Rajinikanth is one of the most celebrated stars not only in the Tamil industry but also across all of India. In the southern states, he is often worshipped like a god by the people. Although he has now turned 75, still the filmmakers try to make use of Rajini’s mass appeal by making films with him as an action hero. The films portray him as a young hero who is shown romancing with women, beating hundreds of goons alone etc. (while he is wearing a wig to hide his bald appearance). But is this a correct maneuver, as it seems quite evident, the makers are just exploiting the influence of the actor to make money. But the films that he is doing in this span do not seem to be of much calibre.
This year, Lal Salaam was released in February and it received really bad critique from audiences as well as critics. And now Rajini is upcoming with Vettaiyan this October. Rajini has long surpassed the pinnacle of his life as an action hero. Now, the makers do all that is possible to make the actor young, energetic and heroic. The worst part is, a 75-year-old man is shown romancing with even a third his age. No matter how hard they try, the actor simply cannot convince the people into believing him as an action hero.
Jailer, released in 2023, was a movie that broke this trend into providing Rajini the role of an elderly person. The film did really great in the box office and now the sequel of the movie is due for its release. The movie was about a father-son duo and their conflict between an antique idol smuggler. But still the actor fails to convince himself as an action hero, when there is a hoard of potential action stars in the same industry.
Though, the makers are able to pull off some money by using the stardom of Rajinikanth. But the movies still suffer badly due to focus on the actor’s star appeal and not on the content delivered. Also the anachronism with the actor’s and the character’s age difference which further makes the role uninteresting.