The Idea of "Rajinikanth"

Long before I read Buddha, knew Einstein, heard of Adam Smith and for that matter at an age when even Gandhi seemed boring, my first lessons on humility came from Rajini. After all he is a mere actor, for the sake of argument let's assume he "acts" humble. Even if that's true, neuroscience (the "catch" phrase!!) has started proving someways we become what we think and how we act. So either way, there is no question, Rajni is one of the most humblest human I have ever met. One is not born humble, humility cannot be taught but it has to come naturally by taking that road less travelled.

His biggest movie ever opened on Friday with raving reviews and I was surprised to find even an article on Slate - The biggest movie star you've probably never heard of:

"Jackie Chan is the highest-paid actor in Asia, and that makes sense. But the No. 2 spot goes to someone who doesn't make any sense at all. The second-highest- paid actor in Asia is a balding, middle-aged man with a paunch, hailing from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and sporting the kind of moustache that went out of style in 1986. This is Rajinikanth, and he is no mere actor—he is a force of nature. If a tiger had sex with a tornado and then their tiger-nado baby got married to an earthquake, their offspring would be Rajinikanth. If you haven't heard of Rajinikanth before, you will on Oct. 1,when his movie Enthiran (The Robot) opens around the world. It's the most expensive Indian movie of all time. It's getting the widest global opening of any Indian film ever made, with 2,000 prints exploding onto screens simultaneously. Yuen Wo-ping (The Matrix) did the action, Stan Winston Studios (Jurassic Park) did creature designs, George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic did the effects, and Academy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) wrote the music. It's a massive investment, but the producers fully expect to recoup that, because this isn't just some film they're releasing; this is a Rajinikanth film. Ask Bolly-fans about their favorite stars, and they'll spout the typical griping—Hrithik is a little boy, Shah Rukh Khan is spoiled, Amitabh Bachchan wears a toupee—but mention Rajinikanth, and their eyes light up. He is so rich, he does so many good deeds, his films are all No. 1 superhits. Rajinikanth is not just some filmstar, they insist. Rajinikanth is a "real man." While Bollywood movies, more and more, copy Hollywood conventions and morals, Rajinikanth stays respectful to his parents, chaste with the ladies, and firmly on the side of the little guy.

Laugh at him all you like, but on Oct. 1 Rajinikanth is going to play a robot onscreen in Enthiran, and it is going to gross all the money in the world. Because Rajinikanth, like a Tamil Nadu Cyrano de Bergerac, is the epitome of manly Indian style and, like Cyrano, when one day he goes to his grave, he'll cling to the one thing they can't take away from him, the one thing that has mattered most to him in his life: his panache."

Coming back to the original question, what is the idea of Rajinikanth? Packaging simple philosophy and morality in a entertaining fashion where everyone understands and tries to emulate. He connects with people seamlessly in way where books couldn't and some great leaders fail. There is big lesson one has to learn from him on how to "spread" a good message. Yes, we can either laugh at him or learn, how good a human he had became over the years.

This is one of his most beautiful and poignant song, wish I could translate it in English: