Thala vs Ilaiya Thalapathy!

Who is bigger - Ajith or Vijay? On the verge of completing a 100 films among them, fifty apiece, it’s a 50-50 situation in more than one sense.

By Vishak Shakti
Who is bigger- Ajith or Vijay?
In the southern kingdom of Rajni-land, a war has been raging over the last decade to anoint the Superstar’s heir apparent. On one side is the ‘Young General’ (Iliaya Thalapthi) Vijay, who has upstaged Rajni himself in a recent popularity poll. On the other is ‘Ultimate Star’ Ajith (also known as ‘Thala’) whose crowd pulling ability can even give even the Thalaivar the creeps.
On the verge of completing a 100 films among them, fifty apiece, it’s a 50-50 situation in more than one sense. The balance of power, evenly poised for now, might shift either way with Ajith’s ‘Aegan’ (‘Main Hoon Naa’ remake) and Vijay’s ‘Villu’ due for release soon. But given the sub continental conditions, there is an equal possibility of the long drawn test match ending in a tame draw.

The star standoffs of Tamil cinema are as old as the Western Ghats. After MGR and Sivaji, Rajni and Kamal, the latest instalment has all the makings of a classical rivalry. “Who has more mass?” (Not to be taken in the Newtonian sense, the reference here is to mass appeal!) : Passers-by are known to ask each other on the streets. It is a debate as favoured by sociology professors of Anna University as by the rickshaw drivers from downtown Chennai.

Vijay with his son-of-the-soil looks, screen demeanor and public image is a direct descendant of the MGR-Rajni lineage. In his movies he dances his lungs out, beats up more baddies than can be accommodated at the Apollo, gives moral discourses to women in particular and often turns to face the camera to have a heart-to-heart chat with his fans.

Ajith, on the other hand, is more equated with Kamal and not for no reason. Ajith. like Kamal, has a thing for prosthetics in addition to a multi-role fetish. Though he hasn’t ventured to attempt anything as outlandish as a ‘Dasavatharam’, it is a real and menacing possibility. But yet the comparison is farfetched, most Kamal fans would say, Ajith being more a student of the Rajni school of acting (which is a Kamal fan’s way of saying he cannot act for peanuts).

It is a long standing treatise in cinema that the stronger the villain the stronger the hero. As an upshot, in the absence of a suitable rival, the hero will cease to be a hero. Both Vijay and Ajith have long ago sworn by this dictum, taking digs at each other through song lyrics and dialogues. But rumour has it that away from the arc lights and flash bulbs they are the best of buddies.

But the fans like to take none of it. Two hoots to their camaraderie-status, the fans say.

The “mandrams” (fan clubs) had drawn the swords long ago and come what may they will protect the status quo. After all a bit of spark on the streets and over TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited, to be read as ‘wine shop’) sessions never really hurt anyone.

It is in your DNA, they say. You are either a Vijay fan or then you are the Ajith type. You don’t get to like them both. Recreational Hazard!