Rajinikanth with his daughter and filmmaker Aishwarya Rajinikanth
| Photo Credit: @aishwaryarajini/Instagram
Following an uproar, superstar Rajinikanth on Monday defended his daughter and filmmaker Aishwarya Rajinikanth for her statements against people who call her father a ‘Sanghi’.
While interacting with the media on Monday, the Dadasaheb Phalke awardee said that Aishwarya never called the term ‘Sanghi’ — something that is used to address right-wingers in political parlance — a ‘bad’ word.
During the audio launch of her upcoming film, Lal Salaam, in which Rajinikanth features in a cameo appearance, Aishwarya expressed her displeasure with people calling her father a Sanghi just because he’s vocal about his spiritual beliefs. “I was told that it is a term used to call people who support a particular political party. Let me put it clearly — Rajinikanth is not a Sanghi.”
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The filmmaker added that if the superstar was a ‘Sanghi,’ he wouldn’t have chosen to be a part of a film like Lal Salaam. In the film, Rajinikanth plays a Muslim man named Moideen Bhai, who takes matters into his own hands after religious unrest between Hindus and Muslims turns a cricket field into a battleground. A previously released teaser of the film showed glimpses of a story that speaks about the political game that creates wedges between religious communities.
Starring Vikranth and Vishnu Vishal in the lead, Lal Salaam is set to hit theatres on February 9. With music scored by AR Rahman, the film also features legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev star in a cameo role.
The cast of the film also features Senthil, Jeevitha, Thambi Ramaiah, Ananthika Sanilkumar, Vivek Prasanna, and Thangadurai. Bankrolled by Lyca Productions, the film has editing by Pravin Baaskar and cinematography by Vishnu Rangasamy.
Aishwarya is the elder daughter of Rajinikanth. Lal Salaam is her third feature directorial effort after 3 and Vai Raja Vai. Apart from helming a documentary titled Cinema Veeran, which that highlighted stunt choreographers, Aishwarya also penned a book titled ‘Standing on An Apple Box: The Story of A Girl Among the Stars.’
Notably, the filmmaker is also set to make her Bollywood directorial debut with Oh Saathi Chal.
