Rajinikanth fans might be knowing that Thalaiva's movies used to be a rage in Japan. It all began with Muthu releasing in the Asian country in 1998 and turning out to be a smash hit there. The success of the mass entertainer inspired the makers of Rajinikanth's films to release in Japan and enjoy the additional dividends of the successes. However, not many know that it was the box office success of a Shah Rukh Khan film that paved the way for Thalaiva to rule in Japan. Shah Rukh Khan Birthday Special: How King Khan Promoted Patriotism and Inclusivity in His Movies Right From Start Without the Need To Seek Validation!

In 1997, a year prior to Muthu's release in the country, Aziz Mirza's Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman had released in the country. In his study about Asian Cinema in Japan for Reitaku University, author Tamaki Matsuoka wrote about how Muthu's box office success in Japan came about. In the thesis, he mentioned that while Indian films used to be known there, especially Raj Kapoor movies and Satyajit Ray classics, Muthu's success was a game-changer, for this was a pucca commercial entertainer that managed to strike a chord with an audience with a very different taste in cinema sensibilities from the ones back in India.

The same thesis also mentions that the warm-up act for Muthu's success was provided by Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman which came a year earlier. The article wrote, "Another Indian film released in 1997 paved the way for Muthu’s success in Japan the next year. Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992), a Hindi film made in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), was publicly shown and gained a favorable response from Japanese audiences. It had been 43 years since the films Aan (1952) and Chandralekha (1948) had been released in Japan in 1954 (see the next section). These two films were representative of Indian entertainment films, usually called “masala (spice) films” in India. Eventually,

thanks to Raju, Japanese people came to recognize this entertainment film genre once again, and became interested in Indian cinema."

Watch a Scene from Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman:

Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, like Muthu (1995), was released in India a few years earlier in 1992. It was one of Shah Rukh Khan's earliest films. Directed by Aziz Mirza, the movie is loosely inspired by the Hollywood film The Secret of My Success, interestingly starring Michael J Fox, one of Shah Rukh Khan's favourite actors. Later, SRK went on to act in another of Michael J Fox's films, For Love Or Money. The remake - Yes Boss - retained the same director and same leading lady, Juhi Chawla. Michael J Fox Birthday: How the ‘Back to the Future’ Actor’s Films Inspired Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Mohanlal, Suriya Movies!

Returning to Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, also starring Amrita Singh and Nana Patekar, the Hindi movie was a success in India too and played its part in making SRK a star in Bollywood, along with other releases like Deewana and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. The movie is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 02, 2021 02:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).