An evening with Mr PC Balasubramanian
On Friday, September 29, we had an interesting conversation with Mr PC Balasubramanian, an author and entrepreneur.
About Mr PC Balasubramanian
Mr PC Balasubramanian (Bala) became an entrepreneur almost immediately after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. Mr Bala is one of the founding members and directors of Matrix Business Services India Pvt Ltd. Matrix is India’s largest integrated Business Assurance Company having a presence across the country. Matrix is also one of the leaders in employee background verification services.
Updater Services Ltd (UDS) is India’s largest integrated facilities management company with over 55,000 people deployed across the country. After UDS acquired Matrix in the year 2019, Mr Bala has become a Whole Time Director in UDS apart from holding directorship in a few other companies within the group including Matrix. The group is now building a business services vertical through inorganic means. Currently there are ten companies in the group. Mr Bala spearheads new initiatives and offers strategic directions to the group apart from rolling out many people initiatives and integration of group companies.
Mr Bala has authored six books so far, two as lead author. He has authored three books on the legendary and iconic personality, Rajinikanth: Rajini’s Punchtantra, Grand Brand Rajini and Rajini’s Mantras. Rajini’s Punchtantra is a national best seller. Mr Bala has also penned two fiction books, ‘Ready Steady Exit’ and ‘A Drizzle in the Dessert’.
Mr Bala is a much sought after speaker in corporates, colleges, and other communities.
About Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth (Rajini) is probably the greatest film star, the country has seen. Even after 48 years in the industry, he is going strong. Here are some of his key achievements.
- 48 years in the industry – over 35 years as a super star
- 169 movies and still playing the lead role at the age of 72
- Perhaps the highest paid actor in India
- Conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2000
- Conferred with Padma Vibhushan in 2016
- Conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2020
- Ranked by Forbes as one of the most powerful influencers, 13 among the top 100.
- Recognized by NDTV as the biggest entertainer of the decade.
- Recognized by NDTV as one of the 25 living legends in the country.
- Honoured with a special Icon of Golden Jubilee Award at the 50th IFFI
Rajini has emerged as an iconic brand. Professor Jennifer Aaker once mentioned that an iconic brand is characterised by sincerity, excitement, sophistication, ruggedness, and competence. No brand epitomises these qualities better than Rajini.
As Mr Bala explained, there are two aspects of a brand: Point of parity and Point of difference. Through entertainment, Rajini has maintained parity. But through the path he has chosen and his unique style (which is difficult to imitate), he has differentiated himself.
During the Q&A, Mr Bala clarified that unlike some other well-known actors, Rajini has not believed in excessive experimentation. Indeed, he did most of his experimentation in the first few years of his career. Thereafter, he has focused on giving fans what they want, with some variation to create excitement. Here is a scene from one of his earlier movies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JQgkQIeUzMMr Bala described Rajini as humble, grounded, approachable and inspiring. Rajini has helped even people who have attacked him and indulged in character assassination. He used the movie Arunachalam to help seven people who were not doing well financially. He made them producers of the superhit movie. He could have easily given them money. Instead, he chose to help them, without undermining their dignity in any way. It was his way of showing gratitude to people who had once helped him. Rajini once helped a production house which was in financial ruin. He has also extended support during Covid and floods. But Rajini has extended such help quietly without seeking publicity.
Before releasing any of his books for printing, Mr Bala would check with Rajini about the need to edit portions of the book which contained some negative messages. Rajini would not insist on any editing. When Mr Bala would mention that many of Rajini’s dialogues had resulted in management mantras, Rajini would reply that he had never intended it that way! All these interactions convey a sense of authenticity and the conviction Rajini has in his work.
Rajini’s leadership qualities
As John Maxwell has mentioned: “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” Here are a few of Rajini’s leadership qualities.
Integrity at work: Since 1975, Rajini has demonstrated integrity at work. He has been an epitome of discipline while at work. Without integrity, he could not have survived for 48 years, of which 35 years have been at the top. Even when a movie is a super hit, Rajini is getting ready for the next movie. Today, at the age of 72, he is focused on staying fit and understanding and internalizing the script of his next movie.
