{"id":2663,"date":"2016-03-15T06:18:44","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T00:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2663"},"modified":"2026-07-17T20:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:39:09","slug":"rajinikanth-kaala-pa-ranjith-dalit-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=2663","title":{"rendered":"Will Rajinikanth, the Superstar Clash with Rajinikanth, the Neta?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"container page-content\"><p><span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span><\/p><\/div><p>n his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2018\/03\/05\/donald-glover-cant-save-you\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">profile<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in The New Yorker, Donald Glover spoke about \u201cTrojan-horsing\u201d his show <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Atlanta<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to FX network executives. It\u2019s a term that&#8217;s gained popularity among <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/social-commentary\/phillauri-anushka-sharma-harry-potter-jk-rowling-jane-austen-jaipur-literature-festival\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">writers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and creators where a niche, seemingly unpopular non-viable idea is wrapped in a creamy outer layer made of popular, marketable flavours. Jenji Kohan, the creator of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Orange is The New Black<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, used the same tactic and pitched her show around Piper, a privileged, attractive white woman who finds herself in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/satire\/salman-khan-jail-jodhpur\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prison<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: the Trojan horse to tell the stories of a diverse group of black and Latina women.<\/span>\n\nLikewise, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/kabali-rajnikanth-thalaivar\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajinikanth<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is director Pa Ranjith\u2019s Trojan horse. A superstar that the director uses to tell stories of significance. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaala<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> trailer, black is the colour of labour, Raavana is the saviour, and streets are spaces that must be occupied. Rajini the actor talks to a crowd of disenfranchised <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pov\/asalpha-slum-mumbai-makeover\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">slum <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dwellers about their bodies being their only weapons and reiterating the need to occupy the streets to fight the establishment. This is a man whose words onscreen and offscreen weigh the same. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take a look at the soundtrack of the upcoming <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaala<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for instance. Nearly half of the tracks are dedicated to the lower-class; their lives, spaces and their calls for revolution. \u201cTheruvilakku\u201d (Streetlight), is a rousing anthem celebrating the ghetto, its unity, and aiding its citizens\u2019 progress. It begins with an extended <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pov\/kendrick-lamar-just-pimp-pulitzer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rap<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> section with lyrics like \u201cWelcome to my hood\u201d and \u201cHip-hop kalaacharam inge\u201d (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/music\/tupac-shakur-gully-indian-rappers-divine-naezy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hip-hop<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> culture here). <\/span>\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1528268150-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Rajinikanth\" width=\"574\" height=\"407\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-35227\" \/>\n<figcaption>\n<p>In <em>Kaala<\/em>, Rajini the actor talks to a crowd of disenfranchised slum dwellers about their bodies being their only weapons and reiterating the need to occupy the streets to fight the establishment.<\/p>\n<p>Image credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is indicative of the leaps Ranjith has taken from films like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attakathi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Madras<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 where his own ideology wasn\u2019t overtly implied. You had to know where to look. In <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kabali<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and now, in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaala<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this ideology is more brazen, open, and demonstrative. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Rajini-Ranjith pairing is an alliance forged in Tamil cinema heaven, seemingly unassailable to any force \u2013 except, perhaps, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/doodle\/rajnikanth-india-tamil-nadu-films-politics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajinikanth\u2019s entry into electoral politics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A day after the trailer release, Rajini, now playing the politician, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsminute.com\/article\/who-are-you-rajinikanth-left-embarrassed-thoothukudi-young-mans-question-82185\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">visits the hospital in Thoothukudi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and sides with the establishment, vending quotes that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsminute.com\/article\/anti-socials-toxic-germs-infiltrated-thoothukudi-protests-says-rajinikanth-bats-cops-82161\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">border on fascism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Ranjith, it\u2019s a tenuous collaboration fraught with fault lines. Rajini\u2019s undefined brand of \u201cspiritual politics\u201d is at odds with the former\u2019s open call for revolution, his anti-establishment leanings, and his reputation as one of the few politically aware <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/social-commentary\/dalit-caste-identity-workplace-sc-st-progressive\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dalit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> filmmakers around.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His beliefs are omnipresent in the lyric video of \u201cTheruvilakku\u201d. At the 20-second-mark, S Anitha\u2019s poster makes a blink-and-miss appearance, proclaiming \u201cWe Tamilians against NEET (National Eligibility and Entrance Test).\u201d Shanmugam Anitha, who had scored handsomely in her 12th board examinations committed suicide last September because her NEET score was not upto the mark. At that time, when politicians and actors like Rajini shared generic condolence messages, Ranjith was clear in his stance that NEET was an oppressive device against <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/humour\/ssc-students-school-hierarchy-system\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">students<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> like Anitha, from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajinikanth\u2019s influence, on the other hand, clouds the film\u2019s promotions. