‘Time doesn’t speak; it waits to answer': Rajinikanth on statement by Vijay’s aide

Chennai: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth may keep an arm’s length distance from politics, but his name has now been dragged into the high-stakes April 23 assembly elections.

It all started when Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Aadhav Arjuna alleged that Rajinikanth was threatened by the DMK to withdraw from politics in 2020, while praising his leader and actor Vijay’s “mental strength” to stand up to the Dravidian major.

The off-the-cuff remarks by Aadhav, son-in-law of lottery baron Santiago Martin, were seen as a provocation and aimed at projecting Vijay as someone who doesn’t yield to pressure.

This set off a flurry of reactions from DMK allies who not merely defended the M K Stalin-led party but also came out in support of the superstar saying he is someone who caves into pressure by contending that he reconsidered his political plunge only because of his ill-health.

Four days later, the Opposition camp – AIADMK and BJP – began bashing Aadhav Arjuna, who has a penchant for stoking controversies, on Monday by accusing him of attempting to gain publicity by targeting a widely respected personality – the timing was interesting as it conveyed more than one message.

If one reads between the lines, it can be understood that the condemnation came after the back-channel talks between the BJP and TVK for an alliance didn’t yield desired results.

Breaking his silence, Rajinikanth issued a terse statement, in which he said, “time doesn’t speak; but it waits to answer.” “His remarks are against the truth,” Rajinikanth said in the statement, which is also being interpreted as the superstar’s way of telling Vijay and his associates that politics was not a child’s play and only election results can tell how much film popularity would convert into votes.

Expectedly, Rajinikanth’s statement set-off a war of words between his fans and supporters of Vijay and TVK, who accused the superstar of playing to the gallery. There was no response from Aadhav till the time of writing.

Weeks before Aadhav’s statement on Rajinikanth, TVK spokesperson Felix Gerald’s remarks that Vijay has sacrificed his career to work for the people and not participating in bike race triggered a row with the comment interpreted as an attack on another popular actor Ajith Kumar.

Rajinikanth, who in 2017 announced that he will launch a political party and contest the 2021 assembly polls, wriggled out of the contest in December 2020 citing his ill-health and inability to campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the actor has been out of politics.

Aadhav’s remarks and Rajinikanth’s response also bring out the simmering differences between the fans of Vijay and the superstar. The off-the-cuff remarks by Aadhav and Gerald also led to questions whether the TVK was alienating itself from fans of other actors, who are also potential vote bank for the fledgling party.

After Rajinikanth’s statement, Aadhav told a meeting late on Tuesday night that his statement was misunderstood and apologised to the superstar for his comments.