Favorite Scenes/Songs from THALAIVAR Rajini films #3

[Plum]

Post his loss of arm, kALi is not exactly a changed man. He can still beat the crap out of azhagesan and retain the awe in which his chamchas hold him. However, you can sense a little vulnerability, helplessness now. Gone is the straight talking, wysiwyg kALi. Now, he has a measured cunning added - the way he plays the Engineeer from the time the latter asks for his sister's hand to the well-planned, paced delivery of the command to azhagesan to marry his sister. The Engineer knows he is a beaten man.

In a way, this kALi rolls back to Vijayan in Udhiri pUkkAL. Or, the other way around possibly. He has his preferences, and he will let his hate determine his choices and have his way. The village gathering against the tyrant's diktat seems to be the climax in both cases but fortunately for kALi, he has two women playing his conscience - while Rajni and Shoba walk away with the acting honours, Fatafat Jayalakshmi sparkles as Manga, and it is she who sets the events in motion and ensures that kALi doesnt meet the same fate as the correspondent in UP. She is fearless, stands up to him and mobilises the village against him, while not completely puncturing his aura. Eventually, the two women combined manage to stoke his ego, as well as get the "right thing" done.

Truly, this is a landmark movie for TFI. Fortunate to have viewed it at different stages of my life.

[groucho070]

Plum, good points. Rajini can do what Amitabh the star can do in masala films. Amit-ji can never do what Rajini did back then purely as an actor in strongly scripted films. But now that Amit is doing so-called "classy" films, and if Rajini were to do the same, I am sure Rajini will eat AB for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, supper and occasional trip to kitchen after bedtime.

But looking at his track record of late, can he (Rajini) pull it off?

[Plum]

grouch, it is more a question of "does he want to pull it off".

Amit-ji, apart from artistic needs, had a dire financial need to accept all and sundry roles, including jatti viLambarams, in his post-90's avatar. 40 padathula varushathukku avar iruppAr. adhula 4 critically acclaimed role aayidum. ipdi thAn avarOda post 90's career Odichu. What I have always felt is that, all the 40 roles are similar in one way or the otehr - that is, to say, they are more or less Amitabh, the patriarch. A high-hamming, stiff, at times Antony Gonsalves comic persona. Very limited range.

Rajni doesnt really have anything other than artistic need. So, the question is does he want to do what Amit-ji did?
Besides, already Kamalukku script ezhudha AL illAma thiNdAdikittirukkOm. Rajinikku yaaru ezhudhuvA?

[kid-glove]

Re.kALi NT (at any age) ? Of course, Rajini

Ordinary script could be enhanced by good acting. Good script could turn shoddy when badly enacted (all Myshkin films) As much as I like Raj kiran, imagine Rajni in Thavamai Thavamirundhu?

[kid-glove]

While I rate Amitabh highly, I admit some currency could be found in some of these points. Another thing abt 70's Amitabh is better scriptwriting and direction of hindi masala cinema, as against the likes who remade them in Tamil? Although our 'new wave' with Mahendran, KB, Balu Mahendra, BR, etc and films like Pasi, Aval appadithaan, etc could/should be argued to be of richer quality than Bachchan's cinema of that time !

[Plum]

Re.kALi NT (at any age)

ada, idhellAm solli dhAn theriyaNumA? Ofcourse, NT is who Rajni channels here - infact, part of my appreciation loops back to that fact

At any age, may be not. I'd have loved to see the 60's Sivaji do muLLum malarum.

[groucho070]

Besides, already Kamalukku script ezhudha AL illAma thiNdAdikittirukkOm. Rajinikku yaaru ezhudhuvA?

I think Kamal is a more difficult case here. Avare ezhuthunathan undu. Expectation level is completely different here.

Rajini-kku, Thilak sonna mathiri, can be used to enhance ordinary script. Thavamay Thavamirunthu would be owesome. Really. Yes, Raj Kiran's roles are prime candidate, they need that extra caged up energy that Rajini has, alongside giving the roles the nobility. No fault of Raj Kiran, but I thought his roles like in Nandha need that extra oomph!

[Plum]

Ditto. And Rajkiran need not worry about his buvvA - he can do roles like the one he did with Lawrence(muni?)
Rajni as Ajith's father in Kireedom - uh, mouth watering. Yeah, enhancing ordinary scripts can be one use Rajini is put to.*

Nanda - yes, awesome think experiment grouch.
And I really think someone should do Nishabdh with him in tamil, irrespective of the movie's merits.
*- note thilakan did awesome in that role but obviously, the writing was diluted in tamil so...

[kid-glove]

Rajini in that Nanda role Awe-

[groucho070]

Nanda - yes, awesome think experiment grouch.

If not mistaken Bala had NT in mind for that role, hence the thought connection