Love story: How Rajini met Latha

It was love at first sight for the superstar, who celebrates 39 years of married bliss with a girl who came to interview him

Love at first sight seems to be a thing of fairytales and movies, but in 1980, superstar Rajinikanth fell head over heels in love with his future wife at their first meeting. Recalling the incident, his wife, Latha Rangachari said in a 2012 interview, “He did not propose to me, he informed me that he was marrying me and left.”

So what led to this whirlwind romance?

The 30-something star was on the sets of ‘Thillu Mallu’, which was his first full-length comedy film. During the shoot he was informed of an interview for a college magazine. The 20-something interviewer was Latha Rangachari, a student of English literature at Ethiraj College in Chennai. As the legend goes, the two discovered common interests during their interview. What sparked off the conversation was their connection with Bengaluru. Rajini used to be a bus conductor in the city and Latha’s family had a house there.

By the end of the interview, he seemed to be so drawn to her that he asked for her hand in marriage. Stumped by the proposal, she is reported to have said that the superstar must speak to her parents first.

He spent a while trying to find the best way to approach them. This was when he found out that comedian Y G Mahendran was the husband of Latha’s sister. After consulting him and other seniors from the industry, he went ahead. Her parents agreed and they were married on February 26, 1981, at the Balaji temple in Tirupati.

The couple who celebrated 39 years of marriage yesterday, have two daughters, Aishwarya and Soundarya.

Before Latha

Much before that landmark interview, when thalaivar was still a bus conductor in Bengaluru; he had another love story. One that is perhaps just as epic as his current one.

According to Malayalam actor Devan, who Rajini recounted this story to, the name of the girl was Nirmala and she was an MBBS student in the city. Once he invited her for a play he was a part of and she obliged.

A few days later he gets a call from Adayar film institute, now the MGR Government Film and Television Training Institute confirming his admission to the same.

Nirmala had applied on his behalf as she felt his talent should be seen on the big screen.

He was reluctant to go at first as he didn’t have the money and he would have to leave his job and move to Chennai. But the adamant Nirmala gave him money and asked him to go and study cinema.

He obliged, but over the course of his studies he lost contact with her. When he finally came back to the city in pursuit of his first love, he could
not find her. And with that ended the first chapter of love in the superstar‘s life.