Rajni Forever: Kochadaiyaan

Rajni Forever

Saumesh Thimbath

While I was talking to a friend about Rajnikanth's upcoming film Kochadaiyaan and the news that the Superstar plans quitting acting after the release of the movie, we were thinking about a post-Rajnikanth scenario. Considering the actor's huge fan-following, which keeps increasing every day, thanks to lungi dances and homage videos, the entertainment industry is not going to get enough of Rajnikanth in his lifetime. That was when we hit on the possibility that Rajni movies would still be released even when the star and everybody who reads this will be long dead and gone. Or atleast we should not write off such a possibility, as recent strides in movie making technology, like performance capture and animation, have the potential to make that a reality. Performance capture, which uses the sampling of subtle movements of actors, is a step ahead of 3D animation as the movements of the onscreen digitally created character is smoother and life-like.

Given the growing craze over Rajnikanth, which the business houses have not-so-small contribution in revving up, movies starring but not acted by him might be a common thing in the future.

Tamil Movies to watch out for in 2014

Tamil Movies Bucket List - 2014

Saumesh Thimbath

Much has been told about Jilla and Veeram, even in this space, so without wasting more of anybody's time, let's move to the next big releases that are expected this year. 

Kochadaiiyaan – Rajni's next. Directed by Rajnikanth's daughter Soundarya, the production of the movie started some time ago and was expected to hit the screens on the superstar's birthday last month.

It is the first movie made in India using the motion capture technology seen in Avatar and The Adventures of Tintin. Rajnikanth plays three characters in the movie. The rumors that the actor might say goodbye to acting after the movie also stands in good stead for it.

Viswaroopam 2 – After the controversial Viswaroopam, Kamal Hassan holsters up his guns for a second part. The shooting for many scenes in the movie was already done along with Viswaroopam and the sequel would give a fitting end to the story that began in the first. Nobody knows what to expect from the film as nobody quite understands what goes on inside the Ulaganayagan's head.

I – I is Shanker's next starring Vikram and Amy Jackson in the lead. According to reports it is a science fiction romantic thriller. Vikram has worked hard on his physique and Shanker on the visual effects. The visual and graphic works of the movie is underway at Weta Studios, New Zealand, the studio owned by the director of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson. Nothing much about the movie has been made public and this strategy is paying off. All the names mentioned here is enough promotion to garner a superb opening and make it a blockbuster. That I would be a hit is a foregone conclusion.

Muni 3: Ganga – Muni, a hororr movie with generous doses of cheesy humour and unrestrained dance numbers, was a B-class theatre phenomenon when it was released in 2007. Raghava Lawrence, the director who is also the lead actor and choreographer, followed it up with Kanchana in 2011, which was an even bigger hit. Lawrence returns with the third installment this year and we see a freaky franchisee in the making.

Apart from these, there are a few other movie which is still in the pre-production stages. An Ajith-Gautam Menon project is on the anvil, so is a Vijay-Murugadoss film. Surya, the star who is making a steady rise to super stardom, would be seen in movies directed by Venkat Prabhu and Lingusamy. The icing on the cake? That there would be movies directed by newcomers which would take us by surprise as has been the case in the past few years.

Happy Birthday Rajnikanth: Style turns 64

Saumesh Thimbath

Van Damme did an epic split for demonstrating the fineness of Volvo truck steering and it became viral making it one of the most popular videos on YouTube. Many people tried spoofs on it and most was drab to the same degree Van Damme's was breathtaking. Somewhere in Bangalore, a few guys sat and made an animated video tiled 'Thalaivar Epic Split', which garnered more than three lakh views in 3 days, which is no ordinary feat. What made it click? It sounds pretty dumb to even ask that question. Rajnikanth. Style Mannan.Thalaivar. Rajni. Superstar. He goes by many names, but one unique style that even style is proud of. And today, 12 December 2013, Rajni celebrates his 64^th birthday. While waiting with bated breaths for 'Kochadaiiyaan', we offer our birthday wishes to the 'god of style.'