The Seoul Times

Movie stars attract hype all over the world. I have seen fans wait endlessly at Cannes to catch just a glimpse of their favourite actors. I have seen this in Marrakech, in Melbourne. But India's Tamil Nadu takes the cake, the cream and the icing. Superstar Rajnikanth's fan clubs run into many thousands, and so do Kamal Haasan's. In comparison, Amitabh Bachchan's, for instance, are certainly not as numerous. The opening of a Rajnikanth — or, for that matter, a Kamal Haasan — starrer invariably sees processions, pujas and abhishekam or the anointment with milk and honey of the star's wooden cutouts!

Tamil Nadu now gears itself for another such week-long bash with Rajnikanth's "Kuselan" which opened August 1. "Kuselan" is inspired by the mythological story of Lord Krishna and his poor friend, Kuselan, who is transformed from rags to riches.

It is a remake of a Malayalam hit, "Katha Parayumbol," whose story of bonding between two childhood friends — a poor barber and a rich film superstar — caught the fancy of audiences. Mammootty played the superstar, a role that Rajnikanth would now essay in the Tamil version, helmed by P. Vasu. The director is a past master at reworking Malayalam movies into Tamil, the 2005 blockbuster "Chandramukhi" being a case in point.

Not just this, Vasu has amended the original Malayalam script to give Rajnikanth much more screen time than what Mammootty got. The barber, enacted by Pasupathy, in "Kuselan" now gets much less attention with Rajnikanth hogging an hour of the 155-minute-long film. Compare this with Mammootty's 18 minutes towards the end. Rajnikanth appears in the third reel. Also, glamour has been introduced in the form of the current Tamil sensation, actress Nayanthara, who would pair with Rajnikanth

Obviously, Rajnikanth sells, and Pyramid Saimira bought "Kuselan" reportedly for whopping Rs 60 crores.

However, when "Kuselan" went on the floors, Rajnikanth had insisted that his part remain a cameo. He did not want this movie to be promoted or marketed as another Rajnikanth starrer. But somewhere down the line, the picture and its preferences seem to have changed, and Tamil superstar now appears reconciled, perhaps even happy, that "Kuselan" has turned out to be his work!

Hardly ever known for his acting prowess, Rajnikanth, I am told, has performed eloquently this time. Vasu says that he has never seen the star cry so convincingly in the front of the camera. What is even more novel is that this film does not paint him as larger than life; he is human here, not the superman that cinema has made him into.

But Rajnikanth cannot stay away from the super image for long, addicted that he probably is to it. Soon, he would be on his way to the U.S. to shoot for his Rs 1.5-billion venture, "Robot," with Aishwarya Rai. To be directed by Shankar (of "Sivaji — The Boss" fame), "Robot" will be produced in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, and will see Rajnikanth as his old super self. "Kuselan" can only be a tiny pause, a breather, for a man who has got used to seeing himself as a giant performer.

Gautaman Bhaskaran is a veteran film critic and writer who has covered Cannes and other major international festivals, like Venice, Berlin, Montreal, Melbourne, and Fukuoka over the past two decades. He has been to Cannes alone for 15 years. He has worked in two of India’s leading English newspapers, The Hindu and The Statesman, and is now completing an authorized biography of India’s auteur-director, Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Penguin International will publish the book, whose research was funded by Ford Foundation.