Two days after a video of actor Rajinikanth touching the feet of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take his blessings surfaced and triggered a major controversy, the actor responded to the criticism and said it was merely his “habit to fall at the feet of sanyasis and yogis”. The actor and his wife Latha Rajinikanth had visited CM Yogi at his official residence in Lucknow on Saturday, August 19, and the superstar touched the feet of the CM, who is also the head priest of the Gorakhnath Math, a Hindu monastery in Gorakhpur. Several social media users and fans criticised the actor for doing so when playing characters on screen that advocate for equality, while others defended his freedom to act as he wishes in his personal life outside of films.
On Monday, speaking to media persons, Rajinikanth responded to a question about the controversy around him touching the feet of CM Adityanath. He said, “It is my habit to fall at the feet of sanyasis and yogis, even if they are younger than us in age. That is what I did.” While Rajinikanth is 72 years old, Adityanath is 51. The actor also said that the meeting was a friendly one, and that the visit was mainly for the screening of his latest film Jailer.
Rajinikanth’s visit to Uttar Pradesh came amid reports that he would watch Jailer with Adityanath. A special screening of the film was organised, but only Deputy Chief Minister of UP Keshav Prasad Maurya attended it. Rajinikanth also met Samajwadi Party chief and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav at his residence during the visit.
At the media interaction on Monday, Rajinikanth also appreciated the director Nelson, musician Aniruddh, producer Kalanidhi Maran and others who worked on Jailer, and thanked the audience for making the movie a success. When asked about the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, he said, “I don’t wish to talk about politics”, and left the spot.