Rajinikanth Denies Reports Of Joining Politics

Rumours had gripped Tamil Nadu that Rajinikanth -- whose fan following runs into hundreds of thousands -- may take a major political step on Sunday.

By
Koimoi.com Team
- April 1, 2017 | 11:29 AM IST
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Megastar Rajinikanth on Friday said, although not in so many words, that he is not joining politics.

The southern star was asked if there was a political agenda to the Chennai meeting of his fans on Sunday. “No, there won’t be any announcement on politics. The fans are meeting because it has been a long time,” said the actor, who met Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Chennai earlier in the day.

He also said that he may not attend the fans’ meet.

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Rumours had gripped Tamil Nadu that Rajinikanth — whose fan following runs into hundreds of thousands — may take a major political step on Sunday.

The 66-year-old icon has been wooed by political parties in the past. Most recently, he expressed support to the BJP candidate — from the Tamil film industry — in the upcoming by-election from R.K. Nagar.

In 2009, it was strongly believed that Rajinikanth would take the political plunge. But he didn’t.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met superstar Rajinikanth at his residence in Chennai on Friday. “Just had a very warm and friendly meeting with Rajinikanth, the Tamil superstar, at his home,” Razak tweeted on Friday.

Razak is in the city to receive an honorary doctorate from Thanjavur University. As part of his two-day visit, Razak is believed to have met Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami.

Razak became a fan of Rajinikanth during the latter’s long stay in Malacca, Malaysia for the shoot of the 2016 film “Kabali”.

“When we were shooting for ‘Kabali’ in Malaysia, we were touched by the support Malaysian government extended to us. Due to our busy shooting schedule, I couldn’t meet and thank him (Razak) in Malaysia.

“When I learnt he was coming to Chennai, I invited him home. He accepted my invitation and came home. He even saw some portion of ‘Kabali’,” Rajinikanth told reporters in Chennai.

Asked if the rumour that he was going to replace actor Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador of Malaysian tourism was true, Rajinikanth trashed such reports.