Rajinikanth SUPERSTAR recently took flak on social media for falling at the feet of Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, in complete contradiction to the SUPERSTAR’s cultivated Dravidian Hero persona. In his defense, the SUPERSTAR claimed that his act of supplication, which is in keeping with Hindu tradition, was a habitual reflex – to fall at the feet of renunciants and holy men. This would be in keeping with his long-established public persona as a devout Hindu but the complication is that the revered yogi is a stalwart of a virulent form of BJP/RSS Hindutva. One which seems to be unrestrained in demonizing and victimizing Muslims to further its political/ideological agenda. Rajinkanth’s supplication to such a figure is surely at odds with the inclusive spiritual politics he called for during his stint as an aspiring Tamil Nadu politician. While this public prostration of one man at the feet of another, may be in keeping with the Sanatana Dharma that the actor professes, as Dravidian firebrand politician Seeman puts it in the meme above, it is in complete contradiction to the self-respect and radical humanism of the Tamil Dravidian movement as well as to the persona that the SUPERSTAR presents to the masses.

Image: https://www.pathrum.in/2023/08/21/dont-fall-at-the-feet-of-those-with-power-and-money-rajinikanths-old-speech-goes-viral/

https://thewire.in/communalism/100-instances-of-hate-speech-religious-polarisation-hindutva-supremacy-in-adityanaths-poll-speeches

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/sanatan-dharm-meaning-history-8924036/

https://thesouthfirst.com/pti/dravidian-movement-is-about-self-respect-social-justice-and-federalism-tn-finance-minister-reacts-to-governor-ravi/