Thoothukudi custodial deaths: Dear Rajinikanth, you are too late, and it’s your fault

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth is known for his punch dialogues, one of them being: Na late ah vandhaalum, latest ah varuven (even if I arrive late, I step in with the latest version). This seems to aptly describe Rajinikanth’s recent political avatar.

12 days after father Jayaraj and son Bennicks died due to custodial torture in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi, Rajinikanth tweeted, “The custodial deaths of father and son have been condemned by every human. I was shocked to note the way the cops behaved and spoke in front of the magistrate. Justice must be served. They must not be spared.”

Thalaivar (as he is fondly called) tweeted #SathiyamaVidaveKudaathu, which means they must not be spared. As is obvious, the hashtag found its place in the top trends. While every common man raised his voice against this incident, including top personalities from the Kollywood industry, every Rajini fan kept wondering why Thalaivar remained quiet for so long.

In fact, Rajinikanth’s supporters attempted to protect his image by claiming that the star conveyed his condolences through phone to the family of the victims. The family, however, denied this claim ruining Rajini’s image further.

Be it the CAA protests in 2019 or the Sterlite shooting in 2018, Rajinikanth always took time to break his silence. The star was more focused on promoting his movie Darbar than react to the Citizenship Amendment Act. And when trolled, the star took to Twitter then stating that “violence shouldn’t be the solution for problems”.

Many victims of the Sterlite incident were upset that Thalaivar, despite announcing his political entry with spiritual welfare, took his own time to meander into the hospital to inquire about their health. Seething in temper, activists questioned his identity. The irony is that one of Rajini’s famous songs claims that even a child knows who the superstar is.

The Darbar hero stated that there is no room for protests in his courtroom. “If people continue to protest for everything, Tamil Nadu will turn into a graveyard,” he had said.

This political annaatthe (meaning leader of the gang) tweeted the latest statement on police torture case with a picture of his latest look in his upcoming film Annaatthe.

However, is he real Yajaman (leader) material with reactions that come after much delay? One of Rajinikanth’s dialogues in the movie Baasha goes: Naa oru dharava sonnaa nooru dharava sonnaa maadhiri (means: if I say it once, it’s like having said it a hundred times).

Well, it wouldn’t hold true anymore. The revised version would be: Na oru dharava sonnaa, nooru naal ku apparum sonnaa maadhiri (means if I say it once, it’s like saying it after a 100 days).

With his love for the lotus party, which has been evident during many occasions, the question to be asked now is whether the superstar is Kaala (means dark) or Kaavi (saffron)?