Rajinikanth fan meet: Interesting statements made by the Superstar

After almost eight years, Rajinikanth met his fans at the Raghavendra Tirumana Mandapam in Chennai. It was almost an historical occasion as it is very rare for the superstar to interact with so many fans at such a large scale. While the fans were delighted with this long and personal interaction, the event was also a source of revelations as the veteran actor lay bare all his opinions and thoughts on subjects ranging from films, to politics and his love for Tamil Nadu. Here are a few interesting statements made by Thalaivar at the fan meet.

The question of whether Rajinikanth will join politics has been raging on for a long time. He decided to answer the question once and for all. The superstar stated clearly that he doesn’t support any political party and stated his reason for it, “I don’t support any political party. I had earlier given support to a party. It was almost a political accident. My fans then (in 1996) even helped this party win. Following this, my name came to be associated with politics.” He also talked about how that one incident had far reaching repercussions for him, “Politicians and some of my fans began to then use each other. Even money was exchanged at that point. After that, in subsequent elections, these people claimed that I was supporting a political party, just so they could make money. But I don't support any political party. I have been pushed to reiterate that I don't support any political party ahead of every election.”

While Rajinikanth made it clear that he doesn’t support any political party, he was rather vague on whether he himself will join the political battleground. For this question he had a rather cryptic answer, “My life is in the hands of God. I am a tool in the hands of God, and He is using me to do His bidding. He's using me as an actor now; I'm working as an actor now. Tomorrow, whatever He decides.” However, he made it clear that if someday he did enter politics, he will be really honest and responsible, “Whatever responsibility God gives me, I will do the job with honesty. Those who have such ambitions, I would like to say this right now to you - if such a thing is not written in my fate, you will feel cheated. If there is a situation where I have to enter, I will never let such people who are interested in politics for money to even come near me.”

This five-day fan meet was supposed to happen a while back, but then the superstar postponed it and it finally happened now. When asked for a reason for this delay, this was the veteran actor’s response, “I couldn't hold a celebration for the success of Enthiran. After that, ‘Kochadaiyaan’ and ‘Kuselan’ didn’t do well. ‘Kabali’ did well, but for some reason I could not meet my fans after that. I was planning to meet fans for 5 days and finish taking photos with all of them, but several people were not happy with that arrangement. So, I postponed it. I was then busy with the dubbing for ‘2.0’. I’m going to start shooting my next film in a couple of weeks, so we also had to discuss the script for that.”

Rajinikanth found himself in the eye of a storm a while back when it came to light that he was planning a trip to Sri Lanka to meet his fans there. However, many political groups in Tamil Nadu widely criticized this move, making Rajinikanth cancel the trip altogether. Here’s what he had to say on that matter, “My trip to Sri Lanka got cancelled. Following this, a lot of people accused me of constantly changing my mind. They said I was hesitant and even scared. But the reality is that I think deeply about anything that I set out to do. If you keep your leg in water and find that it has crocodiles, you need to take your foot out. You can't show unnecessary bravado.”

As the long awaited fan meet was held, some people alleged that it was all a publicity stunt on the actor’s part to woo his fans. The actor strongly objected to these claims as he said, “Meeting my fans is not some kind of a stunt ahead of my film's release. Thanks to your blessings, I don't need to do such things to promote my movies. My fans and the people of Tamil Nadu won't be fooled by such allegations. A movie will only succeed if it is good.”

Although the actor spent his early days in Karnataka and is a native of Maharashtra, he firmly believes that Tamil Nadu is his home and this is where he belongs. Praising the people of the state who made him a star he is today, the superstar said, “I have been living in Karnataka for 23 years after that I have lived in TN. You gave everything to me. Now I am a true Tamilian.” He further added that, if he is ever thrown out of the state, he won’t go to Karnataka or any other place, “If you throw me out, I will go to Himalayas and not any other state.”

The question that has cropped up time and again is his involvement in politics. Interestingly, he praised DMK president Stalin and slightly revealed his political inclinations. The actor believes that Stalin is a good administrator and that according to his late friend Cho Ramasamy, has potential to do well if given free will. As for his involvement in politics, he simply said, “You have responsibilities and so do I. Go home and do the needful. If a war comes we will face it.”