Often condemned for being indecisive, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has yet again done what he is best at – keeping up the suspense on the launch of his political party by invoking God.
 
It was widely speculated that Rajinikanth would utilise the grand audio launch of his latest flick “Kaala” on Wednesday evening to send out a strong political message.
 
But, the actor dedicated majority of the speech to talk about the challenges he faced in the film industry, how he was criticised for playing duet with actresses who are almost his daughters’ age and why he chose another script by filmmaker Pa Ranjith, who directed his critically-acclaimed Kabali.
 
The only political reference in the Wednesday evening speech was his long-time dream of achieving inter-linking of peninsular rivers in the country, especially in South India. The 68-year-old superstar has been a votary of inter-linking of rivers and had announced way back in 2002 that he would donate Rs 1 crore for the purpose when the Cauvery war had broken out between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
 
“I agreed to act in Lingaa (2014 movie) directed by K S Ravikumar since it spoke about inter-linking of rivers. But after the film bombed at the box office, I realised that one can be good in life, but not too good. I also realised that I should not be dancing around with heroines who are younger than my daughters,” Rajinikanth said.
 
Rajinikanth acting with women actors who are either his daughters’’ age or younger than them was the most vociferous and arguably justified criticism against the actor. And the actor for the first time spoke about the topic in the public, acknowledging that he realised he should choose roles that suit his age.
 
And thus, was born Kabaali, a movie that brought alive the sufferings of Malaysian Tamils, who migrated from the then colonial India. Though the movie did not do quite well at the box office, it became the talking point of Indian cinema since it dealt with several political issues.
Kaala is also touted to be another political movie of Rajinikanth, but the actor says otherwise.
 
“It is not a political movie. I heard another script from Vetrimaaran, another ace director, but did not accept since it had many political undertones,” the actor said.
 
And when it came to politics, the actor left the question of when he would take the political plunge wide open. In vintage style, he said time was not ripe for the announcement and that he needs to get the go-ahead from the top (God).
 
“Friends from the media might be thinking why I have not spoken about the most important thing (politics) and even my fans might be wondering. But, what do I do? Time has not come (to talk about politics) and it will happen when it should. Time is not ripe now. Whatever should happen will happen effectively,” he said.
 
Rajinikanth had announced his political intentions on the last day of 2017 but is yet to announce concrete plans on when he would launch his political party. Though the actor has made it clear he would contest assembly elections, he is silent on the Lok Sabha elections.