Rajini factor

After years of flirting with politics and dropping hints about his own political ambitions, Rajinikanth, Tamil cinema’s biggest living icon – he remains that, although he has competition from some of the younger actors -- has finally announced that he will launch his own political party in January. Timed with the state assembly elections scheduled for next summer, his entry will create a new dynamic in a state where the line between art, stardom and politics has always been blurred.