Actor Rajinikanth attended an event on Wednesday to announce the title of his upcoming film, Dharman, alongside Kamal Haasan and Ashwath Marimuthu. Addressing the press there, he said he was hesitant to make public comments, as he’s criticised for speaking or staying silent. This comes on the heels of the backlash following his press meet in May to discuss the Tamil Nadu chief minister and actor Vijay. (Also Read: Dharman: Rajinikanth reveals why film with Kamal Haasan saw 3 director changes before Ashwath Marimuthu was finalised)
Rajinikanth hits back at trolls at Dharman event
Rajinikanth began his speech at the event by stating that these days, whatever he says publicly has become an issue. He said in Tamil, “The moment someone says they are calling me to speak, I feel hesitant. Because whenever I speak, it becomes a problem, either for you or for me.” He also pointed out that staying silent doesn’t help either, adding, “If I stay quiet, they will make fun of me saying, why isn’t he speaking? Has he kept a kozhukattai (a sweet delicacy) in his mouth?”
The Tamil star stated that it doesn’t matter what he does because people criticise him, stating, “If I speak, some will say, why did he speak now? Others will say he shouldn’t have spoken at all.” Rajinikanth then reflected on his decades of experience in the public eye and said, “After many years, I have understood one thing: people who don’t like us will not like us, no matter what we do. And thinking that people who like us will like everything we do, whatever we do, is foolish. One has to be careful.”
What did Rajinikanth say about Vijay?
Ever since Vijay won the Tamil Nadu elections, rumours circulated that Rajinikanth wasn’t happy with the outcome. To dispel these rumours, the star held a press conference at his home in Chennai and stated that he met former CM MK Stalin after the elections, as they are friends. He also addressed rumours that he was not happy for Vijay or did not wish him after the win. However, his statement seemed to have the opposite effect.
Rajinikanth had said, “Rajini is not a cheap or low-standard person to speak unnecessarily about anything else. I was extremely shocked when I heard that Vijay had become the Chief Minister. As soon as the chief minister won, I congratulated him. I’m not even in politics, so why would I be jealous of Vijay? Maybe if Kamal (Haasan) becomes the CM, I might get jealous. (smiles) There is a 25-year generation gap between Vijay and me. It won’t look good if we compete.”
After the event on Wednesday, Rajinikanth was also asked by the press if he wished Vijay on his birthday, as he hadn’t posted anything on social media. “No, no. We had spoken,” he said, indicating that he had called Vijay.