Innovation and learning: Rajini excels at innovation and learning. He is humble and often states that he merely follows the instructions of the director. But he has been in so many formats and roles that without innovation, he could not have excelled. It is this innovation which creates excitement among his fans always.
Gratitude: Rajini has expressed gratitude multiple times to his fans.
Grit: When Rajini entered the Tamil film industry, there were superstars like MGR, Sivaji and Kamal Hassan. They had good looks and were great actors. Rajini was dark complexioned, had unconventional looks, was not a great dancer and had a poor diction of Tamil. Yet with grit, he succeeded.
Result oriented: Rajini always believes he has to protect the interests of the investors, i.e. the producers. He has established himself as a bankable star who generates high ROI for investors. In 2002, when his film Baba flopped, Rajini as the producer of the film, reimbursed the distributors for their losses.
Confidence and conviction: Rajini has not allowed criticism to distract him. He has believed in himself.
Influence and communication: Rajini can communicate with brevity for impact. He can also remain silent when appropriate. Indeed, when he is silent, there is media speculation. If he speaks a word, it becomes state news. If he speaks a sentence, it becomes national news. So, Rajini has become careful about what he says in public.
Respect for others: Rajini has believed in showing respect to others irrespective of their position or status.
The early years
Rajini began his career in 1975. He was completely unconventional and new but original. He had to settle for smaller roles. Yet he could create an impact. This was not easy! Rajini looked at both quality and quantity as a process for gaining visibility, acceptance, and growth.
And now a cult brand
Very quickly, Rajini emerged as a bankable star and a super star. With the release of Shivaji, he became a cult brand, an undisputable leader in the industry. Rajini represents a huge transformation from an actor to an iconic Indian. He is a story by himself.
Leadership lessons from Rajinikanth
Focus is the key to success
Rajini has always believed that he is competing with himself and not with others. This is just like other great leaders who keep trying to get better, setting new benchmarks, which they then surpass.
At the SAMI movie success event 2003, this is what Rajini mentioned:
“I don’t allow myself to get distracted, I wear blinkers and walk down my path, I am my enemy, and I am my friend. My competition is with myself and not with others.”
Rajini’s philosophy is: Conviction, sincerity along with preparation for whatever you set to do is all you need, ignore the rest. One cannot rest on past laurels.
Stay away from misplaced pride
At the PANAKARAN movie success event in 1990, this is what Rajini mentioned:
“The horse felt proud that people were bowing before it without realising that people were actually bowing to the idol mounted on it”.
Rajini was referring to a horse on which the village temple deity had been placed. People came and bowed before the deity. But the horse thought they were bowing before it. Rajini believes he is the horse, and the fans represent the deity.
The message from Rajini is that we must understand the contribution of others to our success so that we may live with gratitude and be well-grounded.
Take victories and failures in your stride
Rajini has had many setbacks. Each time he has bounced back. Rajini has described himself as a horse which can pick itself up after falling and not an elephant.
At the PADAYAPPA movie silver jubilee event, 1999, this is what Rajini mentioned:
“Failures and success are just common, only when we fail do we realise the importance of success”.
What is important is action and objective. It is extremely important to tune our mind to face success and failure with equanimity.
The lesson from Rajini is that we must be karma yogis focused on our actions and not the outcomes.
Q&A
Mr Bala, as an example, mentioned that his own company, Matrix, has made full use of one of the famous punchlines of Rajini: Enough is enough. What is over is over. Now the review meetings do not drag. They finish on time. The focus of these meetings is on the present, not the past.
Some people learn from failure. Others give up too soon. What can we learn from Rajini?
Mr Bala first gave the example of how Amitabh Bachan went bankrupt. Amitabh reflected on the situation. He had gone into new territory and failed. But he was an excellent actor who could entertain the audience. So why not leverage his acting talent? So, he swallowed his ego and approached Yash Chopra for a role, however small it might be. That is how his comeback began.
