Well its a known fact that Endhiran now is highest ever grossing Indian movie.Very few wholesome entertainers like this one are critically acclaimed.Its a proud moment for Tamil Cinema; for it has now sent a message, in fact a hard hitting message that Indian cinema is not just Bollywood. Amidst all this I have a gut feeling that Rajni's fans may go unsatisfied.
First of all Superstar is a scientist which is not a down to earth kind of role(like autodriver,milkman,etc) which relates him to the middle or lower class ppl.Next,Rajini does not challenge or gets challenged from villain in the interval.Then,Rajni does not help or salvage the downtrodden from destruction.There is no song or a situation which praises his popularity or fame.And the most important Rajni does not flip his cigarette ,there isnt his trademark style,punchlines,etc. Ithulam illame eppadi pa thalaivar padam pakarathu???.This may be the spontaneous thought for thousands of hardcore Rajni fans.Well, they have to understand that Rajni is no ordinary actor and Endhiran is no ordinary film.
With robotic concepts being the theme of the story,you cannot expect Rajni(scientist) to break the glass and jump from a roof and then start his role with a punchline.If not for scientist,expecting such a stuff from another Rajni(robot) is even more foolish.People have to understand with such a theme being handled and with more general audience(which includes non Rajni fans and the whole of national and international people) gonna watch this film ,it was only sensible that Superstar and shankar decided to cast away the 'superstar' tag to tune Rajni into the role.Shankar then fills the gap by showcasing us a different sorts of entertainment from Rajni.Thanks to shankar for showing Rajni - a rajni with fire,aggression,force,fiery dialogues... in short 'vintage' Rajni.You will be reminded his days of moondru mugam,netrikan,etc.(That villainous laugh of villain chitti, OMG!!! who else can give us such a laugh :) ). In fact Rajni's entire body languauge and style changes when he is the villain.Isnt this a quality entertainment????
One word what can define Rajni is 'MASS'.No other actor can claim himself to be a 'mass' actor.This is something Rajni did not learn but is born with.For decades Rajni has shed away the 'actor' him just to satisfy and enthrall his fans.And it will be only fitting for Rajni fans to pay it back by appreciating his performance in endhiran which has seen the more of 'actor' in him.Infact in a fans' meet held in 2008,Rajni has said that his interest was only in art and performance oriented roles and it was purely coz of the fans' request that he has wore the Entertainer 'mask'.After watching Endhiran I said this to myself :" Amidst all this super-stardom have we missed Rajni-The actor,especially the Villain all these years???
Nevertheless Rajni has entertained one and all.I don think there is any other actor whose popularity has increased with his age as most of them tend to retire from core 'hero' roles at their early 50s.At 61, he still remain the undisputed king of Box Office.Go on thalaiva, your MASS is unleashed and will remian forever
