Superstar Rajinikanth spoke to the media on Monday and emphasised that ‘sanghi’ is not a bad word and doesn’t have negative overtones. The controversy over the word ‘sanghi’ erupted after his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth said at the ‘Lal Salaam’ audio launch that her father was not a sanghi but a humanitarian and highly spiritual. Aishwarya was stating this in the context of her film ‘Lal Salaam’ where Rajinikanth plays a Muslim leader. She had said at the event on January 26, “If my father was a sanghi like people allege, then he wouldn’t have done this film (role).”
The Tamil media asked Rajinikanth about this and he was unfazed. The Tamil Superstar said, “I belong to all religions. My daughter Aishwarya did not say sanghi is a bad word at all. Aishwarya only questioned why they called her father ‘sanghi’ because he is spiritual and loves all religions.”
When the media asked Rajinikanth whether spoke like that to promote her upcoming directorial ‘Lal Salaam’, he dismissed it saying, “Not at all. The movie has come out very well.”
‘Lal Salaam’ is a sports drama which stars Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth. Rajinikanth and legendary cricketer Kapil Dev play cameos in the film.
The Superstar will be seen as Moideen Bhai in the film that looks at religious and cultural differences between two cricket players. This is the first time Aishwarya is directing her father and the expectations
are high from this film. The movie, produced by Lyca Productions, has music by AR Rahman.