Cinema, Karam, Kapi

As Steve Jobs reckoned, when you connect the dots backwards, things make sense. Indeed. Muthu, directed by KS Ravikumar, Superstar’s lucky charm of the 90s was a super hit movie of it’s times. Ardent fans had favourite moments right from the word “Go” – when Thalaivar breaks a coconut and catapults into his Horse-carriage and sings along yet another philosophical song which remains one of his all-time favourites – Oruvan Oruvan Mudalali. Right before interval, the film moves in to a flashback and we see Thalaivar adorned as a Maharaja; what follows in the next 20 mins is yet another philosophical number – Vidukathaiya Inda Vazhkai… Vazhvai nee thedi, Vadakke nee ponaal, Naangal povadhengu… Every time the Superstar had decided to quit acting / public life and move to his favourite haunt in the Himalayas, fans cried.  More than anything else, this film had one of his earliest political dialogues – during the drama scenes as well as in the song Kuluvaalile – Katchiyellam ippo namakedukku,

The distance from Koramangala to RT Nagar in Bangalore is around 14 Kms over 25 mins at that time of the day, rather night. But the bike ride felt eternal. My skin under the full sleeves’ shirt was shivering like never before. My closest experience to something similar was during the early 1980s when I watched “My Dear Kuttichathan” at Devi Theatre in Chennai. Be it a graphically shot snake coming out of a chandelier or the evil-filled Raja Vettaiyan walking with his sticks screaming “Laka Laka Laka” or the Rajapalayam Dogs barking fiercely and of course the extraordinary eye movements of the ecstatic Chandramukhi showing off her jewels, the entire movie was a bit on the edge when I watched it for the first time on this day, 15 years back. I feel the same every time I watch this film till now – around 50+ times during the past 180 months. The scary ride was because I was returning back from PVR at Forum Mall after watching First Day Night Show and Bangalore’s lonely roads were infamous

The day of Holi festival is very special to Superstar Rajinikanth, for it was on this day in the year 1975 that he was named so by his guru and ace director Late Shri K. Balachandar. Shivaji Rao Gaekwad was a young lad from suburban Bangalore with high spirits in heart and a hardworking nature. His mother passed away at an early age and his father and elder brother ran the household. He ran errands for people, worked as a coolie, a bus conductor among many things to sustain himself. He had his own vices and needed money for all that. Shivaji also had a deep inclination towards spirituality even when he was young, thanks to his upbringing from Ramakrishna Mission. He performed skits and plays in the neighborhood and that prompted his friends to encourage him to join Cinema – Kannada Actor Rajkumar who was in his prime during the early 70s was a great inspiration for Shivaji. With some money in hand given by his friends, he boarded a bus to reach the erstwhile Madras and join the Film