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaala\u2019s<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> teaser was postponed by a day due to the demise of Jayendra Saraswathi, Kanchipuram\u2019s 69th seer, even though Ranjith identifies as an atheist. At that time, the decision did not cause any immediate uproar. But it was remembered in anger when the film\u2019s promotions continued uninterrupted during the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/politics\/sterlite-copper-protest-tuticorin-vedanta\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sterlite protests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Thoothukudi, that resulted in civilian deaths at the hands of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/series\/aarushi\/aarushi-talwar-nupur-rajesh-noida-murder\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">state police<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaala<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> comes at a time when Tamil Nadu is in a bit of a tumult \u2013 a post-<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/people\/jayalalithaa-india-tamil-nadu-chennai-aiadmk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jayalalitha <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">era sullied by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/social-commentary\/jallikattu-tamil-nadu-thai-pongal-bulls\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jallikattu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> protests, a volatile government, and the state-sanctioned killings in Thoothukudi. When Rajinikanth <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/india\/story\/who-are-you-asks-injured-in-tuticorin-to-rajini-on-hospital-visit-22-days-after-violence-1246712-2018-05-31\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">visited Thoothukudi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> last week, it was not as an actor but as a political aspirant. Sticking to the book, he bemoaned how \u201canti-social\u201d elements were actually to be blamed for the protests going out of hand. Naturally, he shied away from attacking the state government by saying that the investigation will take care of \u2013 what he deemed \u2013 intelligence failure. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In stark contrast, Ranjith batted for the people, never doubting their intentions or form of<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/politics\/ramjas-college-umar-khalid-jnu-abvp-protest\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> protest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and condemning the killings in no uncertain terms.<\/span>\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>Rajinikanth is director Pa Ranjith\u2019s Trojan horse. A superstar that the director uses to tell stories of significance.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the Rajinikanth-Ranjith collaboration was announced three years ago, it felt like a course correction for the star \u2013 a chance to move away from decades of roles that celebrated <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/gender\/beware-of-the-brocialist-harvey-weinstein-sexism-feminism-gender-femininity-masculinty-metoo-notallmen-bro-code-brocialism-sexual-harassment-harassment-molestation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sexism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/social-commentary\/bro-code-toxic-masculinity-woke-men\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">misogyny<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the messiah complex. The desire to maintain Rajinikanth\u2019s aura meant that he was reduced to the dialogues his characters uttered in films. But getting together with a progressive director like Ranjith enabled the star to use his voice to further progressive ideals. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naturally, such a figure\u2019s political aspirations blurs the lines \u2013 between Ranjith\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaala<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Rajinikanth, the spiritual politician. Yes, it might be cinema and yes, the character he plays onscreen is allowed to be different from the actor, the man, and the politician. But unfortunately, the timing of the film\u2019s release has ensured a cognitive dissonance in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/politics\/jayalalithaa-funeral-death-tamil-nadu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tamil Nadu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a dichotomy that will be harder to miss with each passing day. It makes one wonder about the role that Rajinikanth is actually playing offscreen. If he is the Trojan horse for Ranjith in films, is he the Trojan horse for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/raag-desh-review-nationalism-tigmanshu-dhulia-kunal-kapoor\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">right-wing nationalists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the real world? The idea \u2013 a mere speculation in the recent past \u2013 has moved beyond something innocuous in recent weeks. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On June 7, we\u2019ll know the extent of one Rajini experiment \u2013 with Pa Ranjith. And, hopefully soon, we\u2019ll unmask Rajini\u2019s other experiment in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/politics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">politics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Will that end his run as Ranjith\u2019s Trojan horse?<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rajinikanth-Pa Ranjith collaboration, in Kabali and now Kaala, had felt like a chance for the star to move away from decades of roles that celebrated sexism and misogyny. But the brand of politics Rajini seems to be espousing, is completely at odds with his on-screen persona.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":247,"featured_media":2666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[5393,618,5394,5395,5396,5397,5398,5399,5400],"class_list":["post-2663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-kaala","tag-kabali","tag-pa-ranjith","tag-rajinikanth","tag-rajinikanth-politics","tag-sterlite-protests","tag-tamil-cinema","tag-tamil-industry","tag-thoothukudi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Will Rajinikanth, the Superstar Clash with Rajinikanth, the Neta?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Rajinikanth-Pa Ranjith collaboration, in Kabali and now Kaala, had felt like a chance for the star to move away from decades of roles that celebrated sexism and misogyny. 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But the brand of politics Rajini seems to be espousing, is completely at odds with his on-screen persona.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=2663","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Will Rajinikanth, the Superstar Clash with Rajinikanth, the Neta?","og_description":"The Rajinikanth-Pa Ranjith collaboration, in Kabali and now Kaala, had felt like a chance for the star to move away from decades of roles that celebrated sexism and misogyny. 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