Rajinikanth defends his daughter Aishwarya's 'My father is not a Sanghi' comment 

Rajinikanth with his daughter Aishwarya

Indian cinema superstar Rajinikanth recently defended his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth's comment about him being branded as a 'Sanghi ' byy on social media. At the audio launch of the upcoming directorial 'Lal Salaam', Aishwarya said that her father is not a 'Sanghi' as branded by some on social media. She also said that she would not have done a film called 'Lal Salaam' if her father was a 'Sanghi'. Rajinikanth has a special appearance in the Tamil film whose title takes after a popular greeting used by communists.

In this politically charged environment, Aishwarya's comment was also not liked by some. Defending his daughter, Rajinikanth said, "My daughter never said that Sanghi [the term] was a bad word. She questioned why her father was being branded that way when he is into spirituality."

The audio launch of Aishwarya Rajinikanth's comeback directorial 'Lal Salaam' took place at a private college in Chennai on January 26. Speaking at the audio launch, Aishwarya said, "I generally stay away from social media, but my team often tells me what's happening and keep showing some posts. I used to get angry seeing them. We're human beings too. In recent times, many people call my father a Sanghi. I didn't know what it meant. I then asked someone what was the meaning of Sanghi, and they said that people who support a particular political party are called Sanghi."

Continuing further, "I'd like to make it clear here, Rajinikanth is not a Sanghi. If he was, he wouldn't have done a film like 'Lal Salaam'." Upon hearing her speech, Rajinikanth who was present at the trailer was moved to tears and audiences cheered and clapped at the speech.

At the audio launch, Aishwarya also revealed that it was initially difficult to mount this project as many producers didn't come forward to bankroll it. She also revealed that she did not consider asking her father to be a part of the project.

She said, "When my father heard the script, he asked me if he could do Moideen Bhai's role. I was hesitant initially. I thought, me being his daughter, I still had no right to tarnish his legacy. I never thought about him for the role until he himself suggested

'Lal Salaam' is a sports drama in which superstar Rajinikanth plays the role of Moideen Bhai. The film which has music by AR Rahman also stars Vishnu Vishal, Vikranth, Nirosha Radha and Senthil among others. 'Lal Salaam' is scheduled for a theatrical release on 9 February 2024.