There is a glint in S Karthik’s eye every time he mentions the name. A light smile forms in his lips and he straightens his shoulders spontaneously in preparation to say it: “Thalaivar.” The 48-year-old reserves for Superstar Rajinikanth a rare kind of love. “He is like God to me,” says Karthik, leading us into the temple he has built for the actor. Karthik has converted a portion of his home in Thirumangalam near Madurai as Shri Arulmigu Rajini Kovil, complete with a sanctum sanctorum.

The Rajini idol at Shri Arulmigu Rajini Kovil in Thirumangalam near Madurai
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY G

The centrepiece of the 700 sqft space is a 3.5 ft tall stone statue of the actor in a pose from his iconic 1989 film Mappillai. In front of it stands his vahanam, an eagle, also made of stone. “The main idol weighs 300 kg; I got a sculptor based in Virudhunagar to carve it,” explains Karthik. It is framed by a brass prabhavalli arch; there even is a copper jaldhara that is usually placed over the Siva Lingam.

In a smaller adjacent room, that Karthik likens to the shrine of the moolavar (the main deity) is another stone statue of the actor that is three ft tall and weighs 250 kg. The smell of camphor and incense fills the air and a sloka from the actor’s popular film Baba plays on loop in the background. Karthik performs an aarti as his daughter Anusha, wife Rohini and brother Meenakshi Sundara Shankar pray to the idol.

S Karthik is a diehard fan of actor Rajinikanth. He is seen in the inner shrine that has the first statue that he installed.
| Photo Credit:
MOORTHY G

It all feels surreal. But for Karthik and his family, praying to Rajini is an everyday ritual, something that they do with sincerity. In celebration of the actor completing 50 years in the film industry, Karthik has pasted flex cut-outs from his films — there are over 5,500 stills covering every inch of the room, including the ceiling fan. On the door of the inner shrine, he has pasted acknowledgment notes from each of his letters to the actor sent over the years. He also has a selection of cut-outs of the actor that he sets up as golu during Navaratri every year.

Karthik used to be in the CISF and now runs a matrimony service. “I have been a fan of thalaivar ever since I can remember,” he says, adding that he happened to pray to a statue of the actor in 1999, to be selected for the force soon after. “It could have been a coincidence, but ever since, I started feeling that thalaivar was God to me,” he says.

The first statue was installed in October 2023, and the main statue to which he performs poojas, was opened on December 12, 2024. Karthik offers special prayers on Tuesdays and Fridays, and has even composed a sloka that goes: ‘Om Rajiniye pottri; Om Rajini dheivame pottri; Om Superstar-e pottri…’ “I recite it while performing aarti and abishegams,” he says.

Karthik is not affiliated to any of the Rajinikanth fan clubs and says that he does not do this as a gimmick. “I do not take offerings or money from people who visit the temple,” he says. Last year, he got a call from the actor’s office, inviting him and his family for a meeting. It is a day Karthik will never forget. “Thalaivar took me around his home, showed me the gurus and gods he prays to…we spent 40 minutes together,” he says. Karthik’s office is adorned with framed photographs from the meeting. “He said he hoped to meet us every year,” he says.

Like most diehard fans of the actor, Karthik has watched every Rajini film there is. “At home, we do not watch anything other than thalaivar films,” he says matter-of-factly. “When his film plays in the cinemas, we watch it as a family week after week as long as it runs.” For him, it doesn’t matter how good the film is or who the director is. “All I care about is seeing thalaivar on the big screen,” he says.

He knows some people may ridicule his obsession, but that doesn’t bother him. “This is my way of showing my love,” he states. On our way out, he hands us a box of sweets: prasadam from Shri Arulmigu Rajini Kovil.