Never Felt So Nervous: Rajinikanth on Romancing Sonakshi Sinha

Superstar Rajinikanth, who has been paired opposite Sonakshi Sinha in "Lingaa," has stated that shooting duet songs with the actress was more challenging than doing stunts in the film.

Speaking during the curtain raiser event of "Lingaa" in Hyderabad, Rajinikanth said that he had never been as nervous as he was while romancing Sonakshi, whom he has known since she was little. 

"The worst punishment god can give actors like me who are in their 60s is to sing duets. I found shooting duets with Sonakshi more challenging than doing stunts atop a moving train in the film," Rajinikanth told reporters at the curtain-raiser of the film's Telugu version, reported IANS.

"Even in my first film, I didn't feel so nervous as much as I did when I had to romance her. I've known Sonakshi as a baby, and she has grown up together with my daughters," he said.

For her part, Sonakshi stated that she was really fortunate to work with the superstar in her first Tamil film. She also stated that she felt honoured to work with the "Lingaa" team and also thanked director KS Ravi Kumar for helping her with the Tamil language.

"Lingaa" is all set to hit the screens on 12 December. While the Tamil and Telugu versions will be released for Rajinikanth's birthday, the Hindi version is likely to be delayed. Fans are eagerly looking forward to the film, as they will get to see the superstar in live action after nearly four years.

Sonakshi makes her Tamil film debut with "Lingaa," while Anushka Shetty plays the other female lead. Santhanam, Karunakaran, Dev Gill and Jagapathi Babu are also part of the film's cast.

Despite being made on a huge budget, "Lingaa" has been completed in a span of just six months. Speaking at the event, Rajinikanth heaped praises on director KS Ravi Kumar for completing the project in just six months. "If there's something Ravi Kumar and I would like to give the young generation, it's this that even a big film can be completed in less than six months," he stated. However, the actor said that big-budget films like "Baahubali" are an exception as they need to more time to complete the project.  

The superstar also appreciated cinematographer Rathnavelu and make-up artist Bhanu for giving him a young look on-screen. Rajinikanth also responded to the plagiarism allegations and stated that the film's story is originally written by Ponkumaran.

Produced by Rockline Venkatesh, "Lingaa" has music composed by AR Rahman.