Meet Tamil Nadu’s Rajinikanth look-alikes who walk and talk like the Superstar

There comes a point in A Somasundaram’s act when he ceases to be a 52-year-old father of two. Dressed in figure-hugging bellbottoms and a crisp white shirt, he marches out of his rented house in Dindigul’s RM Colony. Neatly-polished shoes gleam as he casually flicks his hair to strike a pose for the camera. The resemblance is uncanny; so much so that passers-by pause to stare. Could it really be him?

Somasundaram is now Rajinikanth, and the transformation is complete. Not just the looks; it is as though the personality of the actor — the swag he is known for, his cool confidence and star aura — has seeped into Somu as well. Only moments before seated in his living room in a lungi, he was just Somu; an actor from a small town. All it took was a little make-up, a wig, and a costume change to get him to shed his real self.

T Ragupathi
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Special arrangement

Somu, known as ‘Rajini’ Somu professionally, is among the most popular stage impersonators of Rajinikanth. Tamil Nadu is known to have over 200 such actors — many of them from smaller towns. While not all of them get the make-up and acting spot on, they manage to make a living out of imitating the Superstar.

“Every morsel of rice I eat has his name written on it,” says Somu. “He has given me an identity; everything in my life — from the house I live in, to the two-wheeler I ride — has come from him,” he adds. The son of a Carnatic music teacher, Somu first went up the stage as a group dancer during a small cultural event associated with a temple festival in Dindigul in 1986. From then on, he started performing on stage regularly, dancing to Rajini songs with fervour and even imitating his moves.

“It was after a photo shoot in the costume from the film Arunachalam that I started feeling I was able to pull this off well,” says Somu. He has done the Rajini act on hundreds of stages across Tamil Nadu as well as other parts of the country over the years. Among his best makeovers is that of 80s Rajini; a look that Somu nails. He is also known for his Kabali look, and has recently perfected the Coolie look in denims, white shoes, and red scarf thrown over his shoulder from the ‘Chikitu’ song.

Somu and Ragupathi have performed on hundreds of stages across Tamil Nadu as well as other parts of the country over the years.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Somu has watched Rajini’s films over and over again to get his body language right. “There was no YouTube when I started out, and I would watch his films in the theatre several times,” he says. He knows Rajini’s hairstyle from every movie like the back of his hand, and has also kept a close watch on his beard and moustache styles. “It was after Rajadhi Raja that his hairstyle changed,” he notes.

Somu spent a few years in Chennai as a junior artiste, acting in around 15 films. He is travelling through the year, changing his on-stage style from one Rajini look to the other. He has inspired several stage actors, among them being T Ragupathi from P N Kallupatti in Oddanchatram block in Dindigul district.

The 38-year-old carries an old plastic box that contains face powder and brushes, wherever he goes for stage performances. The box, a little frayed at the edges, is among his most precious posessions. Ragupathi, unlike Somu, uses simple make-up; he doesn’t wear a wig, instead, has styled his hair like Rajini’s untamed locks. His outfit — black shirt over black pants and a fanny pack has been carefully picked to go with the actor’s costumes from the 90s and early 2000s.

Ragupathi too has performed on stages across the country, and is a diehard Rajini fan. “I got the opportunity to see Thalaivar in front of his Poes Garden residence in Chennai in 2010,” he says. Ragupathi was among the many fans who waited in hope and excitement for a glimpse of the Superstar. Somu though, is yet to meet him. “I’m waiting for the day,” he says.

There is one question he often encounters: ‘Don’t you have an identity of your own?’ Somu says, “I’m just an actor. The real Somu is always inside me.” His phone rings just then and he steps aside to answer it, laughing at something over the call. For a minute, it sounds just like Rajinikanth.