Why does Rajinikanth have a cult following in Japan?

Superstar Rajinikanth is one of the most bankable stars in the Indian film industry. He has been treating fans to his charismatic performance for decades. Even at 72, his craze continues unabated. From large hoardings of the star decked up with garlands to beelines outside cinema halls, fans are sent into a frenzy whenever a Rajinikanth film releases. But, did you know that Rajinikanth also enjoys massive popularity in Japan? Yes, you read it right. Japanese too are diehard fans of Rajinikanth.

How it started

In Japan, Rajinikanth rose to prominence with his 1995 film Muthu, which hit the theatres three years later in the country. Directed by K.S. Ravikumar and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions, Muthu was released as Odori Maharaja (Dancing Maharaja) across 50 screens in Japan, according to The Hindu.

Muthu ran for 23 weeks in Japanese theatres and collected a total of $1.6 million to become the highest-grossing Indian film in Japan.

In 2006, then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh even highlighted the overwhelming response received by Muthu in his speech at the Japanese parliament.

“I am delighted to hear the popularity of Odori Maharaja among young people here. Our children were delighted to see Odori Asimo - the dancing robot,” the prime minister had said.

The mention of Odori Maharaja in Manmohan Singh’s speech caused the Japanese parliamentarians to burst into applause, according to the Hindustan Times.

After Muthu, Rajinikanth’s Darbar proved to be a massive success in Japan. It had collected more than 230 million Yen at the box office, as per a report by Hindu Business Line. The film was released in July 2021 as Dalbar Revenge in Japan.

The craze continues

Now, the 2023 film Jailer has excited Rajinikanth’s fans and reminds us of the craze that Muthu and Drabar had sparked. A video has been doing rounds on social media where a Japanese couple tells how they flew from Osaka to India just to watch Jailer.

Yasuda Hidetoshi, Rajinikanth fan club leader, in Japan, told the Indian news agency PTI, "To see the Jailer movie, we have come from Japan to Chennai.”

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