SIVAJI - THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

Finally got around to watching Sivaji, that too in a half-empty hall. And I got exactly what I expected from a Rajini flick.

Only that this time we saw a tech-savvy superstar, thanks to his alliance with a director who makes it a point to pepper the screen with special effects and technical wizardry. Be it a voice-recognition password or MMS, Rajini bridged the digital divide in style. And the style mannan had a `cool' catchphrase to wash away the wrinkles of 57 years.

Style, yes in abundance. But what about substance? Director Shankar is known for his vigilante justice films where the medium(hero) is driven by the message - be it Kamal Haasan in Indian, Vikram in Anniyan or Arjun in Muthalvan, all battling corruption. But with the superstar it's all about the medium and his antics, the message is incidental.

Well, big deal. That's exactly why Rajinikanth is the superstar. One razor-sharp punchline, a witty repartee, a twirl of his fingers, a flip of the coin (he's become more genteel now with cigarettes uncool) - fans are ready to lap it up. Forget story, forget script, it's all about weaving together sequences pandering to the hero's demigod status. Also finding prominent space are sequences depicting Rajini as a do-gooder, donating generously to the poor.

And sycophancy is there all around. Song lyrics extolling the hero, the heroine/sidekick singing his praises, it's all there. Even the AR Rahman soundtrack is subservient to his movements and style. Which means, one identifies the soundtrack as that of a Rajini film first and then only the Rahman identity crops up.

Being a cult figure also means paying obeisance to past icons. At one point Sivaji refers to himself as Parashakti (Sivaji Ganesan's debut film scripted by Karunanidhi) and later he is back as MGR (M G Ravichandran) after a miraculous escape from death. MGR too made a comeback from death's door in 1984, and stunningly orchestrated an election victory in absentia, while recovering in a New York hospital.

So Rajini has to show that he is a worthy inheritor to the MGR/Sivaji mantle. And check out some of the song lyrics.
"Annan vanda Tamil Nadu America" - If Sivaji comes to Tamil Nadu, it will become America
"Kaveri Aaru marakalamah" - Can we forget the Kaveri River?

Kaveri's one emotive issue the superstar has to highlight. After all, he has to be more loyal than his loyalists considering his Bangalore roots.

There's toilet humour and it's loud. But the man still carries it off, as nobody else can. And he's always got great comic timing.

Sivaji also has its ode to Rajini's Japanese fans, with the bald MGR/Sivaji fight sequences at the end bearing the unmistakable stamp of manga comics.

So there you go, Sivaji's cool, finish, repeat for Rajini fans. Though I did not find a killer dialogue as in Baasha or a killer sequence as in Padayappa (Rajini hoisting himself to a higher pedestal than Ramya Krishnan)

In school, we used to poke fun at Rajinikanth with the tale about him using a blade to split a bullet into two when the gun was fired. Now it'll be sheer pleasure to watch him doing that on screen. It's all about making the absurd endearing.

By the way, it's ironic that for a film which takes up cudgels against black-marketeering, people end up paying more than 1000 to buy a ticket in black.