This is from a fanatic who watched his star’s movie the second time the second week

The first show on the first day might have been eccentric to a foreigner. But for those who have grown in a city in which every third person thinks he is the superstar’s greatest fan, the celebration was nothing less than a ‘déjà vu-ed’ déjà vu. It would have been a big disgrace had it not been so. The early morning sun had visitors it’s never seen before. Maybe, they never slept to wake up. The cows had to start work early, as its milk had to be processed sooner to be delivered at the cinema halls. The first show as early as 5 a.m., but I am sure every soul there wished it started even earlier. One fan screamed into the microphones carried by the frantic paparazzi, “We have waited for about 2 ½ years. We can’t wait any more’.

As I said, this article is about a fanatic who watched ‘Endhiran – the Robot’, the second time the second week. The time around in a much better cinema hall (seemingly), he expected a good crowd. And yes, he got what he expected, though a very a solemn one (Imagine, the audience clap for the superstar’s entry scene. Isn’t that atrocious?). The multiplex owners are fanatics as well. All screens, all shows, ran only one movie. And guess what, all shows for the whole two weeks were sold out. I was glad that this time I will watch the movie, not just the Superstar. After having heard and read so much, I wanted to see what Shankar had actually created from what the late writer Sujatha had written. I wanted to see how the whopping 150-crore was spent. I got a good cozy seat, from where Rajni looked him and Aishwariya seemed her (yes, for a Superstar fan, anyone other than his idol would only seem to on screen, even if it’s the beauty queen).

The movie started with the letters ‘S U P E R S T A R…..’ beaming on the screen one by one. Nowadays it does not come with the usual Basha BGM. Thalaivar, as he is fondly called, is cool now (remember, the repatriate software professional in Shivaji – the Boss). Then slowly a voice echoed, “Puthiya manitha….’, certainly marking the birth of a new era.

This time, Rajni is a scientist - Artificial Intelligence is his field, Robot is his work. The first scene, accompanied by the effervescent voice of SPB, he is fitting the chassis of the Robot to create a trim and handsome Rajni-like android. The robot, walks and walks like Rajni, speaks and speaks like Rajni and….nope, even an ardent fan like me would not be able to say the robot dances like Rajni. The metallic Rajni is an amazing adaptation, a class-act done effortlessly. When I say effortlessly, I mean the ‘endhiran’ should not be acting at all. He is just a machine, and does a machine act? Now, isn’t that effortless!!!

However, to the amazement of some and amusement of others, the Robot, named Chitti, in the movie falls in love. No, it’s not because of Aishwarya. It’s simply because she is the first to kiss him after he gets his hormones activated. So do they mean to say, a kiss does it to a machine as well? Or was it because Chitti is made to read all those books on feelings? Certainly not! It’s about hormones folks - just hormones. And this is a sci-fi movie. Science fiction is an individual’s imagination, which may or may not be accepted. And why would the creator feed in hormones to a robot? Simply because the magnetic (not flying) robot does not know that life is much more than just living (How many of us actually know that? – that’s another blog to )

Now, who is Aishwarya? She is a medical student and Professor Rajni’s girl friend. The confrontation between Chitti and Vaseegaran is one of the best scenes of the movie. ARR’s BGM blends superbly with the scene when Chitti turns and walks back disappointed after Aishwarya tells him he is just a machine and she can’t love a machine. That was yet another effortless scene – a robot showing disappointment!!

Shankar-ism was evident in a few scenes. Chitti talking to the mosquitoes was one such scene, I thought. Though some might feel it was a bit overboard, but when compared to what the villainous robot would do later in the movie for Sana (Aishwarya), it did require Chitti to be cute yet extreme.

Oh, the trumpet sound is awesome. And that introduces what? Chitti - the villain. Now that’s not a robot (will call it just Robo for the identity) at all. That’s Rajni at his best. When he says ‘Black sheep……’ and ‘epdi ipdi maarite Sana….’, it really is Rajni at his best. Yet, we never realize on screen that a robot was made to laugh. Yep, it just did, with proper stress and intonation. Now was that also fed into his ‘neural schema’? Maybe, should have been an add-on software with the ‘red-chip’ inserted to make Chitti – the destructor, ala, Robo.

‘Arima Arima….’ - some felt was unnecessary. But I feel it deserves to be in the movie, just for the splendid music and extraordinary visual display. Robo was the king, and that’s what was shown in that song.

What better treat could a Rajni fan get than a screen full of his idol. And when his replicas combine into a giant robot (something which runs far slower than the single Chitti!!), it just makes us wonder if we really were watching an Indian film.

How can I ever miss the dismantling scene? Now, how did Shankar visualize making that scene? I am sure it was just an idea very well implemented by some foreign technicians. For a layman it is just a scene. For an actor it is just an instruction. For the creator, it is a dream-come-true. Not all that we dream happen, but that does not mean they do not happen at all isn’t it? I think that’s what ‘Endhiran’ is all about - a wild dream-come-true and shown to the world to wonder.

On reading my blog again, I see I had started like a true Rajni fan and then transformed into someone who loved the movie he saw. That is what happens to everyone on watching the movie. All Rajni fans become ‘Endhiran’ lovers in the end. Yet, some would be disappointed that they could not see a typical Rajni movie, but it’s only that. Their Superstar proved it yet again why he was, is and always will be the top most.

And I could write so much only because I saw the movie the second time, with an audience who just clapped. But, nothing like watching Thalaivar the first show the first day.