TALK. Burdens of Superstardom: Looking Back at Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi

Synopsis

This talk looks back at the careers of Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi to draw attention to the characteristics, limitations and possibilities of southern superstardom. Rajinikanth and his Telugu counterpart Chiranjeevi began their careers in Chennai (then known as Madras) in the mid-to-late 1970s. Their early films were off-beat and were markedly different from the vehicles of the older stars of that period. Within a decade, they were widely recognized by their respective industries to have inherited the mantles of MG Ramachandran and NT Rama Rao respectively. As they grew in stature, they attempted to build parallel careers in Hindi but with limited success. By the turn of the century, they exemplified a model of stardom that had few parallels beyond South India. Among other things, the Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi variant of superstardom comes with a foray into politics. In the more recent past, Rajinikanth moved on from being a Tamil superstar to a pan-Indian one while Chiranjeevi struggles to remain relevant even in the Telugu industry. But the similarities between them are undeniable: every once in a while, Rajinikanth too delivers a critical and commercial disaster. What do we make of southern superstardom and its remarkable ability to survive?

The talk will be delivered by Prof. S.V. Srinivas.

Prof. S. V. Srinivas teaches courses in literature and media at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. His research focuses on the intersections between moving images, entertainment industries, and mass politics in India. Consumers of films and media forms have been an important focus of his research. He has two books on Telugu cinema: Megastar: Chiranjeevi and Telugu Cinema after NT Rama Rao (Oxford University Press, 2009) and Politics as Performance: A Social History of the Telugu Cinema (Permanent Black, 2013). He has also published articles on the reception of Rajinikanth's films in Japan, and his contribution to the emergence of South Indian blockbusters.