Chennai: Worried about failing to do justice to M. Karunanidhi’s dialogues for a film, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth once shared his fears with the former, who then chose to withdraw from the project. He still feels guilty for having missed an opportunity to work with Kalaignar.
This, and several such nuggets, are a part of an article Rajini (as the actor is fondly known) wrote in Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) mouthpiece Murasoli about the former Tamil Nadu chief minister and writer who wrote everything from screenplays, to poems, to novels. The article, published on 4 October, is a part of a series written by eminent personalities on Karunanidhi, as part of his centenary birth year celebrations.
‘I had a special place in Kalaignar’s heart’ begins with Rajini crediting Karunanidhi with kickstarting the acting careers of both M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and Sivaji Ganesan with his writing. Karunanidhi was popularly known as ‘Kalaignar’, or the artist.
Recalling his first chance encounter with Kalaignar in 1977, the superstar wrote about spotting a car behind him while driving one day in Chennai. Then he saw a familiar face sporting dark glasses, and realised it was Karunanidhi. “I moved to the left, giving way. Karunanidhi smiled warmly at me and waved as he overtook my car. That was the first time I saw him [in person].”
Praising the veteran leader, Rajini wrote, “He overcame all the pains, embarrassments, disappointments, betrayals…penned articles, dialogues in movies, did state tours, gave stage speeches. Even though he was not in power for 13 years, he led the party single-handedly and came back to power. It was a great revolution.”
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Rajini & Kalaignar
According to the article, in 1980, Rajini was supposed to act in a film to be produced by one of Karunanidhi’s friends. A few days before the shooting began, the producer shared with him the “good news” that Karunanidhi had agreed to write the dialogues.
Back then, since Rajini was struggling to speak simple Tamil (which was not his mother tongue), he was worried he would not be able to deliver Kalaignar’s polished dialogues with ease. He wrote, “I thought I will have to return to Karnataka and start selling bus tickets again,” referring to his days as a bus conductor in Bengaluru.
Rajinikanth’s journey in cinema is intertwined with the political landscape of Tamil Nadu, where figures like Kalaignar have played pivotal roles in shaping the industry and its narratives.
The actor then visited Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence and shared his concern. Despite Kalaignar’s assurances that the dialogues would be written to fit his style, Rajini said he was still apprehensive.
At which point, he wrote, Kalaignar withdrew from the project in a manner that didn’t hurt anyone, including the producer. “My appreciation and respect for him increased after the incident,” wrote Rajini, adding he still felt guilty for not having worked with Kalaignar.
About the split in the DMK back in 1972 (which saw MGR walk out and form the AIADMK), Rajini wrote that Karunanidhi was someone who took decisions after consulting multiple people. The decision to remove MGR might have also been taken after consulting with multiple people, he added.
Citing an audio recording of 1972, Rajini wrote that a friend had shared a tape, purportedly carrying MGR’s conversation with another person, in which the former was allegedly heard saying that it was too late to fix things with Kalaignar and that his supporters had already started protesting for him, the article said.
“May Kalaignar’s fame live long,” Rajini signed off.
A year after the demise of AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa, Rajini had announced his entry into politics in December 2017. Many including Karunanidhi’s son M.K. Alagiri and actor Kamal Haasan expressed their support for him. However, in December 2020, months before the 2021 state assembly polls, the actor said he would not enter electoral politics, citing health issues.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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