When we are multi-talented, we can try out many things as part of our comeback. But if we are specialists, we have no option but to improve and maybe wait for the right opportunity. Sometimes, the failure may be because of unrealistic deadlines.
Mr Bala recalled that as a student, he had cleared CA Inter easily. But it took four attempts for him to clear CA Final. However, this did not deter him. It strengthened his determination to become an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial journey has been quite fulfilling for Mr Bala.
In short, failure is a boon to discover our lives. We must reflect, think about what went wrong and then take corrective action. Rajini has demonstrated this time and again.
In 2002, Rajini’s film Baba flopped badly. Rajini attracted caustic criticism. But he took things in his stride. He realized that handling screenplay was a mistake. He also realized that he should not confuse fans. He must give them what they wanted. That is how his comeback began through Chandramukhi.
Normally, a comeback is difficult after a gap of 3 years. More so in case of Rajini who does not endorse other brands. But Rajini did make a comeback. He is famous for stating that he is a horse which will pick itself up after falling to the ground, not an elephant.
Mr Bala emphasised that when we fail, we should not blame the environment or the situation or the people around us. We must reflect why things went wrong. We must not restrict ourselves to a limited circle. We must move around and interact with more successful people to understand how they operate. We must be in the right place at the right time to be lucky. But that calls for hard work and some degree of experimentation.
Rajini announced his entry into politics and later changed his mind. Why was this so? Rajini realized that to make an impact in Tamil Nadu politics, he would have to travel across the state. Covid created mobility problems. Rajini was also going through some health challenges. Rajini probably felt that he could make an impact only with a large share of the votes, not 4-5%. All these factors might have made him change his mind. But we must still applaud Rajini for apologising to the public for the change of mind. That is the quality of a great leader- to apologise when necessary.
Rajini has shown that he can adapt to technology. The movie Robot was a grand global success. But the script was originally written for Kamal. So Rajini was initially jittery about doing the role. The script was changed marginally to suit his personality and image. Rajini focused on his strengths and left technology to the experts. He also adapted impressively to the needs of the role. One of Rajini’s strengths is his eye movements. But in the movie, the main character Chitti wears dark glasses. So Rajini had to use body language and tone to emote.
Mr Bala singled out the following movies:
- Mullum Malarum
- Tillu Mullu
- Thappu Thalangal
- Dalapathi
- Basha
It was in some of these earlier movies that Rajini experimented with some unconventional roles. Some of these movies are so popular that fans watch them week after week.
Rajini is a spiritually inclined person. He strongly believes in the existence of God. He undergoes mediation and visits temples such as Tiruvannna Malai. He has found immense peace in the Himalayas with Babaji. It is this spirituality that explains Rajini’s transformation of lifestyle from his early days to the person he is today. However, he does not talk much about it.
Rajini’s popularity in the US and Singapore can be attributed to some extent to the Indian diaspora. But his popularity in Japan is difficult to explain. Since Muthu, he has become extraordinarily popular in Japan. Some Japanese even fly to India to watch the first show of his new movie. Some foreigners are learning Tamil to follow the dialogue. Maybe, the sheer novelty and difference in style he brings to the table draws attention from foreigners. As Rajini himself says, miracles do happen. We must believe in them!
Rajini has managed his personal life well. At home, he is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, very different from the mega movie star that he is on the screen. He is not bothered about his appearance. He dresses simply and is his own self. He does not feel stressed by trying to project a different appearance.
Leaders create value by articulating a vision and by enabling the vision to be executed. During the execution, they show the required patience. Leaders should never consider themselves indispensable. They should create more leaders to make the organization sustainable.
The success of Rajini has been phenomenal and unprecedented. He has evolved into a category by himself. It is difficult to believe that anyone else can take his place, though there are many aspirants. Even more than his success as a film star, Rajini’s life offers valuable lessons to us as a leader. His authenticity and discipline will always give him a special place among even the super stars of Indian cinema.