Rajadhi Raja

Rajadhi Raja is the quintessial Rajni film. Light-hearted, clean, non-violent and yet entertaining, it is packed with all the elements - good clean comedy, great songs, fights and light sentiments - that people have come to expect from a Rajni movie. It was Rajni's 125th film and at the time it was released, the term 'Rajni movie' was already a bonafide genre and the release of a Rajni movie was an event. But it was also a simpler time when the hype didn't threaten to overwhelm the movie itself and the expectations about the movie were not impossibly high. Those expectations it met fully, becoming a big hit.

Raja(Rajnikanth) has just returned from the US and finds his father dead, apparently from a fall after drinking too much. Suspecting his dad's second wife(Y.Vijaya) and her brother(Radharavi) of murdering his dad, Raja asks his friend Sethu(Janakaraj) to impersonate Raja while he himself enters the household as a worker. But the villains, who uncover the truth, kill Sethu also and place the blame on Raja. Raja goes on the run and runs into Chinnarasu(Rajnikanth), who resembles him. Chinnarasu is looking for some money to wed his uncle's daughter(Nadhiya) and Raja requests him to take his place in jail while he unmasks the villains.

Rajadhi Raja is a film where everything, barring Rajni and Ilaiyaraja's music, has aged or was silly to begin with. Its story is simplistic (an age-old revenge tale solved by the simple act of recording the villains' confessions), its screenplay is amateurish and completely devoid of logic(the movie's climax has Rajni crashing into the hanging room in a jail!), the villains are caricatures(comedians one moment, bad guys the next) and technical aspects are shoddy(in the climactic car chase, you can not only see the stuntman but you can actually see him wearing a helmet in the car that is supposedly being driven by a helmet-less Rajni!). But inspite of all this, if the movie works great as a full-length entertainer, it is only because of Rajni. Rajadhi Raja is truly a one-man show and its entertainment value and blockbuster status simply reinforce Rajni's screen presence, charisma and unequaled ability to single-handedly carry a movie on his shoulders.

Ever since Thambikku Endha Ooru, the movie that gave him the template for his roles that he has followed to this day and perfected to an art, Rajni has incorporated both action and comedy into his character. Every film(barring a rare entry like Baasha) has seen him clown around either with or without a comedian in one scene, before delivering punch lines and pummelling the villains in the next. Rajadhi Raja splits up the two parts of his comedy/action persona into two separate characters. So we have Raja, to deal with the villains and Chinnarasu, to make us laugh. This gives us more of Rajni and helps avoid the compartmentalized feeling that dogs those other characters - and movies - where Rajni plays both action hero and comedian.

The film is intended as a showcase for Rajni and little more. The story is real simple and there are no surprises or shocks. Since we - and Rajni - know who the villains are, there is no real suspense or tension either. The characters of the magician and 'Vaalpaarai' Varadhan are simply more chances for Rajni to play dress-up.

In recent times, the role of Chinnarasu is probably the closest Rajni has come to a full-fledged comedy role and his performance showcases his flair for comedy. The innocence and naievete of the character are endearing and he has us in splits whenever he is onscreen. The scene where he requests a landowner for a job and the one where he has to handle both Radha and Nadiya when they come to see him in jail are a couple of the standouts. If Chinnarasu is there to make us laugh, Raja is there to make us clap and cheer. It is the more traditional Rajni role with fights and whistle-eliciting lines like the classic Oru mottai.... Needless to say, he carries it off with elan. Radha, in some particularly weird dresses in the song sequences, and Nadiya, in her last role as heroine before her marriage, are along for the ride. Radha has pretty much nothing to do other than saying a few lines that serve as lead-ins to songs while Nadiya shows some fire when confronting her dad or Anandraj. Radharavi mixes villainy and comedy in his usual style.

I think the film was Ilaiyaraja's home production and he delivers a stellar soundtrack with all hits and no misses. Malayaala Karaiyoram... is a soft, melodious number that takes the place of the now-familiar introduction numbers. Meenamma Meenamma... and Vaa Vaa... are soft numbers also. Mama Un PoNNa Kodu... is a fun number with some spirited steps from Rajni while Enkitta Modhaadhe... could well be an anthem for Rajni fans considering how well it sings his praises.

Rajadhi Raja is a film that shows us that Rajni is truly Tamil cinema's rajadhi raja!