KOZHIKODE: Every year on December 12, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s fans and family celebrate his birthday in the most memorable way. For K C James, this is the day he marks the birthday of his classmate Shivaji Rao Gaikwad.
As the superstar turns 72 on Monday, Kozhikode-native James, his classmate at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce in Madras during 1974-75, recalls how passionate and dedicated Rajinikanth was about acting and films during his days at the institute.
Ask James what comes to his mind first when he thinks about the actor, and he replies, “definitely, his style.” His walk and mannerisms are something he developed. “When we were busy hanging out after our classes, the only person who stayed back in the institute was Rajinikanth. We could see him practising various styles, including his walk, which made him stand out,” said James, a native of Chevayur, who has acted in around 12 films.
“Rajinikanth’s signature ‘cigarette flip’ that we see in his movies is the result of hours of practice. Whenever we go out, he would buy a cigarette and practise it,” said James. “When we all focused on learning natural acting, Rajini talked about the importance of stylistic acting methods,” James added. James and Rajinikanth were among the first batch of students of the institute. They were not just classmates but also stayed in the same hotel in Madras.
Talking about Rajini’s proficiency in English, James said: “As part of our film course, we were supposed to watch English and other foreign language movies. We used to get free tickets to watch these movies from the American Consulate’s studio and also from the Russian Culture Centre. When we are asked to analyse the movie the next day, only Rajinikanth used to present an analysis of the actors in these movies. He used to do this in English, and his diction left us spellbound,” recalled James.
When James got his first role in A Vincent’s ‘Priyam Ulla Sofia’ in 1975, Rajinikanth was the first person who walked into his room near Gemini Studio to congratulate him. A year later, Rajinikanth started getting roles in Tamil films and in a short span of time, he became very busy, James added.
“Four years ago, the now-defunct film institute, conducted a get-together in Chennai. Though the institute’s former teacher invited Rajinikanth, he couldn’t attend as he was in Dubai. But he made sure to call the organisers and inform them about his schedule," James said.
James, who has acted in one Tamil film and 11 Malayalam movies, also directed a movie ‘Thidambu’, with actor Prem Nazirin the lead role, in 1982. Currently, James is trying to make a comeback to the film industry.