Superstar Rajni's RANA Begins Filming. Rajni Hospitalized.

Yesterday I posted the first look poster from the new Superstar Rajnikanth film, Rana.  Well, this morning in Chennai, opened principle photography with a traditional mahurat.  The mahurat is a sort of informal ceremony that happens before the filming of most Indian films.  The purpose is to bless the production and ward off evil and/or misfortune.  The very first photos of of Rajni and co-star Deepika Padukone in costume come from that first day on set and can be seen below.

However, not all was well this morning  as I just found out that Rajnikanth was briefly hospitalized today after a bout of vomiting.  Well, that was quick.  Usually we have to wait for some of the more intense stunt work to be in progress before we hear about people on film sets being sent to the hospital.

The good news is that Superstar Rajni is okay, and has apparently been discharged.  There's no word on what exactly the problem was, but as long as Rajni's in good shape, India is in good shape.  Indians take their film stars VERY seriously, and Rajni is currently the number one star in India.  When the iconic Amitabh Bachchan was hospitalized after a serious accident on the set of his 1981 film, Coolie, all of India ground to a halt.  He was visited by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi in the hospital, there were lines miles long at his hospital of well-wishers, and many fans offered to sacrifice limbs to the gods in order to ward off what seemed like impending death for Bachchan.  I wonder what the customary sacrifice is for food poisoning?

In any case, I'm digging the look and I can't wait to see some more photos from this set!