Documentary on Rajnikanth fans to premiere at Venice Film fest

A documentary on fandom of superstar Rajnikanth by an Indian-American professor from University of Michigan would be premiered at the Venice Film Festival, the university said today.
The documentary, "For The Love of a Man," produced by University of Michigan professor Joyojeet Pal and directed by Rinku Kalsy, a filmmaker in Amsterdam, will be premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Pal's belief in the film goes beyond time and research. He has invested his life's savings in the film that follows the fans of 64-year-old Rajnikanth, who has been in more than 600 movies.
"The documentary shows us that there is no one way to be a fan. It is a look at the lives of real people to explore why they do what they do," said Pal, the primary researcher for the film.

According to the university, the documentary won some early awards in India when Pal and Kalsy screened some portions for funding.
In addition, Pal raised about USD7,000 on the Indian crowdsourcing website Wishberry last year -- funds that helped him finish the film editing.

"I've enjoyed making this film," Pal said.
"I love telling stories about aspirations of people in contemporary India. It is the thread that ties all my work together, whether it is a research paper or a documentary." After all the hard work, Pal said a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival feels great.
"I would like to get a theatrical release for the film," he said. I want it to be accessible to everyone," he said.

Rajnikanth has acted across various film industries such as Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and English.