Rajinikanth was the chief guest at the grand inauguration of the Greenpark Resort & Spa in Madikeri (Coorg), Karnataka and the 90th birthday celebration of its owner, the veteran filmmaker, Atluri Purnachandra Rao. The superstar attended the event to honour the producer who introduced him to Hindi cinema. Also present at the event were Murali Mohan, M Venkaiah Naidu and others. A Purnachandra Rao gave a lengthy speech during which he praised Rajinikanth.
A Purnachandra Rao said, “I have done nine films with Rajinikanth garu. With his permission, I would like to share a couple of unforgettable incidents. Once, during a shoot, at lunchtime, his meal was kept in his makeup room. All of us – the staff, the technicians and the other artists – were sitting outside a thatched shed, chatting and eating together. One day, he came out, carrying his meal with him. He asked me, ‘Purnachandra Rao garu, am I an untouchable? Why are you keeping me confined within four walls while you all sit comfortably under the shed, talking and eating together? Won’t you give me a place here?’. ‘Am I an untouchable?’ – he actually used those words. There are many incidents, but this one is deeply etched in my heart.”
A Purnachandra Rao added, “After Andhaa Kaanoon (1983) was released, the Kolkata distributors pleaded with me to bring Rajinikanth garu to their city. I asked him, ‘Shall we go to Kolkata, sir?’. He replied, ‘Let’s go’. We were both excited by the film’s success. We were at the airport and about to catch the flight when he told me, ‘Purnachandra Rao garu, I am travelling with just one pant and one shirt’ (laughs)! I told him, ‘Let’s buy something’.”
He continued, “Our plan was to go to Kathmandu from Kolkata. Hence, we thought of buying another set of clothes. At the airport, Rajinikanth garu said, ‘Why waste money buying a pair of pants and a shirt? I already have a pant. Why don’t we just buy a shirt?’.”
A Purnachandra Rao clarified to the audience, “Please don’t misunderstand. I am just saying this from my heart. Wearing that shirt, he went to Kolkata, then to Nepal and came back. I am sharing this only to highlight his simplicity.” On a funny note, he joked, “He still hasn’t returned that shirt to me!”
A Purnachandra Rao also revealed, “I wanted to discuss a project with him and I told him that I’ll come to Hyderabad to meet him. He said, ‘Why should you come to meet me? I will come to meet you’. Yesterday, when I said that I would come to receive him at the airport, he replied, ‘If you do so, I will return from the airport itself. I won’t come to Coorg’.”
More Pages: Andha Kanoon Box Office Collection
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