The premise of the documentary is fascinating. I did not know about the important ideological role that Rajni plays in Tamil Nadu. The movie explores what could virtually be considered a religion surrounding the superstar. It shows a plethora of superfans that dedicate their lives to worshipping him. Yet I noticed that I felt some dissonance while watching it. The first moment I noticed it was in one of the opening scenes where we see a bunch of superfans trashing a cinema. My instinct was to laugh at the absurdity of this level of dedication to Rajni. Yet when I looked around me at a mostly Western audience who were all laughing too, I felt like something was missing and the people were presented in a shallow and somewhat irrational manner where the only logical conclusion for the observer was to perceive them as absurd if the audience didn't understand where the people in the film were coming from.
From that point onward I was hoping that would be explored a bit more, but the context never really appeared. It was just a showcase of behaviour that to an outside observer (that, mind you, the North Indian director was too) seems absolutely absurd. Fascinating nonetheless, but clearly missing context. Why do these people cling to this figure as their demi-god? Atheism is briefly mentioned as a potential reason, but never explored more. The anti-fascist (specifically marxist) movement in the south is briefly mentioned, but never explored. And highly important elements that undoubtedly contribute to this phenomenon like the caste system, capitalism in the movie industry, and patriarchy are not mentioned or explored at all. All in all a fascinating film that showcases a cultural phenomenon in a way that seems more sensationalist than explorative.
