Karthik Jayakumar has fixed his eyes on the entrance of Raghavendra Kalyana mandapam in Chennai, like hundreds others. The excitement in the marriage hall is palpable. They are laughing and cracking jokes. It all stops suddenly and the vast hall reverberates with shouts of ‘ thalaivaa ’ (leader) as actor Rajinikanth enters, clad in a the room in his trademark black kurta and pyjama and black coolers with swag.

Jayakumar says, it was the moment he has been waiting for, for almost eight years. Today is even more special. After all, the superstar is not only meeting them after eight years but also posing for individual pictures, which is a dream come true for many.

The actor’s journey from the ‘not so clean’ record during his early days to the cult status he now enjoys, has earned him a huge following across the world. As one fan would say, it has inspired many to turn a new leaf, including him.

But more than taking pictures and shaking hands with the larger than life personality, there is one question that looms. ‘Will their hero enter politics or not?’ This is the question that has been haunting Rajinikanth since 1996 when he expressed his support for DMK-TMC alliance. A mistake, he says, that he does not want to repeat.

Many a fans hoped, they would get a definitive answer. Unfortunately for them, today was no different.

Despite fans’ expectations, Rajinikanth did not announce his entry into politics nor his support for any political party. “I do not support any party and I do not want any of my fans using my name to earn money through politics,” the superstar told his fans. All that he would say was that his entry into politics would happen if ‘If God is willing’.

“Right now I’m an actor and I will continue to entertain my fans. But I don’t know what the future holds for me, if God willing, even if it is politics,” he said.

This one sentence was enough to send his fans into a frenzy. K Natarajan, a fan from Kanyakumari, is hopeful. “That one sentence is enough. There is no one who can be the next leader except him,” he says. While some see him as an alternative, the actor’s ambiguous stand has disappointed many. “Thalaivar has been saying this for years, since his movie Baba. Looks like it is wait and watch again,” another fan, Manoj S said. Rajinikanth’s interaction with his fans is part of a planned exercise to interact with his fans in small groups over the next few days.

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Published on May 15, 2017