Post Traumatic Syndrome Rajini

Rajini in Dharma Yuddham, unchained and allowed near Sri Devi

 

I posted a beautiful Ilayaraaja-composed song in my WhatsApp status, from the 1979 film Dharma Dhurai, titled Aagaya Ganggai. You can search it on YouTube. Anyway, in that post I commented, “I think they had werewolf in mind because Rajini’s character has to be chained during full moon.”

Because in the film, during the full moon, he experiences a violent childhood trauma and tends to behave violently; hence, his sister has to chain him up beforehand, let him do all those scary faces close up, pull the chain, shake his bell bottom, and all that till he calms down. Watching it can be traumatic too if you are averse to overacting. You can watch it here (somewhere at 12^th minute) And don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Then, an acquaintance (the same who made me write this) commented on it, rattling of the usual ADHD, bipolarity, etc. I first wanted to respond by saying “dude, I know a bit about those, because I have lived with them, including schizophrenics, for two-plus years during my stint, er-hum, at the Rehab centre.

They never had to be chained up like this. Then she jokingly said, “You are the same too”. Well, she is not wrong. Alcoholism may be a habit, but it’s also a disease. The medical term for it is Alcohol Use Disorder. Of course, rehab centres won’t tell you that, because we would just go, “hey just pop a pill and it will be alright”. They are there to fix the habit of wanting a swig at any time of the day. If there is a pill to cure that, the alcohol industry will go the way of the dinosaurs, because—and I know this—you know at some point that you need to stop.

Speaking of which, the ones affected most mentally in the rehab are the ones who were popping synthetic drugs. Poet Laureate Kannadhasan once wrote, “unakkum keezhe ullavar kOdi, ninaithu pArthu nimmathi nAdu” (there are those worse off than you; think of that, and you will feel better). That’s how I feel when I see these cases. I mean, at least alcoholics have to fear about the state of their liver. These guys are fucked mentally for the rest of their lives.

Usually, the ones most who return to the Rehab are drug abusers. From what I figured out, alcoholics do well. Not saying they are all clean and sober, many are, but there are also those who are able to handle the drink responsibly. But drug abuse is a habit that’s like a wild horse; it kicks you, and you can’t kick it off.

Making a circle, Rajini’s character can be acting out of anything. Perhaps he is secretly a drug addict or
a prescription addict. Or maybe some of the supplements he has been popping are making him do terrifying expressions. Maybe that dude needs to go to rehab.

The has-been party dilemma: MIC In Limbo

"We had to go through rigorous shoulder muscle training to prepare for the event".

There is a scene in the great, epic masterpiece film, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) where Tuco (the brilliant Eli Wallach) is languishing in a bathtub enjoying the bubbles when a bunch of thugs barges in waving their guns, and the leader of the group starts yapping about this and that, going on and on as to how they were going to blow Tuco to shreds. Tuco lifts a revolver out of the water (don’t ask) and shoots all of them and says, “When you want to shoot, shoot! Don’t talk!”

This immediately came to my mind when I saw the headline from Sinar Daily saying, “MIC: ‘If you want to leave, just leave, no need to go around in ’circles’—Mani Maran.” Mani is a former MIC Sungai Siput Division Chief. Old-timers who follow politics know that Singai Siput is the late Samy Velu’s fort (the link has a tribute, well, sort of, an article I wrote a few years ago for a portal).

He was, of course, referring to the “threat” MIC leaders keep issuing about wanting to leave the Barisan National (BN) coalition. This is coming from a party, which, for the 15^th General Election, contributed to a total of… (drum roll please) 1 win. It is not a threat, of course; this media used to word “weighing in”, or if you want to go softer, I would use, “mulling.” And it is not the first time MIC has been talking about leaving the coalition, hence Mani’s statement.

To say it has been a tumultuous time for the Malaysian Indian Congress would be to give them some brownie points (though this sounds a bit racist). Truth is, it’s whacky time for a political party that is now as relevant as BlackBerry phones. Ever since the Indian community rejected the party and started embracing the multi-racial parties in Pakatan Harapan (never mind that they are poorly represented), MIC has been doing some soul searching. I suppose. Nah, it’s too loud for that.

It has gone to the point of grasping at the last straws when the leaders collectively decided that they should embolden themselves, go on a campaign spree to show that they can still be relevant, and…and….

