Karunanidhi's grandson's ambitious debut bombs

Efforts by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi to promote his grandson Udayanidhi Stalin as the next mega star of Tamil films has come a cropper. Udayanidhi’s debut movie Oru Kal Oru Kannadi which released last week got a lukewarm response from the viewers.

“The only saving factor of this film is the acting by comedian Santhanam. But for him, the movie would have ended as a damp squib,” said Srinivsan Jagannathan, an avid movie-goer.

According to film critics, the Karunanidhi family had some grand plans. “Karunanidhi wanted to groom Udayanidhi, son of MK Stalin, as the youth wing leader of the DMK. The movie was a medium through which he thought he could promote his grandson,” said Randor Guy, chronicler of Tamil films.

Udayanidhi had been confined to the role of a film producer all these years. His banner Red Giant International is the major movie maker in Tamil Nadu. There were charges by a section of the film industry that Udayanidhi called the shots in the production, casting and releasing  of movies in Tamil Nadu during the Karunanidhi regime (2006-2011). It is an open secret that Vijay, the popular star and his father SA Chandrasekhar declared their support to the AIADMK in last year’s assembly election after they fell out with Udayanidhi.

It was Vijay’s popularity with the Tamil film viewers which made the K-clan to field Udayanidhi as a star. “This has been Karunanidhi’s modus operandi from the beginning. In the 70s, he wanted to groom MK Muthu, his son by his first marriage, as a rival to the presiding deity of the times, MG Ramachandran both in politics as well as in films. Though Muthu acted in Pillayo Pillai, Samayalkkaran and Pookari, all of them flopped,” said Guy.

Stalin, Karunanidhi’s second son, too tried his luck in films and television. “Viewers were not kind to the two movies he acted, Ore Ratham and Makkal Aanayittal. The last movie was a sequel to the MGR-starrer Naan Aanyittal. Even TV serials like Kurinji Malar and Surya did not help Stalin,” he pointed out.

Perhaps people in Tamil Nadu did not want the world of glitter to take away their favourite politician from them, feels film critic Sundar Das. “Stalin’s website is resplendent with his literary and acting talents. Since Udayanidhi is all set to begin his political odyssey he too may be horning his literary and artistic talents,” he said.