Is Rajinikanth a Tamilian?

Seems to be so, at least going by the presence of his name in the CNN-IBN Poll for the most popular Tamilian. No, I am not a Tamil fanatic who goes around erasing Hindi or other non-tamil names from boards around the city, we have many politicians to do that. Neither do i hate rajinikanth as an actor. I like his movies, his comedy and of course, his antics. I like watching his movies along with my friends who fall under the category of his "hardcore" fans and watch them watch his every move with utter devotion!

I guess, having a poll in the movie industry including actors and actresses who are purely from that region only would not have many entries at all. Bollywood has had a heavy influence from South Indian Heroines and likewise, the tamil movie industry depends on the import of slimmer fairer North Indian heroines, though the trend currently seems to be shifting towards Mallu heroines. This list would be seemingly endless with Jyothika, Nayantara (real name: Diana Kurien) , Laila and the other who's who of Kollywood.

The above poll could have been rephrased as a poll for the one having the most influence on tamilians. Rajini would have had a cake-walk then. Pitting him against MS Subbulakshmi, Periyar, Abdul Kalam, Vishwanathan Anand and Ilayaraja would make it very confusing for the person taking the poll :-) or was it a wise decision on part of the poll-makers to split the votes for the poll evenly?

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