Who am I kidding? What did they do? They threatened to leave BN. It is like a dishwashing employee threatening to quit the restaurant. I suppose BN is not responding to that because they do think of past MIC leaders’ contributions, chiefly the abovementioned Samy Vellu who became one of the major forces in that coalition. Also, BN leaders are not bothered about mosquitos buzzing (opposite intha kossu tholla thAnggamudiyalappA)

Meanwhile, I decided to check on how well they are doing, starting from their online presence. I started with their official website and was immediately accosted by a picture of both the party’s deputy president, Saravanan, and president, Vigneswaran, in big garlands (separately, that is) taken during their recent AGM as you see above. Go to their Facebook pages; it’s the same leader’s glorification all over.

There is not a hint of stuff that they are working hard to fulfil the party’s mission in…in… Hang on, what was the struggle again? Hmm…

I know that it’s unfair to make fun of a drowning man. And to be fair, they deserve to laughed at too. As the prologue of an old Tamil song goes, Aadiya Attam enna….pesiya vArthai enna… (All those activities said, all those words said). Back in the day, the members of the Indian community were venerating these leaders, and the latter basked in the glory. They get invited to every and any event, including babies’ ear-piercing functions. Datuk this, Dato’ that. There were more of them than pork chops during the swine flu days.

But the days of getting invited to prestigious events are now over. Maybe some cheap concerts by localised SPBs and TMSes, they will give you a smaller garland and some kutthuvilakkus (kinda like brass candlelight, but very usable as a murder weapon. What else does kutthu means?). Maybe they have been keeping stocks of the kutthuvilakkus gathering dust in their headquarters building. If you know what I mean. You know, rather than existing in shame, feeling unwanted.

Oh well, the flowers in the garlands may wither, hairs may go grayer, or cease to exist altogether. But the MGR and Rajinikanth lookalike concerts still need someone to officiate them. An MIC leader, is the go-to person.

Dude, Where’s My Spage Age 3: The Great Moon Landing Conspiracy Theory.

Fake moon landing. I couldn’t believe that there are folks that’s still spreading the theory that the NASA (National Aeronautics Space something, too lazy to check) (Okay, I’ll check, dammit)(it’s National Aeronautics Space Administration) and the faked moon landing in 1969.

I am a believer that it actually happened. I read about it a lot and became a huge fan of space age related stuff when I was a kid (I have written about it here and here). I was not quite aware that such a conspiracy theory movement existed for a long time. Not until I read the news that Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the second astronaut of the Apollo 11 spacecraft that made it to the moon, punched a goddamned conspiracy theorist. Here’s the detail from history.com (makes a good script):

On September 9, 2002, astronaut Buzz Aldrin—the second human to set foot on the moon—is walking outside a Beverly Hills hotel when a conspiracy theorist starts harassing him and accusing Aldrin of lying about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Incensed, Aldrin punches his heckler in the face.

“You’re the one who said you walked on the moon when you didn’t,” Bart Sibrel told Aldrin as he walked by his filming crew outside the Luxe Hotel. “Calling a kettle black …”

“Will you get away from me?” an irate Aldrin warned the man in the incident caught on video.

Sibrel responded, “You’re a coward and a liar and a … ”

Aldrin, then 72, socked Sibrel in the jaw right when he finished the sentence with “thief.”

Yes, Aldrin clocked the mother. That piqued my interest. I read about it somewhere and put the folder at the back of my mind. I thought it will go away like the midnight beggars you ignore. Nope, it kept coming back.

In fact, these deniers existed all the way back when the moon landing was actually taking place. One famous theory later actually pointed out that Kubrick directed the whole segment. The same Stanley Kubrick, right after the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey (which started production in 1965 and was released in 1968).

A perfectionist, Kubrick would have balked at the prospect of shooting some grainy footage, let alone let NASA pull him this way or another. Kubrick who directed 1980s The Shining, is known for being a hard ass to the point of pushing Shelley Duvall in it to the brink of insanity that it traumatised her for life. I don’t think NASA scientists would particularly welcome Kubrick’s iron-fisted approach.

Now, let’s look at the best argument against the conspiracy theorists. This is by Rick Fienberg, the press officer for the American Astronomical Society, who holds a PhD in astronomy. And he is quoted here:

“About 400,000 scientists, engineers, technologists, machinists, electricians, worked on the Apollo program,” Fienberg points out. “If in fact the main motivation for believing in the moon hoax is that you don’t trust the government, you don’t trust our leaders, you don’t trust authority, how can you feel that 400,000 people would keep their mouths shut for 50 years? It’s just implausible.”

And allow me to tell you this: it won’t go away. Skepticism is good at a healthy level, as that enhances knowledge through the need to do more research and come up with an agreeable consensus backed by evidence.

By the way, this is how the article ended:

To those who know the moon landing was real, conspiracy theories that it was a hoax may seem silly and innocuous. But their consequences aren’t: they spread misinformation, make people susceptible to other false theories and could earn you a punch from Buzz Aldrin.

