In the first poster that released in May last year, superstar
Rajinikanth was seen sitting in a black Mahindra Thar SUV, sporting black shades, wearing black shirt and veshti,with a wicked smile on his face.
Interestingly, the jeep Rajinikanth sits on has an eye-catching number plate: MH 01 BR 1956. The first part 'MH 01' refers to Mumbai, the place Ambedkar started his political career. The year 1956 was the year when the architect of Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar converted to Buddhism. BR in the number plate referring to Ambedkar and 1956 refering to the year. Director
Ranjith is known for his liking for Ambedkar and his ideologies.
Meanwhile, the teaser of the film has the same Mahindra Thar SUV, but with a number plate MH 09 PR 1931. Why the change in the number plate in the film from the first-look poster. Here's why:
'MH 09' is the registration of
Kolhapur
area in Maharashtra. Dr. Ambedkar started a weekly paper, 'Mooknayak' (Leader of the Voiceless), in Marathi, with the help of the reform-minded Shahu I (1884-1922), Maharaja of Kolhapur. The two met a number of times between 1917 and 1921 and went over possible ways to abolish the negatives of caste segregation. In March 1920, he spoke at a 'Depressed Classes' conference in Mangaon in Kolhapur State; it was attended by the Maharaja of Kolhapur, who publicly praised him as a future national leader.
1931 refers to the year an editorial on
Bhagat Singh by Ambedkar was found. In the editorial published in Janata on April 13, 1931, he had argued that Bhagat Singh and his comrades were hanged in deference to public opinion in England. Ambedkar did not write on the revolutionary movement of Bhagat Singh but has written an editorial note — Three Victims — when they were hanged. Though it does not speak about their struggle, much less politics, it explains how their execution was influenced by political expediency back home.