Make hay while the Thalaivar shines

We would not have dared to utter a word against many offices in South India giving their employees a holiday on Friday. But now that the opening day of the new Rajinikanth-starrer movie, Kabali, is over, the film already having been released in about 12,000 cinemas — and with many otherwise hardworking office-goers having already thronged to watch the film — we can venture to ask one question: why? One (vaguely) understands the fervour that surrounds the Tamil superstar. The appeal that he holds for his wide and deeply fanatical fan base outstrips that of any other contemporary Bollywood star. But to shut shop for a day so that there is no tenshun to catch the Thalaivar on the first day of his latest movie, well, we’ll risk being a bit of a grump here.

But then, with all the productivity loss, some business enterprises did show Rajinikanth-infused, well, business enterprise. Air Asia flew a special flight carrying 180 Rajinikanth fans from Bengaluru to Chennai on the first day. Luxury hotels sold tickets at Rs 1,300 a pop for special screenings. And Rajinikanth franchise material, including a designer sari with the Master’s face on it. All these raked it in faster than revenues earned through a day’s job. Which just proves that instead of being party-poopers, one should join the party economy. Rajini Sir-style.