Rajinikanth Coming Soon

Superstar Rajinikanth, Thala­ iva (literally: leader) to the legions of his fans, turns 70 on December 12. Much is being made of the political timing of his latest announcement that his much-awaited political debut, frozen now for a while in ‘Coming Soon’ mode, is indeed, finally, coming soon.

- Amarnath K. Menon

On New Year’s eve, he says. There’s barely four months left for the assembly election, but in cryptic tweets that seem like teasers ahead of a film release, he promises to usher in sweeping change.

It’s not impossible, though, that the superstar felt his advancing age while tweeting ‘it’s now or never…’ though the tweet (in Tamil) is couched in grand promises and delicious ambivalence. ‘We will certainly win the assembly polls, and give the people corruption-free, transparent, secular and spiritual politics. A miracle and wonder will definitely happen,” he tweeted. For nearly three years now, Rajini has kept his fans on edge, made moves to suggest the plunge was imminent and then pulled back. He has exhorted the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM) fan clubs to be ready for the big day. He even had them grouped into (poll) booth committees, ostensibly to ensure that the support base converts, at the right time, into votes.

What has stopped him from launching his party, refusing to even officially name it despite the demands of fans? Why wouldn’t he attempt an NTR (N.T. Rama Rao), the yesteryear actor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, who launched the Telugu Desam Party and stormed to power in 1983?