Humility & Simplicity Personified…That’s Superstar Rajini

At the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa, the audience stood up for this 74-year old legend as he accepted ‘The Lifetime Achievement Award’ not with filmi flamboyance, but remarkable humility and palpable sincerity “I love cinema and acting. How quickly 50 years have passed…for me it seems like 15 years…in every Janam I take I want to be born as Rajinikanth ” His only other competitor is Amitabh Bachchan. But the similarity of incomparable lifetime fame and name ends there…AB was born in high society, parents acclaimed artists. Rajini and the much-recounted story of a Bengaluru bus conductor and his meteoric, stylish and remarkable zoom to the very top of fame and fortune is a lore oft-repeated. His legion of fans who swoon over his every action and every movie stand as testimony that he is no accidental superstar. But his humility and simplicity remain unparalleled. His neighbors see him every day as he takes his morning walks on Raghava Veera Avenue …headphones on, tuft and fringe of white hair around a bald pate, in non-flashy attire. Just an elderly person on his walking routine .put him in front of the camera, glam make up, slick wig etc…lights, camera, action…a high voltage super energetic 40 something swashbuckler leaps and lunges at his enemies…an electrifying hero whose style hits you …was this man a bus conductor who hypnotized millions and still remains a heartthrob? Superstar Rajini has achieved phenomenal fame…yet his unchanged humility makes him Thalaiva.