Rajinikanth on how he keeps bouncing back

Reflecting on his failures in the last few years, superstar Rajinikanth said critics have tried to write him off over time but he has only come back stronger.

The 67-year-old actor said his films such as daughter Soundarya’s motion-capture Kochaidaiyaan and KS Ravikumar’s Lingaa did not work at the box office.

Rajinikanth said he was wary of Kochadaiyaan’s impending failure after watching the film’s final version.

“Soundarya is a genius. Working with intelligent people is easy. But, we should be careful with geniuses. She listed out a post-production budget to enhance the film’s final version. But, I was sure that this film wouldn’t be successful. So, I insisted on releasing the film with the same version,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

The actor was speaking at the audio launch of his upcoming Tamil language political-gangster film — Kaala. Santhosh Narayanan has composed the music.

About Lingaa, Rajinikanth said he agreed to do the film as the subplot of interlinking rivers was a dream come true on-screen.

“I agreed to the story because the main story revolved around building a dam and interlinking of rivers was also a subplot. Interlinking of rivers is my lifetime dream, so I gave my nod immediately. However, the film flunked at the box-office. Critics, in no time, wrote me off. They have been doing that for 40 years of my career. But, I bounced back every single time,” he said.

The actor said it was Soundarya who introduced him to director Pa Ranjith. They first collaborated on Kabali in 2016.

“I instantly liked him when I met him for the first time for Kabali. But, when he narrated the story, I was sceptical about the sluggishly-paced screenplay and asked my producer Thanu to watch the film. He was jumping with joy after listening to the story. So, I accepted, and the film emerged a success.”

Rajinikanth revealed that it was he who suggested the idea of Kaala to Ranjith.

“First, I listened to a script from Vetrimaaran [Visaaranai director]. He narrated a fantastic script, but it was politically-driven. I was not planning to make my political foray then. So, I wanted to do a different film. Then, I called Ranjith and told him about the slums in Dharavi and the Tamil population who are residing there for years,” he said.

The actor, who announced his political plunge on New Year’s Eve, clarified that the film is not political in nature.

“I warned Ranjith that Kaala should be a Rajinikanth film in Ranjith’s style, unlike Kabali which was a Ranjith movie. There’s politics in Kaala but it’s not a political drama. Ranjith is a great human being who cares for his community and his people a lot,” he said.

The actor said the director camped in Dharavi slums in Mumbai for weeks to do research for the film.

Rajinikanth also praised his Kaala co-star Nana Patekar.

“In my entire career, only two actors challenged me as villain in my films. One is Raghuvaran’s character of Mark Antony in Baasha and Ramya Krishnan’s portrayal of Neelambari in Padaiyappa. Now, Nana Patekar has done a great job. I was thrilled by his performance and thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said.

About the impending announcement on the name and other details of his political party, Rajinikanth said the date is yet to arrive and “good days” are not far off for the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Ranjith said Kaala would be a memorable film for those who have faced discrimination.

“Kaala is a film for the people and of the people. It will be an important film in Indian cinema which talks about inequality,” he said.

Produced by actor Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films, the film also features Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, Samuthirakani and Pankaj Tripathi.

Don’t miss it

Kaala releases in the UAE on June 6.