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[Stuart]

Pranams, Greetings and Best Birthday wishes to you,

Sir! I earnestly wish you many many more happy returns of the day! On this day, through this open letter, I would like to share some of my thoughts here.


You are humane: Your life has all along been a source of inspiration to many not only in the field of cinema, but also to many from all other walks of life. In these 61 eventful years of your existence, you have lived and undergone all that life had to offer. Abject poverty, struggles, failures, rejections, sufferings, tantrums were the order of your early years in Tamil Cinema that had wrecked you physically and emotionally. About those turbulent years of your life, a film critic was reported to have commented “That was a wild Rajini who valued wine, drugs and women more than anything else”. Perhaps, your marriage changed it all and enabled you reform yourself and brought you to the iconic status, what you are for a couple of decades now. Thank GOD! True to your nature, you had tackled all these unfavourable circumstances well and passed out of those turbulent times in style. As the years passed, through your sheer determination, dedication, hard work and steely will, you had steadily climbed the ladder of fame and success and reached the pinnacles, leaving far behind many of your seniors and veterans. You are a living monument demonstrating, where an individual can reach with the qualities of hard work, devotion, dedication mixed with some strokes of good luck, and of course with the help of destiny.

But, in spite of all the unparalleled fame, riches and the influence you had acquired through your sheer hard work, you were remarkably successful in blocking these reach your head and you continue to be as simple and down to earth as before. While on screen performances had endeared you to millions world over, your humane qualities of simplicity, down to earth attitude earned you, the love and affection of quite a few millions more.


You are Egoless: Eminent Tamil film Lyricist Vali once commented that you are a man who dare say “YOU GO”, to ego. Even your worst critics would silently vouch for that humane quality imbibed in your ethics. Vali also equated you to the combination of the legends of Tamil Cinema M G Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan, saying, Rajinikant= MGR+Sivaji! But, I would go further a step forward and equate you thus: Rajinikant>MGR + Sivaji +X, where X can be anybody in the field of cinema! MGR commanded a huge fan following among the working class and from other lower strata of the society and Sivaji’s fan following was among the elite and the upper classes. But your umpteen fan clubs comprise coolies to Computer Engineers, Safaiwalas to Software professionals, Mechanics to Metallurgists, Chaprasis to Chief Executives, Students to Self-employed, Engineers to Entrepreneurs, the poor and the rich alike as members! Your wife, Lata Rajinikant had said in an interview...” That public image and fame do not affect him as a person. In fact, the more his fans laud him to the skies the more he becomes to become more and more humble. He keeps saying it is all God's grace. He accepts the adulation, he is touched by the love, and he keeps saying that there is some purpose behind it, that there is something beyond all this. So he is constantly looking for that something, within him, and without."

I am overawed, when I learn that you have the largest number of “Fan Clubs” in the world, you are the second highest paid actor in Asia, your every film breaks all earlier Box office records etc. But more so, when I learn that even today, you are always among the first to reach your work place, you are still as obedient to the Directors and Producers as ever before, you treat all including the light boys, lowly paid assistants and workers with genuine love, concern and kindness, utterly lacking in many of the film stars who are far lower to your iconic status.


You are ever Gracious: Your benign quality of not considering even your critics (the unkind ones included) as your enemies is worthy of appreciation and emulation. For instance, in the case of decades old Cauvery River water dispute between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, when the political outfits on both sides were whipping up emotions in the public mind in pursuit of their selfish motive, the Tamil Cinema world marched to Neyveli Lignite Corporation demanding stoppage of supplying Electric Power to the state of Karnataka. Then, you demonstrated the uncommon sagacity and moral courage and refused to be a part of that march, but sat in a fast to express your protest against the Karnataka Government against its defiance of Supreme Court Orders. Your refusal to treat Karnataka as an enemy had invited the illogical wrath of a few self styled intellectuals that included an ex-director of Tamil Cinema, who described you as a “poisonous tree”! Many criticized you of having selfish commercial motives. Your replies to them were gentlemanly and centred around the necessity of continued good neighbourly relations between the people belonging to both states and essential Nationalism. Now the same kind of madness is being enacted by the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the issue of Mulla Periar dam.
  Sad


You are not a (naturally wily) politician: Many say, “Politics is a dirty game and that of scoundrels. But, I do not consider so. Though you were never in serious politics, but at least once, you were instrumental in booting out a corrupt and arrogant government in the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu. But it’s the decades old curse on the people of Tamil Nadu that only a more corrupt government succeeds an incumbent corrupt government. That’s not the point of issue here. Your cinematic style, but well intentioned statements on a couple of issues that created few controversies outlined your lack of sense of political diplomacy and oft-required deceitful tact in matters of politics. Cinema and Politics are entirely different ball games. You must forever remain vigilant, failing which the wily politicians would not miss a single opportunity to use you as a pawn in their political manoeuvres. May be, it’s little too late for you to be too actively involved in the murky world of Tamil Nadu’s dirty politics mainly orchestrated by obscurantist, corrupt and casteist outfits driven by obnoxious ideologies based on regionalism, sub-regionalism, linguistic chauvinism and ill-conceived notions of racism of the meanest kind. Tamil Nadu, once a land of Rishis, Siddhas, Philosophers, Mighty and benevolent Kings, Eminent Scholars, Intellectuals, Poets, Artists and Artisans had lost most of its sheen under the onslaught of these rascally politicians and fake social reformers of the recent past and the present. I recollect once what you said. “Even GOD can’t save Tamil Nadu, if the then government is not removed”! But, as a firm believer in GOD, I believe GOD and the cosmic forces would one day intervene decisively and Tamil Nadu, which is eternally an inseparable part of the Divine nation India, would for sure regain all its lost glory.


Work and Spiritualism: In my opinion, you had come so far and achieved many feats in your profession in the past 30+ years. Naturally, you must now feel tired and exhausted. As you are a spiritually inclined person, I feel it’s the right time to indulge more and more spiritualism and less and less in the glamour world of cinema. It is a fact that you had considerably reduced your celluloid appearances and unfortunately you had serious health problems recently. Your years of continuous hard work associated with compulsive commercial pressures  have taken a heavy toll on your health. Thousands had observed many penances and prayed on your behalf and those prayers enabled your speedy recovery from the critical stages and you are still in the process of recoupment. I join the millions offering most sincere prayers for the complete restoration of your health.

It is heartening to know that you and your family are engaged in many charitable works especially in the field of education, supporting 100+ students from each district of Tamil Nadu every year and conducting 25 free marriages every year in the posh ‘Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam” owned by you. I learn that you had already willed the income of the above Marriage Hall to a charitable trust for social welfare activities. May GOD give you the strength and support to keep serving the poor and needy! You can surely visualize GOD in the smile of the poor and the underprivileged!


Though, I am your ardent admirer, I am not a cine goer! Your film “Sivaji” was the last film I saw about three years ago and except that I have not been to a theatre for more than 12 years now. I have not yet seen your most recent film “Endhiran” / “Robot”! For many years now, on this day (December 12), I send the following modified nursery rhyme to many of my friends!

“Twinkle Twinkle Superstar!

How we wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high!

Like a diamond in the sky!"

Once again, Best wishes on your Birthday, Sir! Best wishes to millions of your fans on this occasion! My special prayers for your good health!

With lots of love, affection and good will,
Your forever fan,
Sd/-
(Rajasekhar Iyer)


Who shares domestic life, by household virtues graced,
Shall, mid the Gods, in heaven who dwell, be placed.

He who on earth has lived in the conjugal state as he should live, will be placed among the Gods who dwell in heaven.