schooled by Professor Rajinikanth

From Baradwaj Rangan in Tehelka: "What Bollywood Can Learn from Rajni." I soooo cannot wait for Endhiran!


graphic by the Tehelka team

Thanks to Jugal Mody for the tip! Since I am completely new to the wonderful world of Rajinikanth other than in youtube clip form, where should I start? What composes the essential Rajnikanth primer?

Comments

Liz C said…
I've only see Chandramukhi and Sivaji, and I liked them both. Chandramukhi pros:there's not a weird romance with Rajnikanth and a young actres, Jyothika is great. cons: not enough Rajini

Sivaji: pros-I loved the comedy in the first 3rd, and the last 3rd was hilariosly OTT. cons-it may be a bit too crazy.
Sharmi Adhikary said…
Rajnikanth has done quite a few Bollywood films also. For instance, Chaalbaaz, Jon Johny Janardhan and so on. He is quite entertaining to watch. Without the quintessential good looks of a typical actor, he shows that it is attitude that can take you far. His daughter Soundarya is very pretty and got married today I think to Ashwin Ramkumar, an industrialist :)
Rum said…
Beth you should definitely seek out his debut in Bollywood Andhaa Kanoon, where he transfers all that object flipping and hilarious camera angles! Its with Hema being a feisty police officer and Amitabh in a guest appearance that half steals the shoW!
Anonymous said…
Three must-watch Rajni movies, IMHO, are:

1. Thalapathy - A 'Godfather' remake by Mani Ratnam, where Rajni plays the role of a sidekick. But a very, very good movie.

2. Baasha - Full-on Rajni Masala. The man's got style, and then some!

3. Padayappa - Refer (2) above.

4. Sivaji - The latest, greatest addition to the Rajni Legend!

Thalaivar forever!
Anonymous said…
Umm..that makes four I guess, but the more the merrier! Enjoy!
Kanan said…
I have grown to love Rajni and his craziness.

I'd start with Chaalbaaz of Sridevi or may be you've already done that with Sridevipalooza? I am still hoping to create a post for it.

Best part about your post is I'll get more recos from other die-hard Rajni fans. :D Thanks Beth.
Amrita said…
Beth, I'd recommend Thalapathy (alt sp. Dalapathy, Dalapathi, etc) as a start. It's a great movie whether or not you like Rajni. And for Rajni in Hindi, I'd recommend Hum although that's really a Bachchan movie.
Unknown said…
Rajni in Hindi is an afterthought. He, most of the times plays second fiddle to other more popular actors of Hindi.

Before commencing on Rajni, decide if you want to start with Rajni the actor or Rajni the star. Both are equally good.

Rajni, the actor is arguably one of the best (as far as I am concerned), better even than Kamal Hassan. Just watch movies where they both act in. Kamal stayed on experimenting and evolved while Rajni went commercial.

Thalapathy, as others have said, is a good place to start. But I would suggest you watch some of his ealrier movies where he was a villain.
Sujoy said…
Someone just needs to mention this wherever there is a mention of Rajnikanth..

Chuck Norris is Hollywood's Rajnikanth :P

There you go, I said it. Jujubi!
P.S. Search for Jujubi on Youtube :P
Ahmad Khan said…
I am following this blog from a long time, but now i have share this interesting incident.

I used to study in the same college in Bangalore where few scenes of Shivaji were shot. I remember there was a action scene shot on the top of our building, and lots of fake notes where flying from the top. And guess what people where going crazy to collect those as a memento.

I always knew about Rajni, but that was the day i knew how much people, specially in southern India love him.
Filmbuff said…
Those tips from Rangan are too true!

In Andha Kanoon, Rajini is Hema Malini's brother. She is a police officer and he is a crook - the scenes between the two are hilarious. As suggested by others, interesting Rajni tamil movies include Dalapathi, Padayapa and Sivaji the Boss. I haven't seen Chandramukhi yet - waiting to get a good quality DVD.

A young Rajini in Balachander's earlier tamil movies ie 70s is also worth watching.
sophy said…
I think you'll like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-30F0aS9l-c&feature
filmyink said…
hi at last beth starts to think bout rajnikanth.
U want true masala stuff Then start with PADAYAPPA,Rajni- Meena films eg Muttu, Arunachalam etc
Thalapathy is not much in way of Rajnimasala; it is a very voilent movie.
I started liking Rajni since I saw Padayappa I think u ll feel the same :)
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Popular Posts