Udal Mannuku, Uyir Rajiniku!

"Thaaalaaiiivaaaa" 

Can you feel the excitement already? For those of you who know me, you definitely know I am an ardent fan of RAJINIKANTH! Peru kettale chumma athuruthe le? Well, it is Rajinikanth lah, what do you expect?

Rajinikanth, also known as Thalaivaa has been my hero since I was very very very young. He is super cool and so stylish! I love everything about him - his signature walk, cigarette flips, the shades flips, thunde flips (thunde is that cloth Indian men place on their shoulders, no idea what it is called in English) and signature salutes. Remember Padayappa, where he flips his hand in circular motion and stops at the forehead to salute! Hey, you had that scene running in your mind right? Haaa! There you go...That's my Thalaivaa right there. 

I guess Rajinikanth likes the flipping concept and it was so popular that all of us at some point would have tried at least once to imitate his style. Did I say 'was' so popular? It still is! Ohh, he even flips his hair with so much style. When he was much younger he flipped it a bit too much that caused his hair fall. Oh man, did I just say this? Errr...but it is true. I've read it in 'Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography by Naman Ramachandran'. Aiyo, so what lah, we all get old and lose hair. Plus he is 71 and looks good with or without hair.  You got to check this video out (source unknown). The lion & the king - a big thank you to the person who came up with this.

Press Play

Apart from his style, Rajinkanth is also known for his punch dialogues. The dialogues may be just for the fun of it but some carry a philosophical meaning if you understood it right. In fact, there was a book called 'Rajini's Punchtantra' published some time back interpreting his punch dialogues as value statements for business and life management. Google it if you don't trust me. Actually you know what, some of his punch dialogues are quite philosophical. At the moment I can think of these two:

"Sagara naal therijirichi naa, valare naal naragam ayirum." (If you know when you are going to die, your living days will be hell)
"Kashta padaama yethuvum kadaikathu, kashta padama kedachuthu yennikum nelaikaathu" (One cannot achieve anything without hard work and if he does, that success won't last)

And no doubt we have the fun ones like, "Naa orru thadava sonna, nooru thadava sonna mathiri!", "Yen vazhi, thani vazhi", "Ithu yeppudi irruku" and many more. (I'm not gonna translate that cos some things are better said in Tamil, you know that 'yemosion' is better felt in Tamil.) These punch dialogues were so popular even without Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. My parents were not movie goers. Maybe because cinemas like Cathay & Lido that were not so cozy as the current GSC & TGV cinemas. No second shows or third shows. They only took us for popular movies that starred famous actors. Ahem *clears throat* and that would be Rajinikanth of cos. Apart from that we had the RTM channels that played a Tamil movie once a week 🙄 and Indian Movie News magazines. (Do ya'll remember that magazine?)

**Okay, I kind of lost track of what I was writing about, let me just read that back again and try to remember what was my point**

Aaahh okay, punch dialogues. Basically I was trying to say that we didn't have the technology (internet & social media platforms) to viral his punches. They went viral even without the help of internet. And at home, we often used these dialogues among family members to counter an argument...ooh speaking about family members, I grew up with two Kamal fans (my sisters). Do you know how annoying is that? Lucky thing I have cousins and their spouses who are Rajini fans. These days we get into this Rajini-Kamal debates in our WhatsApp groups. No, no, not daily, just when some movie releases or when the topic comes up. Don't judge us ok. We've got other better things to do as well, not so 'vetti' (free). 

Warning: If you say anything negative about Rajinikanth, you are basically waking up the sleeping lion 🦁 in me. (Vijay Kanna, if you're reading this, be careful!)

Once I told my BF, let's choose 12/12 as our wedding date. If you're wondering why...it's Rajinikanth's birthday lah! Then I thought, hey better not. What if a Rajini movie releases on that day, then there would be a "ponnu kaanom" chaos although he would probably guess correctly where I went missing. He doesn't trust me when it comes to Rajinikanth. I don't blame him. He used to ask "Rajinikanth or me?" And I would go "Rajinikanth!" without even thinking! Oh well, Rajini fans got this First Day, First Show 'viyathi' (disease). Its just like that, can't be cured. I used to apply leave on 12/12 just cause its his birthday. I'm sure my ex-manager would remember this. She was such a sport - she actually approved my leave. She even used to tag me in Rajinikanth posts or memes. Mind you, she's Chinese! Recently even my EAM (Mat Salleh ok, don't play play ah) also sent me a stand up comedy video related to Rajinikanth. You see, he's well known by all or shall I say I'm well known for idolizing Rajinikanth!

Well, anyone would love him (If you don't, you've got bad taste!) He's such a cool dude both on screen & off screen. In fact, he doesn't even have to appear on screen, his title card will do. It's some kind of energy booster thingy that only a Rajini fan will understand. Plus, he is truly an inspiration. One of the highest paid South Indian actors that was once a bus conductor. 

Yup, he was just a bus conductor trying to make ends meet and he did go through a lot of hardships in his life. I got to know about these hardships recently as I read his biography. It made me tear as I had no idea about the life he lived before coming into the industry. To be honest, I blindly fell in love with him and his style. But after reading his biography, there's no turning back. Just more love and respect for this man! And guess what? He was recently awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award - India's highest award in the field of cinema! And that's the reason I got into this writing about Rajinikanth mood. 

Now, the million dollar question! Will I ever get to meet my Thalaivaa in person? I really really really want to! It was a near miss when he came down to Malaysia for the Robo audio launch. He was there! I was there. Haaiiihh but there was no chance getting close to him. He was so near yet so far. 😢 He came again to Malaysia Kabali movie shoot. Missed him again. Thanks to a friend or shall I say an enemy who ditched me when he got the chance to meet Rajinikanth in person. He actually met him, touched him, took a picture with him and sent it to me! Aarrghh! Somewhere deep down my heart I really hate you, Jarret even though I know for sure I would have done the same. But that's okay. We'll meet soon Thalaivaa! On a side note. I got to meet his son in law, Dhanush. 

Not too bad right, same family. 😉 Oh! I've met his nephew too, Anirudh. Probably these are signs from the universe that I'm getting closer to the Star. Alright there, I can tell that all you readers must be rolling your eyes already. But, hey! You never know, some day I might just get the opportunity to have a cup of coffee with him. After all, 'nambikai thaan vazhkaiyin thumbikai!' Until then, long live my Thalaivaa!  

Andrum, indrum, yendrum orrey Superstar!