Ajith Kumar and his spotlight: The Vidaamuyarchi actor finally walks back into it for the racing enthusiast to take centrestage

Aalwar almost felt like a vanity project, as in, the star letting his ego get the better of him to star in a project that almost ticked none of the right boxes. Kireedam was a sincere effort, as in the star letting his passion get the better of him to star in a project that ticked almost all of the right boxes. Billa was an indulgent but top-class effort, as in the star embracing his stardom to star in a project that ticked all the right boxes. Post his ascension to superstardom, most of Ajith’s films fall under one of these categories. Not all of them work all the time, but that is the vagaries of cinema, and Ajith understands it quite well, and in a weird way, has incorporated a similar thought process among his fans too. But the actual reason why 2007 was a watershed year for Ajith and his fans is that it was also the last year he gave cinema-related interviews to television channels and publications. 

Ajith Kumar reprised the role played by Rajinikanth in Billa. Courtesy: IMDB

Ajith wasn’t giving a lot of interviews for a while then, but his presence was still there in movie-related functions. But after 2007, Ajith started going into his shell, and showing signs of the recluse he was going to become. There were no pre-release or post-release interviews. There were no ‘random’ sightings of him anywhere. Of course, he made a small exception during the promotions of Saran’s Aasal, backed by Sivaji Productions, mainly because it was backed by the legendary banner, and his equation with actor Prabhu. And then, there was that controversy in 2010 where he spoke about the need to let actors just be actors, and not arm-twist them into making political appearances. After that died down, it was shutters into the world of Ajith Kumar. 

Is it possible to be an Ajith Kumar in today’s time and age where every little move is documented. Take, for instance, someone like Ranbir Kapoor, who is heralded for being away from social media. But is he really away from the glare? We see him here, there, and everywhere. He is just not there on X or Instagram. That can’t be the standard when there is someone who exercised tremendous restraint in not giving any interviews since 2007. But what makes it even more interesting is that I wonder if Ajith truly had to restrain himself from doing so, or was he just naturally uninterested. 

Even when Mankatha, his landmark 50th film was being released, he didn’t even try to promote the film. However, it went on to become one of his biggest blockbusters, and it continues to be one of the top-tier landmark films of any actor in Indian cinema. This might have bolstered his confidence that his decision to remain away from the spotlight isn’t affecting the prospects of his film. Yes, Billa 2 wasn’t as successful, but his cameo in English Vinglish left his audience craving for more. Then, Arrambam and Veeram happened, and the success streak continued. The more his films became successful, the more reclusive he became. 

Irrespective of the success ratio of his films in the past decade, Ajith started making some rather interesting choices. After Yennai Arinthaal, his maiden collaboration with Gautham Menon, Ajith starred in three back-to-back films with Siva (Vedalam, Vivegam, and Viswasam), and the three back-to-back films with H Vinoth (Nerkonda Paarvai, Valimai and Thunivu). Basically, two directors for six films spread over a span of eight years. One might argue the merits and demerits of these collaborations, but it proved something that everyone was hoping against — Ajith was coasting in his comfort zone. And this comfort wasn’t about the content, but being content about the combination. 

Ajith Kumar and director Siva have collaborated on Veeram, Vedalam, Vivegam and Viswasam. Courtesy: Prime Video (X)

But during all of this, neither the media, nor the fans really understood what was going on in his mind. It was through nuggets of information strewn by his collaborators across all his films that we could understand what Ajith was thinking. Were they all true? We don’t know. Were they curated? We hope not. The lack of communication was so normalised that even the fans stopped expecting anything. The audience would get to see him stand in line exercising his right to vote during every election. They would get to see photos of him indulging in his various passion projects like bike riding, pistol shooting, etc… Some got to see him in the practice range, some got to see him in the rough terrain across India, and somehow, the hysteria continued to simmer despite the clear lack of fuel to burn. 

Then, 17 years after the release of Billa, something changed. Of course, Billa wasn’t the reason, but it has a nice ring to it. Ajith went back to racing… this time as a racing driver and a team owner. He was everywhere. Once again, we didn’t know what he was thinking, but every move of his was documented. And then in January, just a day before the festive occasion of Pongal, his team came third in the Dubai 24H race. Two weeks later, the Indian government conferred the prestigious Padma Bhushan. And in between this fortnight, we saw Ajith interact with his fans who turned up to see him race in Dubai. We saw him smiling, waving, and talking to them in a way he hadn’t done for a really long time. We got to see him talk about himself, his racing, and his family. We also got to see him in ‘thug life’ mode as he spoke about his film commitments, and how he would concentrate on both racing and cinema, with obvious precedence going to his on-track pursuits. 

And for the first time in almost two decades, he gave a few interviews to Dubai media where he was candid about his passion, and how fans need to take care of their own lives instead of throwing all their time and resources behind matinee idols. This felt genuine because he was someone who disbanded his fan clubs at the height of his stardom. This felt authentic because he was someone who urged everyone to stop calling him with the moniker of ‘Thala,’  which was stuck to him since 2001. This felt real because he was someone who insisted his fans maintain a sense of decorum, and not equate him to ‘God’ even in jest, and just call him Ajith Kumar or Ajith or AK.  

In a weird way, the relationship between a fan and their idol is almost like unrequited love. How do you love someone knowing many around you love them a lot? How is your love more special? How do you prove to yourself, and to many others like you that your love is indeed the best kind of love there is? And in between all this, there are the looks of derision that come your way when skeptics see you adulate someone who doesn’t even know of your existence. How do you live as a fan of an idol who wants you to do better with your own lives? Does it make you move away from the star or bring the star much closer to you? But one thing is sure… the less someone talks, the more we are interested to listen when they do.

ALSO READ: Ajith Kumar says he won’t be signing films during racing season, says will start shoot during break: ‘Don’t need to be told what to do’

There is a lesson in this somewhere, but we’ll get there later because Vidaamuyarchi is releasing on Thursday, and it is a film that ushers in the third act of Ajith’s career. And something tells yours truly that this is just the beginning of the return of Ajith Kumar to the public eye. We would see and hear more of him simply because he has decided that it is time the world sees and hears more of him. And to paraphrase his ‘very good friend’ Vijay… ‘We are waiting.’