Kamal Haasan meets Rajinikanth before political plunge

Chennai: Actor Kamal Haasan on Sunday drove to his long-time co-star Rajinikanth’s Poes Garden residence and personally invited him for the launch of his political journey on Wednesday from Rameswaram.

However, the superstar, who has already announced his intention to contest the next Assembly polls, politely turned down the request from Kamal, saying, “Our styles are different.”

Kamal and Rajini have been friends for nearly four decades after they first met on the sets of Aboorva Raagangal – the K Balachander movie through which the latter was introduced to the Tamil cinema world. However, their paths and style — both in cinema and their personal life — have been different.

“Even in cinema, my style is different and his style is different. But our motives are the same — to do good for the society and people of Tamil Nadu,” Rajinikanth said after receiving his friend Kamal at his palatial bungalow and posing for pictures with him. Rajinikanth’s statement makes it clear that the duo have decided to chart their own career in politics as well as they prepare to launch political parties.

Rajinikanth wished his friend Kamal well in politics and said he would seek divine intervention by praying to god. Kamal had last week said alliance with Rajinikanth was not possible as long as “his hue was saffron.”

Kamal has been indicating that he was not too keen on joining hands with Rajinikanth in politics and his statement on Thursday just reinforces his thought on the crucial question as he prepares to take his political plunge later this month. And it is no secret that Kamal and Rajinikanth’s ideologies are poles apart from each other — the former is a rationalist and the latter a devout Hindu who has promised to practice “spiritual politics.”

As he prepares to launch his state-wide tour as a precursor to his political launch from Rameswaram on Wednesday, Kamal has been calling on “people whom I like” and today’s outing to Rajinikanth’s residence was based on his belief.

“This is a significant journey in my life. I informed Rajini when I took the decision of taking a plunge into politics. Now, when I embark on my journey, I want to meet all those who are close to my heart. That’s why I am here.”

“The meeting is not related to politics. It is just out of friendship. Our meeting (today) may seem something new. But we have been friends for 40 years,” Kamal said.