The previous pieces on Spage Age (yes, Spage. It was a typo first time around, I maintained it):

Dude Where’s My Spage Age

Dude Where’s My Spage Age Part !!

Old Grouch Fable Collection pt5

 

The Owl and the Grasshopper

The Owl always sleeps during the day. Then after the bloody sun buggers off, and shadow rises slowly through the wood, and a haunting whistle hums through the hushes of…. Hang on, the narrator got the story mixed up.

Well, when it is dark, she comes out from the old hollow tree she was sleeping in, making the Who sound. No, I don’t mean that The Who. So, the who-who-who sound echoes through the quiet wood, bounces against a branch, and kills a fruit bat. But that is minor collateral damage. Plus the other bats hate this particular preachy vegan and do not miss the bugger.

And so the Owl begins her hunt for the bugs and beetles, frogs, mice, and hopefully possibly some veal cutlet. But her day sleep routine is bloody important for her.

Now, during one warm summer afternoon as she dozed away in her den in the old oak tree, the Grasshopper hopped over and, seeing that it was a glorious day, started singing. He sang one particular song which he felt folks liked because they kept giving him vegetables, despite the fact the items came flying in his direction and usually were beyond the expiry date. He wondered why.

As he started crooning and frightened a squirrel, out popped the old Owl's head from the opening in the tree that served her both for door and for window. Why would she want them separately anyway?

"Get away from here, sir," she said to the Grasshopper. "You are rude. Here I am, old and tired, and I need to sleep in quiet.”

The Grasshopper snickered and said he can be any bloody place any time; all the places under the sun are his, including where it doesn’t shine. And then, he went on to sing even worse songs.

The wise old Owl knew quite well it’s no point arguing with the Grasshopper or anyone for that matter. Even if she wants to pick the grasshopper apart, her eyes are not sharp enough during the day. For all you know, she might be picking a chip of wood apart. So, she relented and spoke kindly to the bloody insect.

"Well, sir," she said, "if I must stay awake, I am going to settle right down to enjoy your singing. Now that I think of it, I have a wonderful wine here, sent to me from Olympus, of which I am told Apollo drinks before he sings to the high gods. Please come up and taste this delicious drink with me. I know it will make you sing like Apollo himself."

The dumbass Grasshopper fell for it. A single jump to the Owl’s den, and she was waiting with her beak open, and in went the stupid insect. That settled the Owl’s breakfast.

Moral of the story.

When folks start throwing rotten vegetables at you when you are singing, it is a sign that vegetable prices have gone down. I mean, you can afford excessive veggies and keep them around till they rot.

 

Anansi And His Legs

In a faraway jungle (about three blocks next to your car park), there was a spider named Anansi. Initially, his mother named him Annasi, but a neighbour told her that Annasi is "pineapple" in Tamil language. This would be embarrassing for the kid in the future because many folks don’t like pineapple in their pizza.

Indeed, Anansi wasn’t like other spiders. He had a big head, a round body, and eight thick bloody legs. The other kid spiders would ridicule him, though they too had big heads, round bodies, and eight thick bloody legs. They didn’t have mirror technology.

So, this Anansi loved food and parties more than anything else. Well, not true. He likes movies, music, and farting in any general direction. Yes, the narrator will do anything for a laugh.

Anyway, someone told Anansi about four big parties. “Where are they?” asked Anansi. “In the parliament,” said Someone, trying to hold his laugh. That’s his name, Someone Pulleg. But then, Someone cleared his throat and said, “I was pull—err—kidding. There are four big parties going on now”

Speaking of which, Anansi announced to Someone that he wanted to go to all of them. Only there was one problem: all the parties were happening at the same time. “Why is that so?” asked Anansi. Frustrated, Someone said, “Why ask me, the organisers must have gone to the same astrologists seeking the auspicious time.”

Undeterred, Anansi came up with a clever plan. He tied a rope around each of his four pairs of legs. “Whatever you gonna do, bro,” said Someone, “I’m so outta here”.

After the bloke left, Anansi went to his friends—Rabbit, Monkey, Turtle, and Bird—and gave them the other end of each rope.

“What the—” said Rabbit

“If you wanna hang yourself, why drag us?” said Monkey.

“Are you roping us in for something, haha,” said Turtle. Nobody laughed. The Bird held on the rope of the end with its beak with that “whatever dude” look. And so did the others.

Anansi told them to go to a party each, “When the food is ready, pull the rope. I’ll feel it and come quickly to join you!” And so they left.

