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Leo Success Meet: Rajinikanth shade miffs Superstar fans!

PUBLISHED DATE : 03/Nov/2023

Leo Success Meet: Rajinikanth shade miffs Superstar fans!

No matter the rivalry between top star actors in the film industry, contemporaries slyly shading each other in public is a rare scenario among artists of a certain stature. Bollywood aka Hindi film industry's Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan or Kollywood aka Tamil film industry's Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are exemplary "rivals" in this regard. One can never catch them downgrading the other, much less in a dubious manner. 

 

While this is the case among peers who've grown their careers and evolved as public personalities alongside each other, there is also a scenario where a senior star with a legacy is challenged by the comparatively junior top star with an equal, if not a stronger hold on the film market.

 

If it was Amitabh Bachchan Vs Shah Rukh Khan before, it later came to be Shah Rukh Khan Vs Hrithik Roshan, and is currently at Shah Rukh Khan Vs Ranveer Singh in Bollywood. The Tamil film industry in recent years has been bitten by this 'next big thing' syndrome, and whether said out loud or not there is an underlying sense of fierce competition between camp Rajinikanth and camp Vijay. [More from the latter than the former]. 

 

Tamil pop culture law would pit actor Vijay with actor Ajith Kumar, but with soaring popularity, a bankable market maintained consistently over years, a few mis-steps from Rajinikanth, and in prep for Vijay's big political entry in 2026, camp Vijay has been more than happy to bank on this 'next Superstar' campaign.

 

 

But as with the fierce opposition Shah Rukh Khan faced while remaking Amitabh Bachchan's Don or replacing him briefly as the host of KBC, Ranveer Singh faced while stepping in for Shah Rukh as the new face of Don, actor Vijay in his ambitions of becoming the undisputed No: 1, has faced fierce opposition from camp Rajinikanth. And not without reason. [Camp Rajinikanth is mostly just his fans; Industry insiders on Rajini's side, with the exception of a few like producer Kalanithi Maran, have maintained a dignified silence on this projected rivalry]. 

 

While in Bollywood, stars are only after roles and positions, not after titles like 'Shehanshah' (Amitabh Bachchan) or 'Baadshah' (Shah Rukh Khan), with camp Vijay it was also about grabbing the 'Superstar' title, a moniker that has been synonymous with Rajinikanth for decades. Tamil film industry insiders on Vijay's side were seen giving extensive interviews on why 'Superstar' didn't belong to Rajinikanth alone, or why it should be "rightfully" passed on to actor Vijay, despite the star already being in possession of a moniker called 'Thalapathy'. 

 

This complete disregard for a living legend, despite Rajinikanth very much being a big contributor to the Tamil film market in his 70s, is once again a rare move from a contemporary or a 'rival' of a certain stature. Nevertheless, a benefit-of-the-doubt was always given to Vijay since the actor himself only maintained a no-shade policy*, and that there is just 'one Superstar' at least from his own mouth. The recent Leo success meet event seems to have changed this.

 

*The no-shade policy was reserved only for real life. Onscreen, a Hukum from Jailer (whether it was aimed at Vijay or not) was countered with a Badass from Leo  

 

In an apparent shade at Rajinikanth's Jailer audio launch speech where crows and eagles were mentioned [and Vijay was not once], actor Vijay threw a laughing fit at the mention of crows and eagles in his own speech, knowing full well how this will serve as ammunition for his online fans. At the same stage, Vijay also tried to "course correct" the online behaviour of his fans, comparing himself (/his fans) to a son that got beatings from his father (Rajinikanth/Rajini's fans). This was promptly noted and called out by onlookers.

 

 

It was made clear during Leo success meet stage that while Vijay does accept that there is only one Superstar, he also thinks that there is nothing wrong in being ambitious about wanting all things this father figure i.e. Rajinikanth has. Rajini fans perhaps note the fine line between wanting all things an inspirational figure has, and entirely making disrespectful moves while said father-figure is still alive and kicking.  

 

 

Even as political rivals, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan never once gave space for disparaging each other. However the act of Vijay hugging Leo's dialogue writer Rathna Kumar, after the latter took a clear dig at Rajinikanth both off and on-stage is one for the anomaly books. Unlike Kalanidhi Maran who is a producer of certain repute in this industry, Rathna Kumar is an emerging writer/director with few films to his credit. If anything, Rathna Kumar shading a prominent figure like Rajini should not have been encouraged in any manner, feel fans. 

 


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