Rajinikanth visits Ayodhya, says long cherished dream has come true

By, Lucknow
Updated on: Aug 20, 2023 11:02 pm IST

Rajinikanth was accompanied by his wife Latha as he visited the temple town and paid obeisance to Ram Lalla at the makeshift Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi.

Legendary actor Rajinikanth visited Ayodhya on Sunday and said his “long-cherished dream has come true”.

Actor Rajinikanth in Ayodhya after offering prayers. (ANI PHOTO)
Actor Rajinikanth in Ayodhya after offering prayers. (ANI PHOTO)

Rajinikanth was accompanied by his wife Latha as he visited the temple town and paid obeisance to Ram Lalla at the makeshift Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi. He also saw the ongoing construction work of a grand Ram temple.

The couple also offered prayers at Hanuman Garhi temple.

Members of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust welcomed Rajinikanth on his arrival at Ram Janmabhoomi.

‘Ayodhya Naresh’ Virendra Mohan Pratap Mishra and Anil Mishra were among those who welcomed the actor. Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Sharad Sharma introduced Rajinikanth to members of the Trust.

On reaching Ayodhya with his wife around 3pm, Rajinikanth went to Hanuman Garhi temple.

Priests of Hanuman Garhi performed Vedic rituals and applied ‘chandan tilak’ on the couple’s forehead.

“My long-cherished dream to visit Ayodhya has come true today,” Rajinikanth told media persons after coming out of the Hanuman Garhi temple.

On the ongoing construction of Ram Mandir and its proposed opening in January next, Rajinikanth said: “It will be a grand view.”

The actor left Ayodhya after paying obeisance to Ram Lalla.

The actor arrived in Lucknow on Friday night for the screening of his film ‘Jailer’ that was attended by U.P. deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and others on Saturday.

He also met chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday and touched his feet to seek blessings.

ACTOR MEETS AKHILESH

Earlier in the day, Rajinikanth met the Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav (Mainpuri MP) at the Yadavs’ residence.

Akhilesh and Rajnikanth hugged on meeting and then sat together and had a conversation.

Rajinikanth paid floral tributes to the portrait of the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, the SP founder.

An SP statement quoted Rajinikanth as saying: “Mulayam Singhji was a good friend of mine. I am here to meet my friends, I met Akhileshji nine years ago at an event in Mumbai and since then we are friends. We often talk over the phone. I had visited Lucknow five years back for a movie shooting but regretted that at that time I could not meet Akhilesh.”

After the meeting, Akhilesh in a post on the microblogging site X wrote in Hindi: “When hearts meet, people hug...”

Akhilesh further wrote in the post: “...When I was doing engineering studies in Mysuru, it used to be delightful seeing him on the film screen. The same delight and joy are intact on seeing him even today. We are friends since we first met nine years ago.”

The SP statement said that Rajinikanth also praised the development works done during Akhilesh Yadav’s government.

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Legendary actor Rajinikanth visited Ayodhya on Sunday and expressed his joy at fulfilling his "long-cherished dream" of visiting the holy city. Rajinikanth and his wife Latha paid their respects to Ram Lalla at the makeshift Ram Mandir and also visited the Hanuman Garhi temple. Rajinikanth praised the ongoing construction of the grand Ram temple and said it would be a "grand view" when it opens in January. Prior to his visit to Ayodhya, Rajinikanth also met with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.