most loved movie superstar

[Manju Jain]

Is there a film star in the world who is loved more than Rajnikant , a TamilNadu superstar( a state in India with a population of 70 million )
I reproduce an article from a newspaper.
AFTER A gap of three years, an air of festivity lingers over the fan clubs of superstar Rajinikant whose `Baba' is slated for release on Aug. 15th.
Several special shows are being screened in various theatres to meet the demand of the fans. Fan clubs are planning various events to mark the `mega event'.
At the cinema theatres screening `Baba', apart from the usual bursting of crackers, erection of cut-outs and stars at the entrance of the theatres, this time fans are also planning to distribute sweets and gifts for those coming to watch the movie as a `thanksgiving gesture'.
Those viewing the movie during the first week are bound to miss several dialogues because of the din and whistling by fans every time Rajini appears on the screen. Some ardent fans may also burn camphor on their palm to greet their hero when he appears for the first time on the screen.
For the special shows, tickets are priced between Rs. 150 and Rs. 200 ( normal rate is between Rs.20 to Rs. 70 in the state ) with an audio cassette of the film songs. If anyone is wondering from where these die-hard Rajini fans pool money to meet the expenses, here is a fan's reply: "On the day the pooja is done for a Rajini film we start collecting money in a hundi. We use this money for celebrating the release of the film."
The police for their part are making necessary security arrangements to ensure there is no untoward incident at the theatres screening `Baba'.
A few facts I know:
1. Rajnikant is more than 50 years old and has been in the film industry for nearly 3 decades.
2. He is not handsome by any standards and if you happen to meet him in real life you would never take him for a movie superstar.
3. He is not the best actor around but he has a style of his own, like the way he smokes or wearing glasses or superfast delivery. Repeats it in movie after movie. Yet his fans have not had enough of his style.
4. In the last 20 years, I dont remember any of his film being a disaster at the box office. Law of diminishing returns dont apply to him. Every actor/actress has a shelf life but not him. In a ranking list of 10, he is no. 1 to 5
5. He is a demigod in the state and his fans are begging him to join politics to rid of all its evils.
Lastly, I am not his fan. Just marvelling at his stature or luck or ... , damn I dont even know what to make of it. Trying to draw some philosophy out of it.

[Barry Gaunt]

Personally I like Forrest Gump...
-Barry

[Cindy Glass]

From an admiration point of view - yeah - Tom Hanks.
From sheer sex appeal - Robert Redford.

[Jason Menard]

Wouldn't the most "loved" movie star technically be someone more along the lines of Jenna Jameson?

[Ashik Uzzaman]

After Dev Das, its now Shahrukh Khan whom I say Dev Das Khan...

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by Jason Menard:
Wouldn't the most "loved" movie star technically be someone more along the lines of Jenna Jameson?

Hey buddy!

[Pranav Jaidka]

I would think Elizabeth Taylor........she was most loved. At least 8 times that I know of.

[Michael Matola]

Thread hijack!
Hey, Jytsika, haven't seen you in a while.
Racked my brain, searched the internet for hours, and still couldn't figure out the name of the classic Indian black-and-white movie we talked about.
I finally did see "Lagaan." Overall I thought it was pretty good, despite my complete lack of knowledge of cricket. I liked the musical numbers -- they were quite impressive visually, but things were a bit loooong for someone with a "Western attention span" like me.
Two things I wondered about because I thought they seemed odd to me, as a very outsider watching this movie. (1) The sister of the British colonial commander dude has this secret romantic interest in the dashing villager who leads the cricket team. Is this kind of standard fare for such movies? It seemed so out-of-place and tangential to the story line. Is this the kind of thing they're likely to throw in, for example, because they know that such a story appeals to a certain viewer demographic? (Teenage girls, grandmothers, etc.) (2) The inclusion of the untouchable on the team. This, again, seemed very tangential to me, almost smacking of tokenism because no real issues having to do with untouchables/caste system were addressed. I think twice everyone gets all worked up about the untouchable guy, then the issue gets dropped. Puzzling to me what that was all about.
Then back in spring my wife winds up goind to Delhi on business. Flipping channels in her hotel room, she sees this Hindi movie with this beautiful young Indian couple bebopping around Budapest. (We had just spent Christmas and New Year's in Budapest, so the location was familiar to my wife.) So she watches the rest of the movie, figuring out what she can (and confused by the occasional snippets of English). Anyhow, she figured out it was "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam," so upon my wife's return to the States, it became my task to track down this one on DVD for her birthday. We enjoyed this one quite a bit, and of course we now know those scenes took place in "Italy" but were just filmed in Budapest.
So these movies launched my wife's Bollywood phase. She also picked up some compilation DVD with 50+ wedding songs from all the hit movies.
I think my wife has mentioned this big star to me, but I haven't seen any of his movies.

