(This article is authored by Alar)

In a rare gesture of goodwill, superstar Rajinikanth clarified that his ‘crow-eagle’ story at the ‘Jailer’ audio launch was not a dig at actor Vijay, who is also his rival. Speaking at the ‘Lal Salaam’ audio launch in Chennai on January 26, Rajinikanth expressed his disappointment over the social media rumours that pitted him against Vijay.

“The story of a crow and eagle was interpreted differently. On social media, many spread rumours saying it was against Vijay. It’s so disappointing. Vijay grew up in front of my eyes. During the shooting of ‘Dharmathin Thalaivan’, he was just 13 years old and looked at me from upstairs. After the shooting, SA Chandrasekar introduced Vijay to me and said that he was interested in acting. He asked me to tell Vijay to concentrate on his studies first. I advised him to complete his schooling,” Rajinikanth recalled.

He added, “Vijay then became an actor, and now he’s at the top because of his discipline, hard work and talent. He is going to politics next. It feels sad to hear that there’s competition between us. Vijay had said that he is his competition and I have also stated the same. It’s disrespectful to say that we are each other’s competition. I’d request our fans not to compare.”

Rajinikanth also praised the director of ‘Lal Salaam’, his daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth, and the cast and crew of the film, which features Vikranth and Vishnu Vishal in lead roles, along with a special cameo by Rajinikanth himself. The film also boasts of a musical score by the maestro AR Rahman. ‘Lal Salaam’, produced by Lyca Productions, is slated to release on February 9, 2024.