Rajinikanth says Amitabh Bachchan asked him to follow 3 rules: ‘Exercise, stay busy and don’t enter politics’

Rajinikanth said at the trailer launch of Darbar that Amitabh Bachchan asked him to stay away from politics.

At the trailer launch of Darbar in Mumbai on Monday, Rajinikanth was all praise for his close friend Amitabh Bachchan, whom he called his “inspiration”. When the Tamil superstar was asked if he looks up to anyone in the film industry, he said, “I have said this many times. Amitabh Bachchan is my inspiration, not only in front of the camera, but off the camera also.”

Rajinikanth called Amitabh Bachchan his “inspiration”.

Rajinikanth has stepped into Amitabh’s shoes in a number of Tamil remakes of Hindi blockbusters, including Thee (a remake of Deewar), Shankar Salim Simon (a remake of Amar Akbar Anthony), Billa (a remake of Don), Velaikaran (a remake of Namak Halaal) and Baasha (a remake of Hum). The two actors share a warm equation.

During the interaction, Rajinikanth also shared that Amitabh advised him against venturing into politics and said, “He told me, ‘Rajini, after 60, we should be very careful. You should do three things -- exercise regularly; be busy, after getting up, get out of the house; and don’t enter politics.”

“Two things, I followed. The third, I couldn’t follow because of the circumstances,” he added.

Also see | Darbar trailer: Rajinikanth plays a bad cop with no rules

Even after almost two years, Rajinikanth has not yet announced the name of his party or its flag. He has, however, laid the groundwork by consolidating all his fan clubs into the Rajini Makkal Mandram (Rajini People’s Forum).

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth is gearing up for the release of AR Murugadoss’s Darbar, in which he will be seen playing a cop after more than two decades. Produced by Lyca Productions, Darbar also stars Nayanthara, Suniel Shetty, Prateik Babbar, Nivetha Thomas and Yogi Babu in pivotal roles.

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