[Anonymous]

{
I finally did see "Lagaan." Overall I thought it was pretty good, despite my complete lack of knowledge of cricket. I liked the musical numbers -- they were quite impressive visually, but things were a bit loooong for someone with a "Western attention span" like me.
}
A 4 hour movie is definitely long. The trick in watching an Indian movie is that you have to park your brain elsewhere. Never try to analyze the movie too much. Many of these movies have simple story lines with songs, dance and music. Most movies are targetted towards the villagers, who want to have a good time without worrying too much about the story line.
But it is fun watching a movie in India.The audience gets totally involved in the movie.
This actor Rajnikant comes from a South Indian state called Tamil Nadu. As somebody pointed out, he has got a cult following in that state.I think Manoj Night Shyamalam - the director of Sixth Sense,Signs etc is from that state.

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by <slacker>:
I think Manoj Night Shyamalam - the director of Sixth Sense,Signs etc is from that state.

Actually M. Night Shyamalan grew up in Pennsylvania. :roll:

[Anonymous]

{
Actually M. Night Shyamalan grew up in Pennsylvania.
}
That is true. But he was born in Tamil Nadu, and his parents are from there.
I think his first movie(documentary?) Praying with Anger, was shot in Tamil Nadu

[Shubhrajit Chatterjee]

Hi Michael,
You could not find about the film simply beacause ... the film does not exist ...
Actually, it is a part of a trilogy film ... ie three short films rolled into one ...
The name of the trilogy is Teen Kanya ( Three Girls ) - Released in 1961 and the story you are talking about is called Post Master.
This film had a fusion between two masters of the world ... Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Roy ... I don't think either needs any introduction.

Ray was one of the greatest film makers of the world and his USP was the simplicity of the story ... in case you want to have a feel of Satyajit Ray ... definitely watch the following films - of course these are my choices.
1. Pather Panchali - Song of the Road ( Supposed to be one of the best 5 films in the world )
2. Jalsaghar ( The music Room )
3. Charulata ( The Lonely Wife )
4. Nayak ( The Hero )
5. Shantranj Ke Khilari ( The Chess Players )
6. Heerak Rajar Deshe ( Kingdom of Diamonds ) - I don't think this movie can be enjoyed in subtitle as this films dialog are entirely in verse. Still it is worth seeing.
7. Agantuk (The Stranger)

These are just a sample . For complete works of Ray, you can visit ....
http://satyajitray.tripod.com/wfilms.html
http://www.calcuttaweb.com/cinema/satyajit/sray.htm
http://www.geocities.com/cinemaofsatyajitray/

Originally posted by Michael Matola:

Racked my brain, searched the internet for hours, and still couldn't figure out the name of the classic Indian black-and-white movie we talked about.

[Shubhrajit Chatterjee]

One more link on Satyajit Roy ....
http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/detail/celeb/196317
BTW .. I translated "Teen Kanya" as "Three Girls" , but everywhere else it is "Three Daughters"

[Manju Jain]

Originally posted by Michael Matola:
Thread hijack!
Back to my post then
One of Rajnikant's movies 'Muthu' was a big big hit in Japan and he was given the title 'Dancing Maharaja'.
I would like to know if some other examples like his exists in the movie world.

Hey, Jytsika, haven't seen you in a while.
Haven't seen you in cattle drive for a while

I finally did see "Lagaan." Overall I thought it was pretty good, despite my complete lack of knowledge of cricket. I liked the musical numbers -- they were quite impressive visually, but things were a bit loooong for someone with a "Western attention span" like me.
Two things I wondered about because I thought they seemed odd to me, as a very outsider watching this movie. (1) The sister of the British colonial commander dude has this secret romantic interest in the dashing villager who leads the cricket team. Is this kind of standard fare for such movies? It seemed so out-of-place and tangential to the story line. Is this the kind of thing they're likely to throw in, for example, because they know that such a story appeals to a certain viewer demographic? (Teenage girls, grandmothers, etc.)[/QB]
That was quite a clever observation. See, a big budget mainstream commercial movie has to have stuff that appeals to wide range of audiences, national and international( more technical term would be crossover appeal )

(2) The inclusion of the untouchable on the team. This, again, seemed very tangential to me, almost smacking of tokenism because no real issues having to do with untouchables/caste system were addressed. I think twice everyone gets all worked up about the untouchable guy, then the issue gets dropped. Puzzling to me what that was all about.[/QB]
The main focus was on a bunch of villagers overcoming all odds to win a cricket match( alien to them ) against oppressing whites. I dont think the film pretends to deal with issues of untouchability and caste. Just side tracks to show what life was in the 19th century.

Yeah, the music was one of the reasons for its success composed by AR Rahman. Familiar more to Londoners now who composed the musical 'Bombay Dreams'.