Anansi sat in the middle of the jungle, waiting for the parties to start. Suddenly, he felt a pull on his legs. “The parties have started!” he shouted excitedly.

But then, all the ropes started pulling at the same time. All his friends' parties had started! Anansi was being pulled in four directions at once. “This isn’t what I planned!” Anansi cried out. “Also, is this what it feels like marrying four times?” and thought of the fate of his fiancés.

His thick legs started stretching because of the pulling. By the time the parties were over, Anansi’s legs were no longer thick. They were long and thin, and he hadn’t eaten any food. Though he did marry all his fiancés, had a miserable life as expected, he did sire thousands of goddamn babies who all inherited the skinny legs and so do most spiders these days.

“What a boring tale,” said Someone.

Moral of the story:

If someone says your story is boring, you should stop. Also, stick to one spouse. Really. The world is overcrowded enough

A Woman and Her Hen

Once upon a time, there was a woman who owned a hen. This Hen was special because it laid one egg every single day. That makes it special like, err, special needs children? I mean, one egg a day? Girl!

Initially the woman was happy with this, as she follows the Tamil proverb “pOthum Endra maname, pon seyyum marunthu” literally translated as “A contented mind is a medicine that turns everything into gold.” Actually, it talks about moderation, about not being greedy. But it has the word “gold” there and you know where this is going.

Because the woman started wondering if she could get even more eggs from the Hen. And how do you do that? You can’t simply do a motivational training or feed some sort of steroid to the chicken. The hen might become Schwarzenegger-ish and break out of her coop.

Well, the woman thought, "Just feed the Hen more food, it might produce two eggs a day instead of just one." So, the next day, she gave the Hen twice as much food, hoping it would lay more eggs.

The Hen happily ate the extra food and started to grow bigger and heavier. It looked healthy and content and on the verge of being obese. Also, something unexpected happened. Or not. Instead of laying more eggs, the Hen stopped laying any eggs at all.

So, the woman who used to get one egg per day now will never have none. Not to mention the prices of eggs has gone up.

Moral of the story:

One egg per day will keep greed away. Or something like that. Also, did anyone notice this story sounds similar to the goose that laid the golden egg? Albeit a Diet Coke version. Anyway, I am tired, and I am bored. Till we meet in another telling of Old Grouch Fables.

Read the other fables here:

Old Grouch Fable Collection Part 1

Old Grouch Fable Collection Part 2

Old Grouch Fable Collection Part 3

Old Grouch Fable Collection Part 4

Rajini, Kamal, Sundar C. The Fall Of The Three Way Alliance.

Damn, that's a dramatic headline.

Anyway, it has been a roller coaster of a week for fans of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, or admirers of both like me. Those who follow the Tamil film industry know that the two are going to or planning to....or whatever to....collaborate twice:

1. Kamal is to produce the film, which will star Rajini, and the film is to be directed by Sundar C. This is intentional as a gesture by Rajini to help his pal, Kamal, who has lost lots of money, especially burning his fingers as a producer in that borefest, Thug Life. In a way, it’s good, because otherwise the self-replicating industry players would next choose other popular memes for movie titles, like, I  can Has Cheezburger or Lolcatz. The film is so bad that I didn’t even badmouth the director of the film, Manirathnam out of symphathy. This time at least.
2. Rajini and Kamal will appear on screen together, but in another film way later. No further details have been divulged except I know it most probably won’t happen looking at what is going on now.

Let’s see, for several days, the Tamil language YouTubers were euphoric, speculating this and that, driving views up like missiles, with comments splattering like machine gun bullets by the beach, and then…and then…the bomb screamed down. Like pigeon droppings on the head. Sunder C has opted out of the project. No clear reasons were given except that he mentioned in his statement that he appreciated Kamal and Rajini for giving the opportunity, blah, blah, blah. The statement appeared in his wife Kushboo's Instagram, though, giving rise to further speculations (including one where Rajini wanted an item song with the has-been actress).

Coming back to the YouTubers, one good thing that came out of this is that from the time Vijay indirectly caused the death of 41 at a political rally, that was all those so-called pundits and analysts were talking about. Again, the self-replication thing goes on, and I have to look at the time of the release of the clip to determine who copied whom.

So, it must have been a relief for Vijay since a new wave came and they stopped speculating, pontificating, and saturating what was a tragedy into a finger-pointing fest. Now, they are analysing why Sunder C opted out of the prestigious project. Many stories have emerged, again, speculation in nature, or that they got it from the industry insider (as a former practitioner of media, I think most of it is b.s.).

Again, so many theories, suppositions, and presumptions. When it was first announced that Sundar C was letting himself out, I had only one name in my mind: Kamal.  Why?

