Sivaji – The Asli Boss

“Sivaji”, supposedly the costliest film ever made in India releases today. And it casts the south Indian celluloid’s biggest brand – Rajnikant. Yes, the iconic figure of the south Indian filmdom who unarguably has largest and loyal fan following. Almost every news channel has been broadcasting the ‘Rajni Phenomenon’ that has caught fire in the south. People wearing Rajni t-shirts, carrying Rajni handkerchiefs, participating in contests on who can imitate Rajni the best, and so on.

I saw on one the news channel people standing in huge queues to get the show tickets and the bookings are full for whole the next month already. Tickets sold in black are seeing a price tag that runs into thousands. Fans have bunked colleges, offices, and even exams to catch the superstar’s show on the first day – simply amazing. The magic this man spreads with his flicks and stunts and dialogues is exceptional. And that is what probably makes a superstar who can stall a huge mass of people to an utter standstill.

Rajnikant also created a magic on the stock market. Pyramid Saimira Theater Ltd., which is screening the movie at 250+ screens saw a rise in its stock price (BSE) by about 7%. The reason being that a lot advance bookings have been made and that the movie would be a huge success surpassing all the collection records so far.

I also happened to read a comparison between the Big B and Rajni in today’s Mumbai edition of The Hindustan Times. While Big B rides on 1.5-2crores per film, Rajnikant commands 3-8 times more. Amitabh does 10 movies a year with a hit ratio of about 50%-60% and Rajnikant does 1 movie in 2 years, which is a definite hit. While Amitabh is glamorous, I would say Rajnikant is more successful and popular.

And yet Rajnikant humbly puts it as, “I am the king, but Amitji is the emperor” (quoted from Hindustan Times, Mumbai edition dated 15^th June)