The release of a Rajinikanth film is nothing short of a festival in Tamil Nadu. While paal abishegam (the act of pouring milk) on huge cut-outs of the star and bursting crackers is the norm, a few fans are celebrating the film’s release in their own special way. There’s Kaala merchandise, Kaala cake and a Kaala mocktail, and the list keeps growing.
For Raana, a die-hard Rajini fan, the plan was put in place several weeks ago. He and 150 of his friends will flood theatres in the city wearing their custom-made Kaala t-shirts. “We make sure we’ve got the t-shirts printed and ready before every release. This time, we’ve also ordered for a 70 kg cake to celebrate the release,” he says. “Paal abishegam and crackers are part of our usual celebrations,” he adds, nonchalantly.
Speaking of cakes, Chennai’s CK’s Bakery has a limited edition Kaala cake, complete with the film’s first look poster on edible sugar paper. The choco-mocha cake is an all-black chocolate and coffee flavoured pastry and sold like, well… like hot cakes!
“Even though our marketing was very minimal, we sold 70 cakes in just 24 hours. With its success, we’ve planned to extend this limited edition for a few days longer than we originally intended,” says Arjun, who works with the team. The cakes are also priced at an affordable Rs 333 per for half a kilo, and can be bought from any CK's bakery outlet.
Lokesh and Karthik, bar manager and operations manager at the Wire Room, Chennai, have taken the Kaala craze a step higher. These self-confessed Rajinikanth fans have concocted a special Kaala mocktail/cocktail to quench Chennai’s thirst.
“We’ve got two versions - the Kaala mocktail comes with pineapple, karupatti (black jaggery), lime and sugar syrup. The cocktail has gin in it,” says Lokesh. The newly launched lounge bar also has a number of other Madras-themed drinks to choose from that are flavoured with planeer soda, nannari sherbet, etc. The Kaala mocktail is priced at 250 and cocktail at Rs 600. Launched on April 23, they’ve sold close to 600 glasses so far.
Rajinikanth being a part of pop culture in Japan is a well-known tale. The star’s 1998 film Muthu, called Dancing Maharaja in Japanese, was a phenomenal success that ran for 23 weeks, grossed $1.6 million, and created a strong fan base in the country. It is estimated that Rajini has close to 3000 fans in Tokyo alone! While the film’s release date in Japan is not known yet, it has not stopped two die-hard Japanese fans from flying down to Chennai to catch the first-day-first-show of the film.
In a video posted on Kasi theatre’s Twitter page, two Japanese fans - Yasuda and Satsuki - are seen standing in front of Kaala’s poster. One of them is even seen delivering the famed “kya re? setting ah?” dialogue with much swag!
We have Thalaivar fans #Yasuda & #Satsuki who have travelled all the way from #Japan to #Chennai to enjoy #Kaala #FDFS @kasi_theatre . Watch how excited they are for #KaalaAtKasi #KaalaFromJune7th pic.twitter.com/2Ng4trjaTa
— Kasi Theatre (@kasi_theatre) June 5, 2018
Star worship is nothing short of a culture in the South. People go all the way to show their love for their on-screen idol and while it may appear excessive to the outsiders, it’s a more of a necessity for the locals.
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