Rajini for political plunge: Friend

Chennai: Superstar Rajinikanth has made up his mind to take a plunge in politics, insists his long-time friend Raj Bahadur in Bengaluru.

“He was in Bengaluru10 days back for a wedding in the family. We met and talked about politics for four hours. I asked him if he had made up his mind and he said, “yes, now I am ready, having deeply studied politics for the last 20 years,” Bahadur said in an interview telecast by Sun News on Sunday. He said Rajini and he had been friends for last 47 years. “I was the driver in the government bus (route No.10A) in Bengaluru and Rajini was the conductor.

We have been thick friends since then,” said Bahadur. He said their friendship had gone beyond the bus rides, as they shared strong interests in acting in Kannada stage. Rajini would excel playing (the role of) Duryodhana (in Mahabharatha), delivering his robust dialogues in great style swinging the gadha (mace). The audience would repeatedly applaud his performances.

“I told him he should move on to film acting, as he had immense talent. I said he must go to Chennai to join the film institute,” he said recalling the celluloid history that followed with ace director K. Balachandar spotting Rajinikanth long before he became the superstar of today.

When pointed out that Rajini has not yet come out with a firm announcement about launching into politics, Bahadur replied, “Rajini will make a firm announcement soon. That’s for sure.”