Once upon a time in the year 1999, the people of Chennai, India, rejoiced after a long wait. For months they had fought against that intolerable beast: Mr. Anticipation. They say anticipation kills. Well, it certainly could; especially when the cause and salvation of that anticipation turns out to be superstar Rajinikanth’s latest blockbuster, Padayappa.
Padayappa chronicles the life and times of a brilliant young man (Rajinikanth) with the enviable honorific of “Padayappa”. A legend in his town, it is said that his animal presence emanates an atmosphere of sexuality so charged that women conceive just by looking at him. The lady of the mansion is totally and utterly in a fit of lust inspired by Padayappa’s face. A woman who is obsessed, yes, but also splendidly haughty, seeing herself as unquestionably deserving of Padayappa’s carnal attention; and resort to the vilest stratagems to achieve it. However, her attempts at seduction fail with every hip movement, and her frustration flares to discover that Padayappa’s attention was already reserved, by none other than her own maiden.
Jealousy leads her to serve up a colorful array of intolerable cruelties to domestic help, mysteriously culminating in a cessation of hostilities one day, with her gifting the maid a beautiful silk sari, woven from threads of the brighter shade of red. The maid, blinded by sheer relief, sees this as a sweet gesture and complies with her memsaabHis suggestion to try it on immediately, as well as his indication to take the rest of the day off for a walk in the countryside to dazzle the neighbors with its alluring appeal. Midway through the walk, the maid is too distracted by the gawking idler to realize that a fuse is lit right behind her: the memsaab completing the process of freeing a grumpy bull held hostage by a lanky pole. The bull takes one look at the maid’s red sari, feels its color rekindle a lost sense of purpose, and decides to devote his first lap of freedom to chasing the cloth.
The bull chases the maid through fields and valleys, while the girl screams for immediate help and curses herself for not having seen red before in the sahibaThe sudden generosity of. However, Padayappa appears just in time, standing between the distraught maiden and the crazed bull, carrying a bucket of canary-yellow paint. After a characteristic quick smile, she proceeds to empty the contents of the bucket into the maid’s sari.
Needless to say, the bull was devastated.
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