Enthiran ***

Watching a preview clip of Enthiran during its audio launch some months ago I vowed this was one movie I was going to give a miss.

But the hype was too strong. And the nagging too intense.

There was a glimmer of hope - the theatre was dark as we went in. A power failure! But the theatre management fired up the standby generator – to keep the air conditioning going. The hall was almost full. There was a half hour delay. But everyone sat quietly. Most were frozen in the sub-zero temperatures.

We sat quite near the screen. So the frantic action and the huge images cowed us. We felt like Lilliputians.

The ridiculous antics of the “Superstar” was taken to new heights. Everyone is caught up in the mob frenzy. Even a New York film critic was not spared. He described Rajinikanth as a cross between a tiger , a tornado and an earthquake. Go figure.

Of course the mystery is how a balding, 61 year old man with a paunch, sporting styles from the eighties is able to capture people’s imagination. Many people have trouble separating his movie roles from his real life existence – Rajini is an exemplary human being. If only he will stop acting in movies.

Then there are Rajini jokes: "Rajinikanth was bitten by a cobra. After four days of intense suffering, the snake died."

And his famous quotes, which coming from anyone else would be laughable: "When I will arrive, or how I will arrive, nobody will know, but I will arrive when I ought to," he snarls, confusingly. Or, "I will do what I say. I will also do what I don't say." Many of his movies are named after his character, and every single one of them starts with a musical number in which he introduces himself in the most insane way possible.

Enthiran is the most expensive Indian movie of all time. A massive investment the producers fully expect to recoup. So the hype. I contributed RM 28.

And Aishwarya – of course she is beautiful. But she’s so overbearing and disconcerting. Unsuitable for a Tamil film. And her unnatural coloured eyes makes her look so alien.

And towards the end, the screen teemed with so many clones of Rajini – I could hardly breathe.

The high point of the evening was the unexpected appearance of the dragon, with bandaged feet. Bitten by rabid shoes.