchlines, where Rajini says, Vengai mavan othaila nikken... meaning “The son of the jaguar is standing is alone,” indicates that Kaala will be an important movie in the superstar’s 43-year-long career in the film industry that is all set to take him to the next level.
The teaser has all the superstar swag, telling them, in Rajini’s own terms that he is all set to take the plunge. Another punchline is Indha Karikaalan oda muzhu rowdy thanatha neenga pakala la papeenga, meaning “You haven’t seen Karikaalan, the complete rowdy yet.”
In fact, the last time there were such 'serious' dialogues' in Rajini movies was in the early 90s in his film Pandian, when there was serious talk of him entering politics to oppose Jayalalithaa who was in power then. Rajinikanth was called 'Mr Right' in Pandian.
In Kaala, there is an explanation for the movie's name in the very beginning of the teaser, with Kaala na karuppu. Karuppu na karikalan, kadavul, effectively meaning “Kaala means black.” This message is aimed at telling Rajini fans that his hue is not just saffron, but black too.
In a state like Tamil Nadu, which has strong Dravidian roots, black has always played an important role politically and socially. Another dialogue meaning “Black is the colour of the working class. Come to my slum, dirt will seem colourful,” tells his fans that Rajinikanth will definitely target the working-class vote bank.
Apparently, a Rajini movie—be it Kabali or Kaala or his next venture with Karthik Subburaj—cannot be judged by its content and can only only judged by its Rajini.
And Rajini is nothing but pure style minus super acting. And Kaala is nothing but a pure Rajini movie, which would propel him to be leader, like MGR.
In fact, MGR after 1972, even after he launched his party, took to films to reach the people, as cinema was a medium that could catapult him to be leader of the masses. His films like Idhaya Kani, had his graph go up to an all-time high. Rajini too—unlike Kamal Haasan, but like MGR—with his next few films before getting into politics, will talk about privilege, suppression and the need for a revolution.