RAJNIKANTH AND KAMAL BAG BEST ACTOR AWARDS

Tamil superstar Rajnikanth and versatile actor Kamal Hassan have been chosen for Tamil Nadu State Film Award for the year 2005 and 2006 respectively.

While Rajni won the best actor award for his performance in the blockbuster movie Chandramukhi, Kamal won the honour for Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, an official release in Chennai said.

Jyothika, who portrayed the role of a split personality in Chandramukhi, was the best actress for 2005, while Priya Mani won the award for 2006 for her effective portrayal of a bubbly rural girl in Paruthi Veeran.

P Vasu-directed Chandramukhi won the award for best film category for 2005, while Veyil, which was screened at Cannes Film festival, was adjudged the best film for 2006.

Actors Vijay (Thirupachi), Surya (Gajini), Meera Jasmine (Kasthuri Maan), Karthi (Paruthi Veeran), Fakru and Sandhya (Dishyum) won special awards.

The awardees were selected by a committee headed by Justice S Mohan. The panel members included veteran director S P Muthuraman and actors Shivakumar, Manorama and Sripriya.

THE TITANS OF INDIAN CINEMA, RAJNIKANTH AND KAMAL HAASAN, CHATTING UP THEIR GOOD OLD DAYS

They are the titans of Indian cinema. They set the trend and others follow. While Rajnikanth is the virtual emperor of the masses, Kamal Haasan has carved a niche for himself as the actor's actor. When it comes to excellling in any role, no one can come anywhere near him. While Rajnikanth showed who the boss of Indian cinema was with the release of his latest film Sivaji, Kamal is set to prove to the Bolywood biggies who the best actor in India is with his portrayal of 10 roles in Dasavataram.

The two of them recently met at the 800-odd function of Chandramukhi. And the discoveries of K Balachander, who have done many a film together during their heydays, can't seem to be recalling their good old days.

WANNA KNOW WHY RAJNIKANTH IS THE BIG BOSS OF INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY? READ ON

He is revered by the people, adored by filmgoers, and deified by his fans. He has fan clubs in more than a dozen countries in the world; his films are a rage in south-East Asia, especially Japan and China, and his latest film was released in some ten countries. What makes Rajnikant, who has changed the definition of a filmi hero, a huge phenomenon that has the nation go bonkers whenever his film releases?

"Style, style and only style," says Sreedhar Dorairaj, a senior business development executive in an IT company. "It might look funny for people who don't know him. But, he is famous the world over for his style."

Style is an understatement for his gimmicks like throwing a cigarette in the air and lighting it midway, his quick gun moves, his unique way of brushing his hair, and his ability to shuffle the things in his hand in rapid succession. "They may be small things, but they have a huge impact on the audience," says Dorairaj.

Abhishek Shetty, general manager in a hotel, feels that Rajnikant "creates an impression" whenever he appears on the screen. "His gestures like the way he puts his shawl, movement of his hands, wearing goggles, and his unique gait during the opening scene of the movie make people go crazy."

In fact, so popular has he become for his handling of the gun, that one of the music channels had a promo for its regional programmes, titled Quick Gun Murugan. Explains Anand Vishnu, an entertainment journalist, "Rajnikanth has a seasoned but bizarre style that every kid on the streets loves to imitate. Besides his unique style, he also has an amazing screen presence that makes him an irreplaceable icon."

But, it is too simplistic an explanation for his legendary status in the Indian film industry today. It's true he owes his meteoric rise in the '80s to his gimmicks. But, gimmicks alone cannot explain his larger-than-life persona that puts him miles ahead of his colleagues in the film industry.

Says Sunitha Chowdhury, a film journalist from Hyderabad, "All this talk about style and gimmicks is a thing of the past. Only people who haven't watched him closely attribute his unusual popularity to gimmicks. On the contrary, Rajnikant has carefully cultivated an image to ensure a place in the hearts of the people."

In a word, Rajnikant has transformed himself from an angry young man, bashing up the baddies in the 80s, to the comic superstar of the 90s and 2000s with his brand of humour. And, when he digs into his aggresive side, his one-liners deliver such a punch that they reverberate in the theatre with the background music giving it the right effect, sending tremors amlong the baddies. And so popular are they that they echo in the minds of the people, years after the film is released, whenever they talk about Rajnikant or his films.

What lends the punchlines such a mesmerising effect is that some of them are intended to be political missiles like the one from Padayappa, reportedly aimed at the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa. Similarly, the one-liner 'Nobody will know when I will arrive, or how I will arrive, but I will arrive when I ought to arrive' was meant to ward off the speculation of his entry into politics. In an industry that is closely associated with politics, Rajnikant had made the most of the people's political awareness. And soomed his way to the top!

THE SECRET OF RAJNI'S POPULARITY IS IN THE PUNCH LINES

* Naan solrathaiyum seiven, sollathathiyum seiven. (I will do what I say, I will also do what I don't say)
-- Annamalai (1992

* Naan oru dhadavai sonna nooru dhadavai sonna madhiri ( If I say it once, it's like saying it a hundred times)
-- Basha (1995)

* Naan eppa varuven, eppadi varuvennu yarukkum theriyadhu, aana varavendiya neratthil correct-aga varuven (Nobody will know when I will arrive, or how I will arrive, but I will arrive when I ought to arrive)
-- Muthu (1995

* Andavan solran. Arunachalam seiran (God orders, Arunachalam follows)
-- Arunachalam (1997

* En vazhi – thani vazhi (My way is the highway)
-- Padayappa (1999

* Khatham, gatham (The past is past)
-- Baba (2002

* Laka, laka, laka
-- Chandramukhi (2006).

* The latest to tease the audiences is 'COOL' from Sivaji: The Boss

(Courtesy: Pune Times)

RAJNIKANTH'S SIVAJI CREATES TRAFFIC JAMS A WEEK BEFORE ITS RELEASE

It was an occasion to celebrate for Tamil superstar Rajnikanth's die-hard fans who flocked cinema halls here since early hours as the advance booking for the AVM Production's mega budget movie Sivaji opened on Saturday.
Tickets for the first fortnight were sold out in several theatres in just a couple of hours, film industry sources said.
Serpentine queues of youngsters, including girls, were seen outside 17 theatres in the city, including Abhirami, Sathyam and Udhayam complexes, where the film was set to be released on June 15. Traffic snarls were reported at various places.
Some chose to spend the night in front of the theatres in order to book their tickets early.
The Rajni-Shankar-Rahman combination has created a lot of expectations among movie buffs particularly among the superstar's fans. Doe-eyed Shriya is the leading lady of the movie, which took 19 months for completion.
Sources said the movie might turn out to be the most expensive film ever made in the country.
Enthusiastic fans performed "milk abhishekam"(pouring milk over as a form of worship) on Rajni banners and cut outs and broke coconuts to ward off evil forces.
Rajni's previous film Chandramukhi is still running continuously for 800 days, creating a record in the Tamil film history.

(Courtesy: CNN-IBN)