It has only been 4 days since Hukum, the second single from Rajinikanth's upcoming movie Jailer released but it already seems like a lifetime owing to the chaos it unleashed on Tamil social media. It is a well known fact that Rajinikanth's last memorable hit was 2.0 in 2018, and Petta which followed the next year. Owing to consecutive films like Darbar (2020) and Annaatthe (2021), which did not do well with the viewers, Rajini has indeed been having it rough at the box-office.
However a slump is not something the 72 year old hasn't gone through before, in his 48 year old long career. Also for decades now, Rajinikanth has been at a point where hits or flops has not deterred his super- stardom. It is another topic that despite taking it slow, and delivering lesser hits in the past decade, Rajini has still been able to retain the favour of film producers, and fans who grew up watching the star. This undying Rajinikanth-wave (plus the ability to pull box-office numbers comparable to contemporary box-office rulers), has been a bone of contention for years both within and outside the Tamil film industry.
Surprisingly though, even when the Tamil general public (the league of audience different from fanatics) are accepting of the 'next Superstar', it always seems like Rajini never looses his shine. Even when his own fans are frustrated with his dilly-dally ordeal with politics, or which party he chooses to support, or makes a statement that isn't aligned with media projection, Rajinikanth has never lost the plot, and his supporters either come around or make peace with the star's ground.
Rajinikanth is no longer in politics and is still doing movies for his fans who patiently wait for a hit, or even a trace of it. Both Rajinikanth and his fandom get a lot of flak online for this, as is norm with every star actor with a legacy. So when the clear fan-service song Hukum - Thalaivar Alappara came out acknowledging all this, chaos broke out in the Tamil fandom. From strong allegations that Hukum was a "planned attack" to deter the growing popularity of actor Vijay, to name-calling Rajinikanth as "insecure" (Actor Vijay is just a year older than Rajinikanth's career), things have surely gotten out of hand online.
Added to this Hukum lyric writer Super Subbu, who became an overnight sensation thanks to the reach of the Anirudh composed number, became a focal point for all of this. Strangely enough, Jailer director Nelson Dilipkumar without whose creative input the song wouldn't exist, or Anirudh who is the composer of the song, have been completely left out of the equation. Super Subbu for his part added to the chaos by stating, "I wrote the lyrics of Hukum praising the current Superstar. Even I agree that Vijay is the next Superstar"
The Rajini detractors who were chaotic in the first place because the star sang to his fans that he is aware of said detractors who try and keep snatching his superstar/thalaiva titles [The lyrics don't even say Rajini is bothered by it or that fans should keep fighting to retain it. Infact, the lyrics go that Rajinikanth is undeterred because of the hardcore fans that await him], have now started projecting "gospel truther" Super Subbu to have "jumped ships". Sun Pictures, being the business-savvy producers, have announced at this point that Jailer is soon gearing up for an audio release function with Rajinikanth's speech as an highlight. [Update: Jailer audio launch will take place at Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai where Rajinikanth last delivered an audio launch speech for Darbar (2019). The event will take place on July 28, 2023 i.e. Friday, with the whole cast and crew in attendance]
Get ready…🔥💥🥳@rajinikanth @Nelsondilpkumar @anirudhofficial @Mohanlal @NimmaShivanna @bindasbhidu @tamannaahspeaks @meramyakrishnan @suneeltollywood @iYogiBabu @iamvasanthravi @kvijaykartik @Nirmalcuts @KiranDrk @AlwaysJani @StunShiva8 @RIAZtheboss #Jailer pic.twitter.com/uRkjbMsTSI
— Sun Pictures (@sunpictures) July 21, 2023
Nadakkura Nada Puyalaacchey 🤩
— Sun Pictures (@sunpictures) July 22, 2023
The wait is over! Get ready for the star-studded Grand Audio Launch of #Jailer on July 28th at Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai.
Alappara Kelapparom 💥⚡️🙌🏼@rajinikanth @Nelsondilpkumar @anirudhofficial @Mohanlal @NimmaShivanna @bindasbhidu… pic.twitter.com/7RjIitV6v8
Star actors in the Tamil film industry make headlines whenever they appear in audio launch events, especially if it is for one of their own movies. With the Jailer audio launch event announcement, tensions are up as to whether any of this will be addressed by Rajinikanth directly on stage.