There is no denying that superstar Rajinikanth commands a massive fan following across the country. However, the actor has revealed that there was a place where no one even looked at him, despite him waving and expecting people to gather for photographs, saying the experience completely shattered his ego.
Rajinikanth gets candid
On Tuesday, Rajinikanth attended a special event celebrating 45 years of the Art of Living Foundation and the 70th birthday of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. At the event, he recalled a visit to the Art of Living International Centre in Bengaluru when his ego was crushed.
He recalled that the spiritual leader had once asked whether he would like to take a tour of the ashram. But as a hugely popular star, Rajinikanth was keen to avoid situations where crowds gathered around the premises to meet him or seek autographs.
“Gurudev asked me to go with him. I told him it would mean a lot of disturbance for him. But he said, ‘no problem, no disturbance, just come’… I thought naturally people would be there, recognise me, shout my name, ask for a photo, and stuff. I also saw many people from Tamil Nadu,” Rajinikanth said.
The superstar continued, “Thousands of people were there. To be frank, not even a single person looked at me… Forget about photos and autographs; not even a single person looked at or spoke to me. I was waving, but no one looked at me…. I have met many politicians and industrialists, but this incident crushed my ego.”
The actor shared that Ravishankar then assured him there would be “no disturbance”. To this, Rajinikanth jokingly responded, “Idhar disturb ho gaya,” gesturing towards his head. He wrapped up by saying that it showed him the “power of spirituality”.
What’s next for Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth was last seen in Coolie. He will be seen next in Jailer 2 and in a film co-starring Kamal Haasan. Jailer 2 is an action-comedy that is a sequel to Nelson’s 2023 hit film Jailer. Rajinikanth returns as ‘Tiger’ Muthuvel Pandian, while Ramya plays his wife, Vijaya ‘Viji’ Pandian. Jailer explores how Tiger is forced to come out of retirement when his family’s safety is threatened, and his son goes missing while investigating a smuggling case.
The film also stars SJ Suryah, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa, Anna Rajan, Jatin Sarna, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Vidya Balan. The film is slated for release on June 12 and is touted to feature cameos by Mohanlal, Mithun Chakraborty, Vijay Sethupathi and Shiva Rajkumar.