"Aishwarya Never Said Sanghi Is A Bad Word," Rajinikanth Defends Daughter's Statement

The audio launch arena of Aishwarya Rajinikanth's next directorial venture Lal Salaam turned out to be the center of controversy after her "My dad is not a sanghi," remark. Now, Superstar himself has come in support of his daughter.

On Monday, Superstar Rajinikanth clarified that his daughter Aishwarya did not consider the term 'Sanghi' as a 'bad word.' She expressed her view that her father is a spiritual person. She mentioned, "Dad is a spiritual person who loves all religions, so why should he be described as a Sanghi?" When questioned about claims that Aishwarya spoke on this matter to promote the movie "Lal Salaam," Rajinikanth dismissed the accusation, stating that there is "nothing like that."

The film stars Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth in the lead and Superstar is making a guest appearance in this sports-drama. Set to hit the screens on February 9, AR Rahman is the music composer while the project is bankrolled by Subashkaran under Lyca Productions. During the audio launch event, director Aishwarya Rajinikanth expressed her sadness when people labelled her father as Sanghi. She mentioned avoiding social media to stay away from posts calling her father a Sanghi.

Aishwarya clarified that if Rajinikanth was a Sanghi, he wouldn't have taken up the role of a Muslim character, Moideen Bhai, in the film. "Let me say this – Superstar Rajinikanth is not a 'Sanghi'. If he was a 'Sanghi', he would not do Lal Salaam. This film can be done only by a man with a lot of humanity," she was quoted saying.

She then stated that Lal Salaam tackles a sensitive topic, and only someone with humanity would agree to do it, expressing her thanks to her father. The superstar was visibly moved after hearing her daughter's speech. The Superstar also emotionally stated that when someone prays for a boy, God grants their wish, but when they pray for a girl, parents get God itself in the form of a baby girl. "Aishwaryaa is my pride," he added. 

Aishwarya also revealed that, at the beginning, it was hard to get this project started because many producers were not willing to support it. She also mentioned that she didn't even consider asking her father to be part of the film, but when he heard the script, he asked her whether he could play Moideen Bhai's role.

Notably, Rajinikanth is portraying a Muslim character in the movie. Aishwarya's clarification came after Rajinikanth and actor Dhanush attended the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, bringing attention to Rajinikanth's political affiliations. The supporting cast includes Vignesh, Livingston, Senthil, Jeevitha, K. S. Ravikumar and Thambi Ramaiah in lead roles.