Rajinikanth’s colossal disaster forced him into hiatus, ‘destroyed’ Manisha Koirala’s career

One of the most successful and accomplished stars in the history of Indian cinema, Rajinikanth has ruled the silver screen for five decades. In his illustrious and unparalleled career, he has delivered not just earth-shattering successes but also massive failures, which have also played a key role in keeping him grounded.

Yet, if one were to ask what his biggest debacle was, it’s highly doubtful that those familiar with Rajinikanth’s career would name any other title than Baba (2002). Even if he may have had bigger box-office failures, Baba’s debacle hit the superstar from several sides, even prompting him to take a hiatus to catch his breath.

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Not only did it affect him as an actor, with many quickly concluding that the era of Rajinikanth was finally over, but he also lost a fortune on Baba by bankrolling it. Worse still, Rajinikanth himself wrote the screenplay, which explored themes close to his heart, including spirituality. Hence, its failure hit him even harder. Unfortunately, Baba also affected the career of its female lead, Manisha Koirala.

Why the massive hype behind Baba

Although he had played a notable role in director T Rama Rao’s Anil Kapoor-led Hindi movie Bulandi (2000) in between, Baba was Rajinikanth’s first film in the lead role since the widely successful Padayappa (1999), helmed by KS Ravikumar.

Rajinikanth himself wrote Baba’s screenplay. (Credit: IMDb)

Besides, Baba was directed by Suresh Krissna, whose last film with the superstar was the classic gangster drama Baashha (1995). Also starring icons like Manisha, MN Nambiar, Amrish Puri, and Goundamani in key roles, Baba’s music was composed by AR Rahman. Hence, the hype for the movie was rightfully high.

How Baba became a disaster and why Rajinikanth offered distributors a helping hand

According to reports, Baba was sold to distributors for a whopping Rs 17 crore, underscoring just how anticipated the movie was and the expectations stakeholders had for it. Released on Thursday, August 15, during the Independence Day weekend, Baba unfortunately received poor reviews.

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Eventually, Baba earned a share of just Rs 13 crore, dealing a massive blow to the distributors. They met Rajinikanth in Chennai and requested him to return a part of the Minimum Guarantee (MG) they had paid for the movie. The superstar reportedly returned about 25 per cent of the investment to the distributors from his own pocket, paying over Rs 3 crore.

Years later, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar lauded Rajinikanth for this act, calling him a real-life superstar. At the trailer launch of director S Shankar’s 2.0 (2018), which marked the two stars’ first on-screen collaboration, Akshay said, “Rajini sir is not a superstar, he is an entire galaxy. There is no one who doesn’t want to learn his style. I remember his film Baba had come, and it had not done well. And he had called distributors and returned their money. This is the biggest sign of being a superstar.”

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How Baba derailed Manisha Koirala’s South Indian career

Not just the superstar, the movie’s failure also affected actor Manisha Koirala quite badly, leading her to suddenly lose acting opportunities in the South. Prior to Baba, Manisha had appeared in notable South films such as the Nagarjuna-led Criminal (1994), Mani Ratnam’s Bombay (1995), Shankar-Kamal Haasan duo’s Indian (1996), Shankar’s Mudhalvan (1999), and Suresh Krissna-Kamal Haasan duo’s Aalavandhan (2001).

But after Baba, for almost a decade, the only two South films she did were director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s Kamal Haasan-led Mumbai Xpress (2005) and director Shyamaprasad’s Elektra (2010). Her next major South film happened only in 2011, when she played a key role in the Dhanush-starrer Mappillai (2011).

Rajinikanth with actor Sujatha and others on the sets of Baba. (Credit: IMDb)

Manisha Koirala herself once opened up about the impact of Baba’s failure on her career. “Baba was probably my last big Tamil/South film. It flopped so badly in those days. It was such a huge disaster. A lot of expectations were on the film, and when it flopped, I thought my career in South films was gone completely, and it did in a way. Before Baba, I had done multiple good South films. But after Baba flopped, I stopped getting offers,” she told O2 India YouTube channel.

The epic Chandramukhi comeback and Baba’s 2022 re-release

Although many assumed that Rajinikanth would never recover from the blow dealt by Baba’s failure, he made a comeback in 2005, playing the lead role in director P Vasu’s Chandramukhi. A remake of the Malayalam classic Manichitrathazhu (1993), widely regarded as one of the greatest Indian films of all time, Chandramukhi became a massive blockbuster and reportedly ran for an astounding 890 days at Shanti Theatre in Chennai.

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In 2022, Baba received a new lease on life, as a digitally remastered version of the film was developed and re-released in theatres. Brought to theatres by Lyca Productions on the occasion of the superstar’s 72nd birthday, Baba reportedly earned over Rs 4 crore that time. It was the last film Rajinikanth has bankrolled to date.