A friend forever
S. SHIVA KUMAR
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Rajnikant’s is a rag to riches story. This hero of the masses for nearly three decades, hasn’t forgotten his difficult past, says dear friend Raghunandan
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From being a bus conductor to being one of the biggest stars of silver screen, with people dying to watch him is the stuff dreams are made of. “I saw a fire in his eyes,” K. Balachander had said when I once asked him what he saw in this d
ark guy with unkempt hair and beady eyes who couldn’t speak his Tamil straight. I spent a day with Rajnikant in the early ‘80s. He was delighted to meet someone from Bangalore and when he learnt I’d studied at National College, he excitedly asked: “Narasimhiah innu topi hakthara?” When I asked him in jest, “Yarige?” he laughed uncontrollably. Today he’s not easily accessible. His fans can’t wait to watch “Sivaji” while he’s meditating in the cool climes of the Himalayas. So I decided to meet Raghunandan, who knows him from the days he didn’t know where his next meal was coming from.
The interview:
I’m basically from Udupi. I was active in theatre and after PUC I saw this advertisement seeking students for the Adyar film institute. I went to Madras. I hail from a poor family but the owners of the Woodlands hotel were acquaintances. So I landed a job as the night duty receptionist. We were about six acting students selected by Putanna Kanangal which included Rajnikant.
You too wanted to become an actor.
Photo: K. Gopinathan
OLD BONDS Raghunandan: ‘When I’m with him I don’t feel I’m with a superstar’
Yes. We were about 30 students representing the four Southern States. Chiranjeevi was our junior. Those were days when we struggled to buy a cup of coffee. Since I was working at Woodlands I was entitled to a full meal. We would eat from the same plantain leaf. Onlookers were awestruck at our appetite; Rajni was surviving on some money sent regularly by a BTS driver called Raj Bahadur. He was staying at hotel Arun. He then shifted to the residence of a Telugu student called Vittal. It’s while he was staying with him that he achieved superstardom. In our 35 years of friendship nothing has changed. He’s still the same. Recently, when Raj Bahadur and I went to attend a function, his wife Lata mentioned that Rajni is happiest when he’s with us. I think we are lucky. There are so many craving for his friendship but he prefers Raj and me.
Weren’t you apprehensive that he would change with stardom?
I’ll tell you. A few friends including Rajni would come late in the night and eat the leftovers in the meals section. One day there was nothing but since I had the key to a more expensive restaurant I fed them. The next day I was sacked. Now it was their turn to feed me. So they all pooled in money and took care of me. I still had one more year of my studies, so I went back to Woodlands and begged for my job. I was reinstated on the condition that Rajni would come nowhere near the hotel. The struggle continued. We would barge into weddings for food. After he became a star he conducted his secretary’s wedding at Woodlands. I called the owner and told him that this is the same guy who was prohibited entry. Rajni is a great human being. He never forgets his past.
Didn’t you feel he could have helped you in the industry?
We were about thirty friends and I think he felt it would be unfair if he helped only a few.
Did you approach him after he became a star or did he call for you?
I went because I got a chance to go to Singapore but did not have a passport. He had not forgotten anything. In fact, when I attended his wedding he introduced me to his wife as the friend who fed him.
Is it true that he would suddenly call all his friends and take them to Mantrlaya?
Very true. Raj Bahadur and I accompanied him a couple of weeks back. He enters incognito and leaves after praying. On one of our long walks, he pointed to a dog on a leash and compared stardom to it. “I can’t go where I please whereas a street dog enjoys more freedom,” he remarked. We would sit till late in the night, drinking, but now he’s cut down. He’s into meditation and yoga. We don’t feel like we are with a superstar when we are with him. He’s the same Shivaji Rao Gaikwad.
Why does he don a disguise to watch a movie when producers will be glad to arrange special shows for him?
What you say is right but he’s curious about the audience’s reaction. I can’t describe his disguise but he has various getups. He sometimes likes loneliness. There are times when he comes here and wants to be alone for a couple of days. When we go to Chennai we chill out at his farm house for a few days.
What are his favourite haunts when he comes to Bangalore?
Sure. There’s Vidyarthi Bhavan. One of us gets the dosas packed and we eat in the car while the driver takes us around. There’s a school next to the Gavi Gangadheshwara temple where he studied. It’s atop a hillock. It seems there was a mendicant there who blessed Rajni. He has not seen him since but visits the spot.
Did any of you feel he would become such a big star?
I don’t think even he thought so. He tried a lot in the Kannada industry but didn’t get chances. He was disgusted and wanted to become a conductor again.
Has he offered you help?
I have to mention this. During “Chandramukhi” I was staying in a house I had leased. Rajni said I had to buy an apartment. I declined politely. He said he would not meet me again so I relented. I am not the only one he’s helped like this. Your own siblings don’t do such things for you. My wife prays for his well-being everyday.
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