Rajinikanth recalls when Amitabh Bachchan was in financial crisis: 'The whole Bollywood was laughing at him'

Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan are teaming up after 33 years for Vettaiyan. At the audio launch, Rajinikanth gave an emotional speech for the actor.

Fans are eagerly waiting for the release of Vettaiyan, which reunites Amitabh Bachchan with Rajinikanth on screen after a gap of three decades. At the grand audio launch of Vettaiyan in Chennai on Friday, Rajinikanth dedicated an emotional tribute for the veteran actor. As per a report in India Today, Rajinikanth went on to talk about his financial struggles and how he fought back with his work. (Also read: Amitabh Bachchan introduced as Sathyadev in Rajinikanth's Vettaiyan; here are the 6 characters from the film. Watch)

Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth worked together in the family drama Hum (1991).

What Rajinikanth said

Rajinikanth began, “When Amit ji was producing films he broke into a big loss. He was not even able to pay his watchman. His Juhu home came into Public Bidding. The whole Bollywood was laughing at him… The world will just wait for your downfall. In three years, he did all the ads, KBC earned all the money and bought back three homes along with the Juhu home on the same street. He is such an inspiration. He is 82-years-old, and he is working for 10 hours a day.”

He went on to add, “Amitabh ji's father is a great writer. He could have done anything for the influence he had. But without family influence, he came to a career alone… Once Amitabh ji had a terrible accident. At that time, Indira Gandhi had gone to a conference abroad. When she came to know about the accident, she immediately came to India. Only then did everyone know that Rajiv Gandhi and Amitabh ji had studied together.”

More details

In Vettaiyan, Amitabh plays a character called Sathyadev. Rajinikanth's character's name is yet to be revealed. Meanwhile, Ritika Singh plays a cop named Roopa, Dushara Vijayan plays a teacher named Saranya, Manju Warrier plays the love interest Thara, Rana Daggubati plays Natraj, and Fahadh Faasil plays Patrick.

Vettaiyan marks Amitabh's Telugu debut and Rajinikanth’s 170th film. It will be released in theatres on October 10 on the occasion of Dusshera.