[Anonymous]

Majority of the movies in Bollywood(i.e. Hindi Films) are financed by Underworld,chiefs of which sit in Dubai/Karachi/(unknown place) in Atlantic ocean with 'warm' relations with Indian Politicians,Police officers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1072398.stm
Actors/actresses/others 'enjoy' immense popularity,huge black money.Life styles of many supersede to those in Beverly Hills.
As majority of the money involved is black and unaccounted, underworld dons use muscle power to collect money invested in movies by means of gangs they formed.

[Michael Matola]

Originally posted by Shubhrajit Chatterjee:
Hi Michael,
You could not find about the film simply beacause ... the film does not exist ...
Actually, it is a part of a trilogy film ... ie three short films rolled into one ...
The name of the trilogy is Teen Kanya ( Three Girls ) - Released in 1961 and the story you are talking about is called Post Master.

It all makes sense now. Thanks, Shubhrajit, for filling in the missing pieces!

[Michael Ernest]

If breadth of appeal and longevity in movie-making are the criteria, Harrison Ford has been making films for 30 years and is recognized by well more than 70 million people.
Sean Connery comes to mind; he's been at it for 50 years, and it seems only now is his box office appeal for starting to wane.
Robert DeNiro's first famous movie, I think, was 1972. Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford have been around even longer, and are recognized around the world.
Finally: Clint Eastwood. Case closed.
If current fan mania is the criteria, Jackie Chan is easily the biggest draw worldwide.
[ August 14, 2002: Message edited by: Michael Ernest ]

[Jason Menard]

If current fan mania is the criteria, Jackie Chan is easily the biggest draw worldwide.
Yeah, I've also heard that Jackie Chan is by far the most recognized movie star in the world.

[Manju Jain]

The instances cited were very good to prove that star appeal and longevity does exist for select few.
Why I consider the case of Rajnikant different is that each new movie is considered a festival in itself by his fans. They hold a pooja , a sort of prayer service, before the release of his film.

[Anonymous]

{
Why I consider the case of Rajnikant different is that each new movie is considered a festival in itself by his fans. They hold a pooja , a sort of prayer service, before the release of his film.
}
Unemployment in India is always a big problem. How to divert these young minds towards some constructive work is a big question infront of a nation

[Nanhesru Ningyake]

>Just marvelling at his stature or luck or ... , damn I dont even know what to make of it
Yeah, was it luck? Rajnikant was once a BTS bus conductor in Bangalore.
It's not just him. The people of Tamil Nadu state have had a history of worshipping movie stars. The actor M.G. Ramachandran and more recently the actress Khushbu have had temples (with them being the deity) built by their fans.
Ok, maybe that's understandable. What I don't get is, them peoples fascination for Jayalalitha, India's own Imelda Marcos. (See here, and here for a glimpse into her world.)

[Pradip Bhat]

Originally posted by Nanhesru Ningyake:
>Just marvelling at his stature or luck or ... , damn I dont even know what to make of it
Yeah, was it luck? Rajnikant was once a BTS bus conductor in Bangalore.

More info
Rajanikant is originally from Maharashtra(Western State of India)
His Original Name: Shivaji Gaekawad

Ok, maybe that's understandable. What I don't get is, them peoples fascination for Jayalalitha, India's own Imelda Marcos. (See here, and here for a glimpse into her world.)

Thats a typical characteristic of Indian population .This might be the only democracy in the world where people(educated/uneducated) elect the criminals,gangsters,those with huge black money like Jailalitha,Sukhram,Bal Thackeray

[Paavam Payyan]

In my humble opinion, Rajnikanth is in fact a really nice person in real life too. He lead lot of good things and help needful around South India (especially in TN). He is something like a Sean Connery when in social welfare issues.
But its those self-styled. so called 'Rajani fans' who gives him that pathetic 'hero of illiterates' image. That offensive post from some one who claims to be Rajni fan is just what I am talking about! He/She should really sit down and think for a while! Is he not just tarnishing his own beloved idol with such low-class behaviour?
I love Rajanikanth films, but hate to admit that! (because that makes me one of them, like that ugly dude who has posted above.)

[Jim Yingst]

I deleted the anonymous Rajanikanth fan's post Paavam refers to, as it was clearly unfriendly.

[Sameer Jamal]

Surprising you people are talking about the superstar and no one has mentioned the name of Superstar of the millenieum "Amitabh Bachhan"

[Robert Paris]

Easily Jackie Chan. Famous in almost every country in the world, and wanted by billions (not millions) of fans. He's even had people commit (and attempt right in his office in front of his manager) suicide when they learned he was married. That's why you NEVER hear anything about his family anymore.

[Nanhesru Ningyake]

And ofcourse, how can we not mention the name of Dr. Rajkumar, the most popular Kannada film actor ever?
When a bandit kidnapped him two years ago, his fans got frenzied - there was rioting, arson, and a general strike that paralyzed Bangalore for a few days. See news articles 1, 2, 3.

[sim sim]

I suggest everybody to watch 'PUSHPAK'. This is an Indian movie but cannot be associated with one language as it dose not have any dialogs. Everything is conveyed thru expressions. It is really worth watching it.