Till I came to Chennai from Kerala, I had only heard of the kind of hysteria Rajnikanth generates among the public but when I really saw it, I found it quite puzzling. I could only look at the unadulterated, unabashed admiration, love and worship of a film actor with surprise.

But despite my repeated efforts, I have not been able to interview him so far. The truth is, the more popular they are, the more inaccessible they become. As a journalist, the inaccessibility of film stars was quite unacceptable to me. I was used to super stars like Mohanlal and Mammootty themselves answering their phones and giving you immediate appointments but there I was at my wit’s end trying to get appointments with people connected with films like Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth, Mani Ratnam and A.R.Rahman. Jayalalitha was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu then and like a fool, I thought getting an interview with her was as easy as getting an interview with the Chief Minister of Kerala.

It was only after seven years of trying that I got to interview Kamal Haasan. And only a few months ago, just before the release of Guru, could I interview Mani Ratnam! These interviews happened after more than ten years of my efforts. But so far no such luck with Jayalalitha, Rajnikanth or A.R.Rahman.

Let me narrate an incident that happened more than ten years ago but one which I will never forget in my life. I had just landed in Chennai and the Mumbai office of the weekly paper I was writing for asked me to get an interview with Rajnikanth. Stupid me thought it was an easy task. Despite me wasting hundreds of calls, I could not get anywhere near getting an appointment. One day I was lucky enough to talk to a person who said he was his secretary. He told me to come and stand in a queue the next day morning so that I could have a darshan of him - no, not Rajni but his secretary. I could then submit my request to him in writing. I was horrified to hear such a demand. I was just back from Kerala after interviewing A.K. Antony, the then Chief Minister of the state. All I made was one telephone call.

I told him, “With one telephone call, I could make an appointment with the Chief Minister of Kerala and interview him. Here I must have made hundreds of phone calls and now you are telling me to come and stand in the queue...” He laughed sarcastically and said, “Madam, that is the chief minister of Kerala, and this is Rajnikanth!” I was too shocked to react!

But in the last one decade, I have had the good fortune to see Rajnikanth at closer quarters on TWO occasions; one was a press conference and the other a public function. The press conference happened before the last assembly election. Rajnikanth was being harassed by the Pattali Makkal Katchi workers for “polluting the minds of the youngsters of Tamil Nadu” and Rajni decided to issue a press statement against them urging people not to vote for the party.

From outside, the venue of the press conference looked more like a film function with thousands and thousands of Rajni fans shouting and rushing up to the closed gate in waves. It was a herculean task for myself and my journalist friend to squeeze through the surging multitude to reach the gate. When we got so badly crushed, we decided to go back but then we found that it was equally difficult get out too.

But what shocked us was the way we were treated by the security guards of the super star. Despite showing our press passes and telling them that we were there because we were invited for the press conference, they rudely shooed us away. ‘Go away, the hall is full, you can’t get in,’ they shouted at us. Both of us got so angry that we also shouted back, ‘Don’t think we are some crazy fans. We came here because we were invited. Have some manners to people who are your invitees.’ But our anger had no effect on them. Luckily, the PR agency who invited us appeared and apologised for the rude behaviour of the body guards, and we were ushered in.

What impressed me about Rajnikanth was his punctuality. Unlike other film stars, he was there on the dot. One minute before the scheduled time the super star, surrounded by a cordon of people came in. He sat on the chair, smiled at all of us, and started reading from a prepared text. If I remember correctly, it took him around fifteen minutes to finish reading the text. The moment it was over, he gave us a benevolent smile, got up and started walking away. All the journalists who had assembled there were nonplussed for a moment. Then, they raised their voice, ‘how can you go without answering our questions? What was the need for a press conference if it was only to read a prepared text?’ But our protests had had no effect on him. He simply walked away.

The doors of the hall were closed yet we could hear his fans shouting from outside. By the time we came out, the place was rather empty. When his car moved away, all his fans also dispersed.

The next function was Rajni’s fast protesting Karantaka’s refusal to release water from the Cauvery. This time also, he arrived at the venue much before the fast was to start, wearing white pyjamas and kurta. What is admirable about the man is his openness; he never hid his receding hairline unlike most stars who are extremely narcissistic. He sat cross legged on the dais with his eyes closed. On the road sat thousand and thousands of his fans with their eyes fully open. Whenever he opened his eyes or waved at them, they roared. The kind of impact a batting of his eye lid or a smile had on them had seen to be believed.

Every time an actor or actress came to the dais to garland him or join him, Rajni got up, held his or her hands warmly. Not even once did he sit there when someone came on stage. It is this humility and simplicity that impressed me but I am sure it is his famous style that is a hit with his fans.