CHENNAI: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Monday said he had no desire to joins politics, but if he did, he would show the door to all “money-minded” people.
The actor said he had no political ambition, but was often dragged into political debates despite stressing that he was “neither an influential political leader nor a social activist.”
“My life is in the hands of God. I’m not sure what he has in store for me. But I’ll always perform the duty that he bestows on me. So, don’t feel disappointed if I don’t enter politics,” he told fans at a gathering here. But if he did join politics, he would ensure that there would be no place for those seeking material gain. “Money-minded people will be shunned. So, I warn you now itself to stay away,” he said. In 1996, the 66-year-old actor had supported the DMK-TMC alliance in Tamil Nadu, which swept the polls that year. But he has not been involved in any political activity since then, he said. “(But) my name has been dragged into politics for the past two decades. I am pushed to clarify during every election that I’m not affiliated to any political party,” he said. Rajinikanth regretted that he had not been able to meet fans as regularly as he wished to. “I was supposed to meet you all two months ago but had to postpone it to accommodate more fans. So, I cancelled the previous meet-and-greet session. Later, I was supposed to go to Sri Lanka for an event. Again I had to cancel it for various reasons. A lot of media reports followed saying, ‘Rajinikanth doesn’t stick to his decision. He is apprehensive’ and so on.” He said he thought “wisely” before he took a decision. “If you step into the water and later realise that there are crocodiles in it, you shouldn’t brave them and refuse to step out of the water. Such blind courage will take you nowhere,” he said. He shrugged off allegations that he did “certain stunts” before a film’s release to ensure its success at the box office. “With the blessings of my fans and Tamils intact, I don’t need to do that. My fans are not fools to be deceived by this. A film will succeed only if it is good. Even if you do somersaults, bad content will flunk,” he said. The actor had some advice to give his fans not to touch alcohol and cigarettes. “Please take care of your families and children. Give up drinking and smoking. Even wealthy people in business have lost their empires because of alcohol addiction, which not only spoils one’s physical health but mental well-being, too. It will diminish your decision-making skills and your crucial decisions in life will eventually go wrong,” he warned.–PTI
