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As 'Vishwaroopam' steadily sank into the quicksand of politics and religious identity, there was one Rajinikanth joke that did the rounds. "If Rajinikanth had done a cameo in the Kamal Haasan movie, there wouldn't have been a problem," it went, on social media.
On Friday, after the mega-budget thriller from Kamal Haasan was banned in Tamil Nadu,
his friend and colleague, superstar Rajinikanth, made the required
guest appearance. He said he was sadness at his friend's plight and
offered a solution, "I request Muslim brothers to discuss with Kamal to
make changes without affecting the storyline," said Rajinikanth - a
statement that balanced his concern for Kamal and for the aggrieved
representatives of Muslim organisations.
The rest of the Tamil film industry remained mum. Sarath Kumar, president of the influential South Indian
Film Artistes' Association or Nadigar Sangam, could not be reached for
comments. Sarath Kumar, MLA and founder of All India Samathuva Makkal
Katchi, remained close to the ruling AIADMK in the last election.
Association secretary Radha Ravi refused to comment on Rajinikanth's
statement or on the issue. Director Ameer, general secretary of the
directors' union, could not be reached as he was busy with his upcoming
movie. S A Chandrasekhar, president of Tamil Film Producers' Council,
also could not be contacted.
According to political observers,
the silence is an indication of a prevalent trend in Tamil Nadu. "When
the government does something, people get scared. It doesn't matter who
is in power. People don't know whom to support as everything becomes
political," says writer Vaasanthi, whose biographical book on chief
minister Jayalalithaa is yet to see light of day. Vaasanthi says though
Rajinikanth's statement of support came a tad late, it is a big gesture.
Writer and political analyst Gnani says Rajini's words carry weight but
he is also known to vacillate. "This is the maximum you can expect from
him and he has played it safe," he says.
Though they can sway
the masses, both Rajini and Kamal have, in recent years, rarely taken an
aggressive political stand. Even in their protests, both actors have
steered clear of taking on the government. Rajini's studious avoidance
of anything critical of the government wouldn't have gone unnoticed by
others in the industry. And that, to a large extent, explains the
continuing silence.
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