Rajanikant becomes a hearththrob of Japanese femal - Miyuki Shinogi, a 21-year-old college student in Tokyo, would rather be in southern India. No problem. She meets a friend at a small Ginza theater and buys tickets to 'Yajaman, the Dancing Maharaja II.' Shinogi took in her first Indian movie last summer, after reading a gushing review of 'Muthu, the Dancing Maharaja.' 'That was it, I was hooked for life,' she says, whispering between dance scenes. 'Muthu had everything a movie fan could ask for, from dancing and singing to love scenes and tears. Most of all, it made me feel good.' Japanese yearn for feel-good movies these days— and the Madras film industry delivers. With armies of glittering dancers, garish sets and simple, sappy plots, south Indian movies are now the top draw at art theaters. Known as 'masala musicals,' after the region's blend of spices, these films touch a chord in a nation racked by recession and nostalgic for happy endings, says Shinya Aoki, editor of Japan's most prestigious film journal. 'Indian films are filled with the classical entertainment movies used to offer,' he says.