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Rajini-Kamal: The First Iconic Brands in Indian Cinema?
Tamil Cinema has always been dominated by its long list of 'large-than-life' male stars. It probably started with the famous MKT; the 50s to the mid 70s were dominated by MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. The baton then passed into the hands of Rajini and Kamal. The 90s and 00s have already seen a long list of larger than life heroes from Vijay to Ajith to Surya waiting for their turn. Typically each of these heroes have survived because of the fierce and irrational loyalty (Ask me about it!) of their fans. A hard-core Rajini fan would not be caught dead in a theatre screening a Kamal film or vice-versa. But suddenly something changed; this tipping point probably happened somewhere in the last few years. Rajini and Kamal defied the rules of age and form to transform into Icons from being mere superstars. Rajini and Kamal have gone beyond their fan bases; the entire Tamil diaspora wants to watch their movies now. That would explain the box office frenzy for their last couple of films. 2005 - Chandramukhi, 2006 - Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, 2007 - Sivaji, 2008 - Dasavatharam. The revenues from these films suggests that their appeal transcends all fan loyalties, age, gender and income strata. I relate this to a Marketing Phenomenon - The Product Life Cycle curve which starts with Introduction of the Product, Growth Phase, Maturity and Decline. These two guys have managed their careers extremely well and have moved from the introduction phase in the 70s, to the Growth Phase in the 80s and 90s. They have managed the maturity phase extremely well, overcoming challenges that would have pushed them into the decline phase. Madonna is another great example of someone who has managed the Product Life Cycle very well; she has been a pop diva for an unbelievable 25 years. As for these two amazing icons they have been around longer than 30 years, have gone beyond the numbers game and have seen a few generations of stars come and go. Usually newer audiences in India fail to connect with old stars and these stars just fade away. Rajini and Kamal are probably the first guys to be able to re-package some of that nostalgia and combine it with fresh elements. This makes them more than relevant for a whole new generation without losing their older core audiences. That is what Iconic Brands like Coke have done and that is why I think these two might be the first Iconic brands in the Indian film Industry!
Tamil Cinema has always been dominated by its long list of 'large-than-life' male stars. It probably started with the famous MKT; the 50s to the mid 70s were dominated by MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. The baton then passed into the hands of Rajini and Kamal. The 90s and 00s have already seen a long list of larger than life heroes from Vijay to Ajith to Surya waiting for their turn. Typically each of these heroes have survived because of the fierce and irrational loyalty (Ask me about it!) of their fans. A hard-core Rajini fan would not be caught dead in a theatre screening a Kamal film or vice-versa. But suddenly something changed; this tipping point probably happened somewhere in the last few years. Rajini and Kamal defied the rules of age and form to transform into Icons from being mere superstars. Rajini and Kamal have gone beyond their fan bases; the entire Tamil diaspora wants to watch their movies now. That would explain the box office frenzy for their last couple of films. 2005 - Chandramukhi, 2006 - Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, 2007 - Sivaji, 2008 - Dasavatharam. The revenues from these films suggests that their appeal transcends all fan loyalties, age, gender and income strata. I relate this to a Marketing Phenomenon - The Product Life Cycle curve which starts with Introduction of the Product, Growth Phase, Maturity and Decline. These two guys have managed their careers extremely well and have moved from the introduction phase in the 70s, to the Growth Phase in the 80s and 90s. They have managed the maturity phase extremely well, overcoming challenges that would have pushed them into the decline phase. Madonna is another great example of someone who has managed the Product Life Cycle very well; she has been a pop diva for an unbelievable 25 years. As for these two amazing icons they have been around longer than 30 years, have gone beyond the numbers game and have seen a few generations of stars come and go. Usually newer audiences in India fail to connect with old stars and these stars just fade away. Rajini and Kamal are probably the first guys to be able to re-package some of that nostalgia and combine it with fresh elements. This makes them more than relevant for a whole new generation without losing their older core audiences. That is what Iconic Brands like Coke have done and that is why I think these two might be the first Iconic brands in the Indian film Industry! 
2 comments:
I think iconic brands of INDIAN cinema is an overstatement.. Have we forgotten brands like Raj Kapoor, and Bachchan ...but yes kamal and rajni would comofortably pass of as brands of Tamil cinema, extend it to even SOUTH inidan cinema, excepting NTR and Rajkumar of course !!!!
I agree with you LV; there have been quite a few icons in Indian Cinema but these 2 actors are the only icons who are still on top of their game. Guys like Raj Kapoor and Amitabh have been recognised as Icons after they have been displaced at the top. These 2 guys are like Madonna they just don't seem to fade away!
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