THE NAME IS RAJINIKANTH:Gayathri Sreekanth. Om Books International,4379/4B, Prakash House, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi 110002. Rs.495.

Rajini Kanth is a phenomenon - a legend in his lifetime. . Shivaji Rao Gaekwad was born on December 12,1949. He is one of the most influential and bankable movie stars in the Indian film industry, a superstar in the Tamil and Telugu films. Rajinikanth has acted in over 170 films including movies in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali.

Before starting his career in the film industry, he worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Transport Service in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.Rajinikanth got his first break in movies when he played a small role in kannada movie "katha sangama" of late director Puttanna kanagal. Later he played the role of a cancer-patient in the movie Apoorva Raagangal (1975). From then on, there was no turning back.

The Rajini magic defies all logic. He received India's nationmal honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema. Can anyone offer any concrete explanation to his highly successful thirty-five year run in the Tamil Film industry? He is not tall. He averages just 5ft. 9 inches. He is dark in complexion. Even now his Tamil pronunciation is utterly non-Tamil. Yet, he stays on. How? The book seeks to unravel this enigma. It is an exhaustive narration in cinematic style. No nuance of his life is left out. It reflects the joys and sorrows, the pains and ecstasies, the loves and betrayals of an eventful life.

As Rajini himself has said, the book is the result of the extra ordinary efforts made by Dr. Gayathri, an ophthalmologist. As she herself says, �When I started writing this book, my well-wishers asked me, 'Why Rajnikanth?......My answer was, 'Why not Rajinikanth?' I believe him to be one of the best living human beings. Vices don't make a man, quality maketh. Habits don't make a man bad, only his attitude. Rajini has not forgotten his roots: he is still the basic well-grounded Shivaji Rao and enjoys the company of his driver, conductor, and depot friends. He is spiritual, hates hypocrisy and loves simplicity. I still am looking out for a hero who owns up to his mistakes.�

The book has several dramatic sequences in Rajini's real life. �Rajinikanth was restless. 'When did my identity change so much? Have I lost the Shivaji Rao inside me?', he pondered. 'What's the use for all this money and fame? I have no peace.� His meeting with the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, his support to the DMK-TMC combine and several other incidents having political overtones are presented with an element of drama.

The author has, naturally taken lots of pains to put together a book of this kind. She has woven together numerous incidents into a kind of screenplay which is stylish and beautifully presented. I am sure the next edition will have better proofing and would carry an index as well.

H Ramakrishnan