Rajinikanth gifts gold chain to Padayappa producer Thenappan

CHENNAI: Actor Rajinikanth has gifted a 5-sovereign gold chain to producer Thenappan following the successful re-release of Padayappa. A photo from their meeting had gone viral on Wednesday.

Directed by KS Ravikumar, Padayappa featured actors Sivaji Ganesan, Soundarya and Ramya Krishnan alongside Rajinikanth. Released in 1999, the film emerged as a major box-office success and is considered one of the landmark films in Rajinikanth’s career.

To mark the film’s 25th anniversary and Rajinikanth’s 75th birthday celebrations last December, Padayappa was re-released in theatres across Tamil Nadu. The re-release also received a strong response from fans.

Following the success of the re-release, Rajinikanth had invited director K S Ravikumar, actress Ramya Krishnan and producer Thenappan to appreciate their contribution to the film.

Earlier this year, Rajinikanth honoured a fan from Madurai who runs a small eatery selling parottas at Rs 5 each for poor people. The actor met the fan and gifted him a gold chain, appreciating his efforts.

In February, Rajinikanth honoured sanitation worker Padma with a gold chain after she found an unattended pouch containing 45 sovereigns of gold ornaments while on duty in T Nagar and handed it over to the police, helping return them to the rightful owner.