Rajini voices support for Kamal Haasan, release of Vishwaroopam

Following a year when the fab two of Kollywood — Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan — increasingly seemed to be meeting in public, the superstar has appealed to Muslim groups to go easy on his “friend”. While Kamal rests uneasy until the court decides whether the ban on Vishwaroopam stands, Rajinikanth sent a hand-written letter entirely in Tamil in his trademark scrawl, in defence of Kamal. “I have been worried by this issue surrounding Vishwaroopam. Kamal has been my friend for 40 years, and I know that he’s not the kind of person who will behave in a manner that hurts anyone,” he wrote.

Appealing to the Muslim groups that were pushing hard for a total ban on the movie, Rajinikanth said, “Though it had been cleared by the censors, he accepted your request and held a screening. This shows how much respect he has for his Muslim brethren. I request you to change your mind about banning the film, discuss it with him when he returns and be instrumental in making changes without damaging the story,” he wrote.

The bond between the superstar and Kamal goes back a long way. After the duo starred in 15 films, including Apoorva Ragangal and Pathinaaru Vayathinile, between 1975 and 1985, they sought separate acting paths — on the advice of Kamal, as Rajini later revealed — for “both of their careers’ sake”. Though Kamal has kept busy, attending functions and film festivals, Rajini has kept a measured distance from the public eye.