Many Indian actors have played the bad man at some point in their careers. So when Rajnikanth was offered the dual role of the scientist hero and villainous android in
Robot, it was, but natural, that he’d do it differently. And walk a diverse path, he did. He borrowed inspiration from the
Joker, a villainous character from the
Batman series.
While working out the nuances for his character, the superstar and director Shankar felt they should add some madness to him, to make him more edgy. “That’s when Rajni suggested modeling his negative character on the lines of Joker, a role played by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger in the past,” reveals a source associated with the
Rs. 150 crore film.
Apparently, Rajni did his own research on the Joker and saw all the movies to understand him. “Rajni felt that the Joker would give anyone the chills with his unpredictability, and that’s how his character should be,” says the source.
Talking about Rajni’s inspiration, Shankar says, “When Rajni sir suggested basing his character on the Joker, I immediately agreed. I knew that would bring a completely new type of menace to his robot. And we know that only someone of Rajni sir’s caliber can pull off playing the mad, bad robot with élan.”
Full coverage: Rajinikanth's Endhiran