[Commons-law] a blast from the south

[Shamnad Basheer]

hi lawrence,

there were talks of hrithik trying something similar
with his unique dance step in kaho na pyar he- though
i'm not exactly sure what came of it. 

my take on this is that since the right of publicity
anyway confers exclusivity to the persona/imagery of
celebrities, there is no question of registering a
copyright for the same (i'm sure the author of the
piece meant "copyright" and not "patent")-claims of
copyright would be ludicrous in situations such as
this. 

regards-shamnad 

--- lawrenceliang at vsnl.net wrote: > 
> ha, where else but from tamil flmdon will you get as
> fascinating  a case as this, rajnikanth is
> attempting to copyright the look that he has in Baba
> 
> 
> mnore on this later in connection with rights of
> publicity
> 
> Lawrence
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Copyright on style
> 
> In a first of its kind, Tamil screen icon Rajnikanth
> patents his style and looks for his forthcoming
> film Baba, reports Sudha G Tilak
> 
> 
> The Tamils christened him Style King nearly 30 years
> ago. When Rajnikanth appeared on screen twirling a
> cigarette before lighting it, flicking his uncombed
> mane, the cine crazy crowd had found a new god. His
> rakish looks and jeering dialogue deliveries have
> endeared him to the 12 lakh fans of his.
> 
> The 50 something Rajnikanth is setting new trends
> with his forthcoming film Baba, his 150th flick
> which will be released for diwali this year. Through
> a public notice he has patented the film's posters,
> drawings, costumes and interestingly, even his
> looks, and the film's title.
> 
> Baba will then be the first Indian film to be
> copyrighted right from the leading man's mannerisms
> to dialogues.
> 
> Rajnikanth's 150th film is awaited eagerly by his
> fans, as the star makes a screen appearance after a
> prolonged absence from films for three years. So
> even as the local media in Chennai speculates that
> Rajnikanth has decided to opt for cinema over
> politics, he surprised them, in his characteristic
> manner of keeping everyone guessing, by bowing
> before the mahurat shot.
> 
> The very next day, after the launch, Rajnikanth
> surprised the state by placing prominent public
> notices in leading Tamil and English dailies. The
> legal notice prohibits persons from imitating his
> screen persona for the film or using the character
> of Baba for commercial gain that includes models
> imitating his look for the film to push their
> product in advertisements or imitate his gag for TV
> programmes.
> 
> The notice also declared that no person or firm
> could use Rajnikanth's photos, or sketches,
> head-scarves, pendants for selling or branding
> products. Tamil film historian Anandan told
> tehelka.com, "Rajnikanth makes only well thought and
> calculated moves. He is the first Indian actor to do
> this." 
> 
> Rajnikanth's style dossier includes tossing a
> cigarette into the air and deftly catching it with
> his teeth; wicked pelvic thrusts in song sequences,
> a speedy gait and a tossing hair. 
> 
> Since 1992 when things turned political for the
> star, he began to introduce a new dress code and a
> dialogue refrain in each film that made it easier
> for audiences to identify the film. Also, for the
> past 12 years, there has been a cold war between
> Rajnikanth and All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
> (AIADMK) supremo J Jayalalithaa. In many of his
> films in the past decade, Rajnikanth's "villain" has
> been a powerful and rich female protagonist, who he
> subjugates at the end. The demale figure could be a
> thwarted lover, a mother-in-law, a mean aunt, a
> female boss at work or just a wealthy and arrogant
> woman. 
> 
> The films all had dialogues that meant more than
> what they said. They hinted about his political
> decisions and his own views on female supremacy. Of
> course feminists ranted that he was anti-woman, but
> considering that the thambi (younger brother, as a
> young fan is called) forms the majority of his fan
> club, it didn't create any flutter in Rajnikanth's
> camp.
> 
> Baba's director Suresh Krishna adds, "Baba will have
> trademark punch lines for Rajnikanth that have been
> so popular in the past. His fans will not be
> displeased".
> 
> Posters of Baba, released by Lotus International, a
> company that will handle the publicity, shows
> Rajnikanth in blue shirt and black jeans with a
> short beard, his hair pushed back from his forehead
> by a black and white scarf and an iron pendant
> hanging from a black thread on his chest.
> 
> The trademark poster of the film has Rajni in a
> profile, clenching a bidi with his teeth and holding
> his right hand up, his fingers imitating a classical
> Indian classical dance mudra of the deer.
> 
> It is not unusual for fans across Tamil Nadu to
> imitate Rajnikanth's look for his forthcoming film
> by painting hoardings, be it barber shops or the
> ubiquitous wine shops, tea shops and petty shops.
> The notice puts a halt to this. Says K Thangasamy, a
> wine shop owner in Chennai: "I haven't heard of this
> notice. I had made plans to have my shop hoarding
> painted with Rajni looking like Baba".
> 
> But knowing Rajnikanth's constituency comes from
> this very strata, the star has taken care to state
> in the notice that autorickshaw drivers, who are
> Rajni fan club members, are permitted to paint his
> face from Baba on their vehicles that could double
> as promotion for the film.
> 
> However the Chennai grapevine is abuzz with the
> murmur that Rajnikanth could enter politics after
> this film and hence is cautious that rival political
> parties like the AIADMK does not caricature him in
> their TV shows or through films or in their public
> meetings.
> 
> In fact, a fortnight before news broke of the star
> emerging from his hibernation to films, his friend
> and guide, MP and actor-journalist Cho Ramaswamy
> told at a public rally that Rajnikanth should float
> a third front as an alternative to the two Dravidian
> parties. "It's not just my wish alone, but the wish
> of many others that he enter politics", said
> Ramaswamy. 
> 
> N Satyanarayana, president of Rajnikanth's Fan Club,
> only says that the "fans want him to enter politics,
> but what he thinks is unknown to us".
> 
> With Manisha Koirala as Rajnikanth's consort in the
> movie, it could well prove to a hit, which the Tamil
> industry has not yet had apart from the moderate
> success of Gemini. Meanwhile Kodambakkam insiders
> insist that the film could just spring another
> characteristic Rajni-style surprise. "The star could
> say in the film that he wants to follow
> spiritualism. Note the title, after Shiridi Baba",
> says one producer director friend of Rajnikanth. One
> can never tell what style Rajnikanth will spring
> next.
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