Rajni and Acting
Most cinema chauvinists will hate to have "Rajni" and "acting" in the same sentence and while I acknowledge that there are far better actors than Rajni (including
Sure Rajni can't match Pacino in most aspects but Rajni isn't a pushover. In fact in his younger days Rajni was able to do comedy very very successfully (something Pacino can't boast about). Thillu Mullu remains one of my favourite comedies of all time thanks in part to Thengai Srinivasan, but without Rajni it would have been pathetic. Even Kamal and his "comic timing" I doubt could match what Rajni came up with in that movie. He was absolutely brilliant.
Rajni's standard is the rags to riches type character (very much like himself) but then who can forget the sheer intensity he displayed in Annamalai. I doubt Kamal could pull off the stern warning Rajni gave to his enemy in that movie. He captures the audience and keeps them in a trance. Even during scenes when he has to emote to a level, he doesn't dissapoint, indeed Rajni seems to be better than what the media paints him as.
I'm not crazy enough to say Rajni could match Kamal in say Anbe Sivam, Hey Ram, Indian, Nayagan or countless other movies in which Kamal showed that he is the best actor going around in India, but then I doubt Kamal could say "Naa oru thadava sonnna...". If Kamal can change his look, his acting, his accent or his role and keep the audience interested (and indeed the National Award committee) Rajni with his sheer presence and dialogue delivery can keep the audience. It takes someone special to have a continual and universal fan following considering he does pretty much the same role over and over again (at least recently).
Darma Durai, Mullum Malaram, Arulirnthu Aruvathuvarai and Johnny proved that Rajni is immensly talented at acting. Then Dalapathi came and proved he is up there with the best of them. Mani Ratnam pulls every little bit of acting juice out of Rajni and Rajni delivered one of the most layered and powerful performances seen in Indian cinema. It was no Velu Naicker, but it was close.
Ultimately, the public is responsible for Rajni's situation in the 1990's, the Superstar was so promoted that everyone forgot that there was a guy called Rajnikanth under all that mess. Rajni has finally corrected some of his mistakes with the Chandramukhi. The story did not rely on silly Rajni antics, hell it didn't even have a cigarette in sight. Rajni also delivered a better performance than what Kamal did in Mumbai Xpress. I'm no Kamal hater, in fact I love him, and I believe that Rajni has a long long long way to go before he can come close to the sheer versatility and overall credentials Kamal has built up. I don't see Rajni singing, directing, scriptwriting, penning poems, writing novels, writing dialogues and producing. Kamal does each of them and well.
But this article is about Rajni, not Kamal. So in concluding I ask Rajni to do more story oriented roles where he can show his capacity as an actor. He may not be Kamal, but he is streets ahead of his nearest competitor, Mr. Shah Rukh Khan.
This entry was posted by Blogpur, on
Saturday, August 06, 2005.
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1:22 PM
trial
4:48 AM
good article. as a rajni fan, i love reading articles like this. there's definitely a good actor hidden under the superstar halo around rajni. the examples u've given are evidence of that. and when he does act as the superstar in 'padaiyappa' or 'annamalai', his charisma is unbeatable. carrying off roles like that is no mean feat.
2:50 AM
Good analytical post. As you rightly said, 'Surya' of Thalapathi may not stand upto 'Velu Naicker' of Nayagan. But Kaali of Mullum Malarum can definitely measure upto any of Kamal's best performances that you have listed. It was good to see the Superstar showing some glimpses of his acting potential in Chandramukhi (in those climax scenes). Hoping to see more performances from him
4:04 PM
Thanks Balaji and Filbert for your comments. I will make sure I read your blogs. I like Rajni a lot, I can accept Kamal is better, but I want to see Rajni do some more meaty roles.
6:55 AM
A good one Venkat. I can't agree with you more. People always compare Rajni's acting with Kamal and say he is not as good as Kamal. But people always fail to notice that there are so many other things which Rajni and "only" Rajni can do. For example, Rajni's style...I bet no one else can even come close to him in that. Next, Rajni's "punch" dialogues. The way he delivers these dialogues have a gr8 impact on audiences. Its really irritating when people like Vijay & Simbu try to imitate that. And as you said, "Thalaivar" is not far behind in acting too. Even I hope he does gr8 roles in "near" future!
7:16 AM
thanks for your comments preethi.
it's true, kamal or any one else for that matter cannot hope to do many of the things rajni does. if kamal did that opening scene in chandramukhi, it would come off as his best comedy to date.
people have to show some respect and appreciation of rajni, he is a truly great actor for he can do most roles with a lot of genuine talent and gusto
8:48 PM
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