Superstar Rajinikanth late last night returned to Chennai amid fanfare following a month-long visit to the United States. The actor flew to Doha from the United States from where he took a flight to Chennai.
A huge crowd of fans and media personnel greeted the iconic actor at the airport. As soon as he appeared, the assembled crowd went into a mad frenzy. His staff members quickly whisked his away from the airport before the media could even ask him anything.
Rajinikanth and his wife Latha flew to the United States last month for his regular health check-ups. He and daughter Aishwarya Dhanush were also spotted coming out of a Mayo Clinic facility. During his stay in the country, Rajinikanth interacted with his fans and obliged to their requests for pictures.
The 70-year-old actor received a second jab of the Covid-19 vaccine before he left for the United States. He had also completed shooting for Annaatthe, written and directed by Siva. The outbreak of Covid-19 delayed production of the film, also starring Prakash Raj, Khushboo, Nayanthara, and Keerthy Suresh, by over a year. Shooting was abruptly halted last December after several crew members tested positive for the virus. While Rajinikanth had tested negative, he required hospitalisation after the stress caused fluctuations in his blood pressure.
He spent a few days under doctors’ observation at a Hyderabad hospital before cancelling the remainder of his schedule and returning to Chennai to rest. He returned to the sets after making a recovery shot for 35 days non-stop from the confines of a bio-bubble to finish the shoot’s final leg. Post-production work on the film is ongoing and it is expected to release during Diwali.
Rajinikanth had announced his intention to enter politics in 2017 and confirmed that his party would contest the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections in 2021. However, prior to the elections. He announced that he would quit politics, citing health reasons.