A
veteran
film
producer
says
that
in
the
last
three
to
four
years,
Ajith
has
been
seen
as
an
heir
to
Rajinikanth
and
commands
similar
respect.
The
media
played
a
very
important
role
in
turning
Rajinikanth
into
a
force
after
the
release
of
his
film
Baasha.
"Today,
Ajith
has
become
a
similar
icon,
though
the
market
for
his
films
is
still
nowhere
like
that
of
Rajini," he
added.
In
the
recent
past,
over
half-a-dozen
Tamil
films
have
managed
to
stir
up
excitement
in
the
audience
by
either
showing
a
shot
of
Ajith
Kumar
or
referring
to
him
through
a
dialogue.
In
the
recently
released
film
Sigaram
Thodu,
the
hero
of
the
movie
walks
into
a
cinema
theatre
and
the
star
who
appears
on-screen
is
Ajith.
In
the
movie
Yaan,
when
the
female
lead
changes
TV
channels,
it
is
Ajith
who
appears
on
the
small
screen.
Director
of
another
recently
released
film,
Dharanidharan,
who
managed
to
invoke
excitement
among
his
audience
by
bringing
on
the
Ultimate
Star
Ajith
at
the
very
end
of
his
movie
Burma,
which
is
a
crime
thriller
that
deals
with
many
luxury
vehicles
says,
"There
are
quite
a
few
reasons
why
I
decided
to
keep
Ajith
for
the
last
frame.
One,
he
is
a
racer.
Two,
I
think
there
is
a
craze
around
the
actor
at
present
and
also,
I
like
him
as
a
person.
But
most
importantly,
when
I
showed
the
rough
compilation
to
my
assistants,
what
they
talked
about
later
was
Ajith's
choice
of
car
because
it
was
a
modest
Indian
car
and
most
others
had
imported
cars
as
their
favourites.
I
felt
that
it
would
create
a
buzz
in
theatres
but
I
never
imagined
the
kind
of
response
that
it
eventually
got."
Film
historian
Mohan
Raman
says
that
the
trend
of
star
references
is
not
new
to
the
industry
and
the
tactic
has
been
used
in
Tamil
cinemas
for
the
past
20-30
years.
" When
Rajinikanth
and
Kamal
Haasan
have
used
MGR
and
Sivaji
Ganesan's
names
or
images
occasionally
in
their
films,
why
shouldn't
smaller
stars
here
use
Ajith?"
he
asks.