Is Amitabh Bachchan being used as a stepping stone to give height to Rajinikanth's 'Thalaivaa 170'?

The fight is not about stardom between North and South, it is about the distribution of the films. Bollywood films are screened all over India whereas South's films have been limited to an area only. This dilemma has been in the minds of the stars of the South for a long period. But a change has taken place in the last few years. The films of the stars of the South have been successful in getting Pan India status. Films like 'Pushpa 2' and 'RRR' have achieved success across the country, making the entire Tollywood happy. South now wants to rule the territory of the entire country and this is possible only if their stars move forward in step with the Mumbai stars. Here, in a few years, this experiment seems to be working. Be it the Bollywood film Shahrukh Khan's 'Jawaan' which had southern stars (Nayantara, Vijay Sethupathi, Yogi, and Priyamani), or the southern film Rajamouli 'RRR' (which had Bollywood stars Ajay Devgan, and Alia Bhatt), the experiment was successful. Both films have been liked all over the country and even on the international level. Now going one step further... 'Thalaivaa 170' is being made to declare South superstar Rajinikanth as the supreme star of entire India in which the inclusion of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is not just a coincidence, but a well thought out plan.

Imagine, 33 years ago, Rajinikanth had worked with Amitabh Bachchan in Mukul Anand's film 'Hum' (1991). 'Hum' was the story of three brothers and the younger brother was played by Govinda. In those days, Rajini was trying to get work in Bollywood, and in 'Hum' he was playing the role of the middle brother (Kumar). Both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan had gone back to the South after doing some films in Bollywood in those days. There is no need to say that Rajinikanth is a charismatic star of the South film industry, whose previous film 'Jailor' has given record-making business. It is worth noting that despite being released all over India, Rajini's film has been weak in North India. Now Rajinikanth needs a film that will get huge cutouts of him installed outside theaters across India on the lines of South.

It is about Rajinikanth, hence if anyone stands ahead in the popularity contest, it is Amitabh Bachchan only. Rajini is 72 years old, he is the God of cinema in South India. But when there is a storm in the whole of India, it is in the name of Amitabh Bachchan. Rajini’s new film is 'Thalaivaa 170'. "Thalaivaa" means great, best. In the film, Thalaivar is Rajinikanth and not Amitabh. This is Rajinikanth's 170th film. Obviously, after the success of 'Jailor', Rajini is leaving no stone unturned in the film to give a meaningful shape to his Thalaivaa address. The actors in this film have been selected selectively. The film was announced in March and the shooting started in October. Rajini and Amitabh have reunited on the shooting set after 33 years. Both the stars have recited ballads in each other's honor. Rajini has called Big B her mentor on the 'X' account and Bachchan has addressed Rajini as 'Sir' on his personal blog.

The director of 'Thalaivaa 170' is T.J. Gyanvel, who has directed a very successful South film 'Jaya bhim'. The film is being produced by Lyca. Apart from Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan, ‘Pushpa’ fame Fahadh Faasil, Rana Duggbatti, Vijayan, Ritika Singh, and Manju Warrior will also be seen in the film. Rajinikanth's role in the film is as Thalaivaa. Amitabh Bachchan's role, as seen from his costume, is of a strange type. Obviously, Bachchan's role in 'Thalaivaa' is only of narrative relations. In the film, both the superstars of North and South are in front of the camera. After 33 years, Rajini and Big B praise each other in front of the camera. Rajini has said that he is working with his mentor Amitabh Bachchan in 'Thalaivaa 170', his heart is beating with happiness.

However, experts say that now that 81-year-old Amitabh has started appearing in supporting roles with other stars, why did Rajinikanth remember him? Why did he not remember his mentor in the last 33 years then Rajinikanth would have had to give a bigger role to Amitabh than himself. Obviously, after so many years, Amitabh Bachchan is being used as a stepping stone to give rise to South's Thalaivaa!!

-Sharad Rai