Reporter's diary: Padayappa made him a bachelor

CHENNAI: Since superstar Rajinikanth was out of station on his birthday last month, fans who thronged before his house disbursed with disappointment. However, 2023 began with jubilation for Rajini fans who were greeted and wished by the veteran star at his residence in Poes Garden.

If you assumed this was an all-day affair, you couldn’t be more wrong. Rajini appeared and waved hands toward his fans, and left – all within a few minutes, but it electrified his enthusiastic fans. The excitement was palpable.

When it was the fans’ turn to articulate their experience to the media, they couldn’t stop gushing. While everyone waxed eloquent about the star’s characteristics and charisma, there was one fan who caught everyone’s attention.

The man said that he was a bachelor despite crossing 39 years of age. And he attributed his bachelorhood to his ‘Thalaivar’s advice’ on celluloid. “In Padayappa, he said no male should run behind women and wealth, and that both must follow us. Since I am a huge fan of Thalaivar, I’m still unmarried,” he explained.

Reporters went agog over his statement, and he certainly received his 15 minutes of fame. But a few wondered, “Did not he watch Veera or Sivaji? Rajini fell in love, proposed and marries the female lead.”

Some even went a step further, and suggested he follow his idol’s real-life footsteps, and get married. Rajini married the love of his life, Latha, in his early 30s!