Why are distributors blackmailing Rajinikanth?
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Some background – 'Lingaa' is an out-and-out Rajinikanth film and is based along the same lines as the massive super-hit 'Sivaji'. Audiences however were not impressed and the film bombed at the box office. The issue should have ended there.
However, in a sadly anticipated twist, distributors and theater owners, who allegedly suffered losses of 40 crores, have not only asked Rajini for the money back, but have also threatened to go on a hunger strike.
This is blackmail, pure and simple. The line is simple – give us money otherwise we will cause trouble. Isn’t this the same logic that mafia dons use?
Let us make one thing clear – the only reason that Rajinikanth is being asked to pay for distributor losses is because he paid them in 2002 for 'Baba' and in 2008 for 'Kuselan'.
He paid people back for 'Baba' because perhaps at the time he felt it was the moral thing to do – since he was the script writer and the producer as well.
For 'Kuselan', he paid back because he felt he had misled distributors, who thought they were buying the Superstar's film, when in reality he only guest-starred in it.
If he had not done the decent thing then, out of his own free will, he would not be facing this ugly situation today. After all, many films by many actors flop. But why is Rajinikanth always supposed to be financially responsible for his films?
Hits and flops are the nature of the game in cinema. If someone buys distribution rights of a film for Rs one crore and the film then goes on to become a sleeper hit that rakes in Rs 100 crores, will the same distributors give the filmmakers a higher payment, since the results were unexpected? Obviously not. Or if they have ever done such a thing, it has not been made public.
To be clear – Rajinikanth is not the producer of the film. The film was produced by Rockline Productions. The film was not directed by Rajnikanth. It was directed by K. S. Ravikumar. And it was not written by Rajinikanth. It was written by Cheyyar Arun and Pon Kumaran.
Rajinikanth was the lead hero of the film and that’s it. Like every one else, he came, did his job and left with his payment.
Why is Rajinikanth responsible for the film’s fate?
None of the people involved with the film have particularly bad reputations. Rockline Productions has had several blockbusters in the Kannada film industry. Ravikumar as a director, has a resume that goes back to the 90s and is quite decent in the hit/flop ratio. As an example, he was the director of 'Dasavathaaram' (staring Kamal Haasan), 'Aethirree' (with R.Madhavan) and 'Villain' (starring Ajith).
And Rajinikanth is…well…Rajinikanth. The film had everything going for it.
If it flopped, then its mistakes and shortcomings can be analysed and pointed out, just like every film is criticized.
However, it stretches the imagination to expect Rajinikanth to somehow magically be responsible for the fate of the film. Was the film supposed to be some National Award winning classic, and Rajini's influence directly lead to its flop?
The only plausible way in which the actor of a film can be held responsible for the film's fate is if some major scandal by the actor caused the film to be canceled or if the actor personally went to every theater and forced people to NOT watch the film.
Clearly Rajinikanth did neither.
Also, if you look at the issue logically – the fault is the distributors alone. Why would they pay such a high price, just because the film stars Rajinikanth? His films have flopped, sometimes very badly, in the past. And while his name does draw crowds, it is up to the distributor to make an informed choice. The fact is that they blindly paid whatever amount was asked of them. And now they want to blackmail Rajinikanth into bankrolling their foolishness.
I wonder if we, the audience, can be allowed to treat them this way? Let's say we go to a theater of theirs, watch the film and then demand the ticket price back because we didn’t like the film. Will they give us the money back if we go on a hunger strike?
Sadly, this attempt by the distributors to pressure Rajinikanth only proves one thing – If you do something once for the sake of decency, then you will be exploited again and again.