First, check out the list of dropped Kamal projects, which ChatGPT distilled from a Wikipedia entry, which I copy and paste here:

🎞️ 1980s

Chamayam (1981) – Malayalam film with Ambika, shelved after the producer’s death.

Raja Ennai Mannithuvidu (1982)—shelved after 15 days of shooting.

Top Tucker (1982)—abandoned after 5,000 feet of film was shot.

Do Deewane Pyar Ke—a Hindi film with Dev Anand, dropped due to creative differences.

Jigar (1983)—Hindi film stalled, later reworked as Mera Khoon with Govinda.

Khabardar (1984)—a social drama with Amitabh Bachchan, shelved mid-shoot.

Untitled Godfather adaptation – planned with Sivaji Ganesan, dropped.

Ponniyin Selvan (late 1980s)—Kamal & Mani Ratnam’s attempt to adapt Kalki’s novel, shelved due to finances.

🎬 1990s

Athi Veerapandiyan—a rural drama based on jallikattu, dropped; Kamal did Thevar Magan instead.

Kanden Seethaiyai—a remake of Ammayane Sathyam, abandoned due to creative differences.

Ladies Only—a Hindi remake of Magalir Mattum, never released.

Amaara Kaaviyam—script by Kamal, meant to be directed by Sarika, never made.

Marudhanayagam (1997) – historical epic launched with Queen Elizabeth II present, stalled due to funding.

Markandeyan—a pan-Indian film idea, dropped after the producer’s financial troubles.

Londonil Kameshwaran—a comedy script, later reworked as Nala Damayanthi (2003) with Madhavan.

🎥 2000s

Robot (2001)—Kamal was the first choice for Shankar’s sci-fi epic, later revived as Enthiran with Rajinikanth.

Naran (2001)—planned with K.S. Ravikumar, dropped due to budget issues.

Panchatanthiram 2 – sequel idea that never materialized.

Moo (2002) – Rashomon-style film that later evolved into Virumaandi.

Krishna Leela (2004)—comedy entertainer, dropped.

KG (2004) – cop thriller, postponed indefinitely.

Vasool Raja MBBS 2 (2006) – remake of Lage Raho Munna Bhai, dropped.

Marmayogi (2008) – 7th-century period film, shelved after Pyramid Saimira backed out.

Thalaivan Irukkiraan (2008) – political action film, stalled multiple times.

19 Steps (2008) – Indo-Japanese martial arts film with Walt Disney, dropped.

Buddham Sharanam (2009) – historical Buddha film with Mysskin, cancelled.

Yavarum Kelir (2010) – comedy drama, dropped; team moved to Manmadan Ambu.

🎞️ 2010s

Tippuvum Unniaarchayum (2011) – biopic of Tipu Sultan, shelved.

Vaamamaargam (2014) – project on “business ethics,” never developed.

Paramapadham (2015) – comedy heist film with Moulee, stalled.

Amma Appa Vilayattu (2015) – family drama, postponed.

Sabaash Naidu (2016) – spin-off of Balram Naidu character, delayed indefinitely after multiple setbacks.

Thevar Magan 2 (2018) – sequel planned, later shelved due to creative differences.

🎬 2020s

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu 2 (2020) – sequel discussed with Gautham Menon, stalled.

Papanasam 2 (2021) – remake of Drishyam 2, dropped due to Kamal’s busy schedule.

KH 233 (2023) – political thriller with H. Vinoth, officially dropped in 2024.

As one can surmise, Kamal’s list of dropped film projects look like abandoned vehicles in a post-apocalyptic world. That is one argument: either he drops out or the directors pull out. Premature. Or some other reasons.

As the YouTubers mentioned and any Tamil film fan knows, Sunder C is one of the least problematic directors working in the industry. He has entered his third decade, still steady, prolific, and delivering—albeit with a few flops—one hit after another crowd favorite.

He has a few more projects lined up. He has enough on his plate. He felt it was kind of both Kamal and Rajini to wanting him in their project, and, indeed, as he mentioned in his withdrawal note, was honoured to have worked with both before. Throughout the discussion sessions he may have sensed that there will be issues with creative power, and Sunder C is known for always having free rein on set and with the script once the projects are greenlit.

He is not going to take it if Kamal comes like one of those meddling kids in the Scooby Doo show; and starts pushing the making of the film from one direction to another, being the producer. As revealed recently, Anbe Sivam was supposed to have a happier ending, but Kamal decided to make it a bit more tragic. It’s a cult classic now, but it was not a big hit, and Sunder C never went that direction again.

And Sunder C did just that this time.