Rajinikanth’s Political Cinema Ended

Rajnikanth’s long walk to politics has come to an end. Ending years of speculation, months of hesitations the superstar has called it off. Ostensibly on the health grounds, the political cinema of Rajinikanth has been dropped even before the shooting took place. But, there is much to the story.

Rajinikanth always lacked the conviction to become a politician. Ideological confusion was always on full display. He tried to appropriate MGR’s legacy on one side and seemingly embraced saffron politics by declaring that he stands for spiritual politics.

The Dravidian ideology which MGR espoused was in complete contrast with the saffron ideology. Yet Rajinikanth made a vain bid to represent both.

Rajinikanth will not just be remembered for abandoning his political project. His equivocal political experiment was often interpreted as an attempt to serve the BJP’s political agenda in a state that always remained a difficult terrain for the Hindi-Hindu political narrative. 

Advancing age and health concerns were not unknown when he announced his intentions to join politics. More recently he was battle-ready despite the raging pandemic. Within days, he chose to take a U-turn. The intervening period only saw fluctuations in blood pressure which is certainly not a major fresh health concern. Yet his decision to say sorry reflects his ambivalence that was always evident.

Rajinikanth was not counting on his charisma alone. He was always working on an imagined political space. Rajini was hoping to capitalize on the vacuum created by the departure of the two legends on either side of the political spectra- Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi. Stalin could fill the space vacated by his father. The EPS led AIADMK surprisingly did not sink dashing the hopes of Rajinikanth to fill the space. His attempts to appropriate MGR’s legacy reveal the superstar’s intentions to fill the space vacated by AIADMK. But his calculations went wrong.

The faction-ridden AIADMK has not only survived but continues to challenge the surging DMK leaving little scope for Rajinikanth to create space for himself.

Even the BJP was not fully investing in Rajinikanth. The saffron brigade was simultaneously experimenting with ADMK and Rajinikanth. While remaining as an ally of the ruling ADMK, the party indirectly supported Rajini’s political project. This was more to do with the saffron party’s lack of confidence in super star’s ability to deliver Tamil Nadu to its side. Thus, more than the health concerns, the lack of political clarity to steer through the crowded political space of Tamil Nadu might have prompted him to finally give it up. If not, both health and political concerns should have defined his decision to quit politics even before entering.

By Prof K Nageshwar

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