Rajnikanth once shared his neighbours' shocking reaction after hearing that the actor was cast as a hero opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is one of the most talented actresses in the Hindi film industry, whose acting skills, beauty, and grace never skip a chance to send everyone into a collective meltdown. Over the years, the actress has acted in numerous films. Well, one of the movies of Aishwarya, which became a cult classic, was Robot, which was released back in 2010 and featured Rajnikanth. While the leads' outstanding performances grabbed the eyeballs, the age gap between Aishwarya and Rajnikanth became a topic of discussion. Rajnikanth once narrated one such incident, when one of his neighbours was left in shock hearing Rajnikanth would be the hero opposite to Aishwarya.
During the launch of the movie, Robot, Rajnikanth revealed a story, wherein his neighbour was left in shock after the actor told him about being a hero opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The actor said that he visited his brother's house in Bangalore and met a neighbour named Nandulal, who was a man of 60-year-old and a tenant. Rajnikanth said that after seeing him, Nandulal asked him about his hair, and the actor replied that it was all gone.
Going forward in the conversation, Rajnikanth was asked by Nandulal about his career plans, and that is when the actor told him that he was working on a film, Robot, alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Nandulal further asked Rajnikanth who the hero was. He said, '‘Aishwarya heroine? Kamaal ki ladki hai yaar, fantastic. Hero kaun?" The actor mentioned that it was him, which left the tenant in shock until his kids assured him. Rajnikanth said:
"I said, ‘Arey, jhad gaye yaar chodo'. He asked if I have retired. So, told him that I am working on a film called Robot. Later, I told him Aishwarya Rai was the heroine."
Rajnikanth revealed that despite the reassurance, Nandulal was staring at him in disbelief. The actor bid them farewell, and he heard some voice saying what could have possibly happened to Aishwarya, Abhishek, and Amitabh. Rajnikanth said he heard them saying:
"For 10 minutes, he didn’t say anything but kept staring at me. After he left, I heard him saying, ‘Kya hogaya Aishwarya Rai ji ko? Abhishek Bachchan ko kya hogaya? Amitabh Bachchan ji ko kya hogaya? Heroine? Iske saath?’ So, thank you Aishwarya ji."
In an old interview with DNA, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan compared Rajnikanth to Amitabh Bachchan. The actress said that both the actors are legendary and there's no age factor. And it's both the actors' hard work that gets their work recognised. Aishwarya also praised Rajnikanth's humility and tagged it to be a lesson to learn. Aishwarya said:
"Rajini sir, like Pa (Amitabh Bachchan), is a professional and humility personified. There was no age factor. They are both legendary actors due to their body of work. Hence, their cinema becomes exciting to the viewers. Rajini sir's humility is a lesson to learn."
It was back in 2022 when a video of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajnikanth from the trailer launch event of Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 surfaced online. In the video, Rajnikanth was delighted to see Aishwarya, and the latter, who looked pretty in a black kurta set, came near the actor and touched his feet to take aashirwaad. Such a gesture had left everyone in awe.
Watch the video here.
What do you think about Rajnikanth's revelations?
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