Superstar Rajinikanth has donated Rs 50 lakh for the wellbeing of daily wage workers of South Indian film industry in the time of complete shutdown owing to the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports. Several other top star of southern cinema including Suriya, Karthi and Vijay Sethupati, besides many filmmakers have pitched in, too.

Given the recent outbreak of COVID-19, theatres across Tamil Nadu have been closed, and shoot of films, television serials and advertisements are on hold as well. The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) president RK Selvamani earlierissued an appeal through a press release requesting the South Indian film fraternity to provide financial help to the daily wage members of the federation who don’t have an income right now.

Within a few hours Suriya, Karthi along with their father Sivakumar donated Rs 10 lakh. It was later reported that actor Sivakarthikeyan too donated Rs 10 lakh.

Now, it is said that superstar Rajinikanth has donated 50 lakhs, while Vijay Sethupathi has donated 10 lakhs for the welfare of FEFSI members.

Actors Parthipan and Prakash Raj have provided several rice bags weighing 25 kg each. Ever since RK Selvamani had put a request, Kollywood celebrities are leaving no stone unturned to help FEFSI members in need. In fact, it is these members who worked incredibly hard for the success of their films.

Due to the lockdown, the shooting of Rajinikanth’s ”Annaatthe”, which is directed by Siruthai Siva, has been put on hold. The film was reportedly scheduled to release in Diwali 2020, given the delay in shooting we are unsure if films will stick to their stipulated release dates.

Actor Rajinikanth said violence should not be the route to solve any problem at a time when protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) are being held in different parts of the country.

In a tweet on Thursday late night, Rajinkanth said: “Violence should not be the route to solve any problem. Indian people should be united and alert with security and welfare of the nation in their minds.”

Rajinikanth said the ongoing violence in the country pains him.

However, Rajinikanth, who had said he would plunge into politics and contest in the 2021 assembly elections to be held in Tamil Nadu did not express his views on the CAA against which protests are being held across the country.

Reacting to Rajinikanth’s tweet, Seeman, the founder of NMK party in his tweet asked the former to spell out his views on CAA.

Pointing out Rajinikanth’s tweet, Seeman also added that it is insulting the students who are protesting against CAA braving suppression.

Superstar Rajinikanth has a deep bond with Uttarakhand which brings him to the hill state almost every year. He says he finds peace in its atmosphere.

The southern star, who is regarded nothing less than a demigod by his millions of followers, this time arrived in Rishikesh on Sunday night with his daughter Aishwarya.

He stayed at the Dayanand Ashram and attended the ‘Ganga aarti’ in the evening. He also prayed at the ‘samadhi’ of his guru.

Later, he did meditation for some time.

The Dayanand Ashram is situated on the banks of Ganga River and is a unique centre for the study of Vedas and Sanskrit. It is unique in the sense that the lessons are conducted in English. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The ashram was established during the sixties by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, a well known scholar of Sanskrit and Vedas.

An office bearer at the ashram, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Rajinikanth is a very pious man and whenever he comes here, he stays in one of the rooms and eats the food offered in the ashram. He is always keen to know about the activities and programmes in the ashram.”

Rajinikanth went out for a stroll on Monday morning and then left with his daughter for Kedarnath and Badrinath in a helicopter.

He offered prayers at both the temples where he was welcomed by the temple officials.

The superstar told reporters that he had come to seek the blessings of the Lord and his Guru for his upcoming film “Darbar”.

“We have completed the shooting of ‘Darbar’ and I am here to pray for the success of the film,” he said.

Last year, he had visited the temples to pray for the success of his film “2.0” before its release. He has also visited the place before the release of “Robot”.

Rajinikanth seems to be fascinated by the serenity of Uttarakhand. Last year, in July, he had stayed in Mussorie for the shooting of a film. He had visited the Swamiram Himalayan University in Jollygrant and had offered tributes at the ‘samadhi’ of Swamiram.

According to sources, Rajnikanth has been visiting Uttarakhand since the past one decade and the actor says that he finds peace in the atmosphere here.