Rajinikanth's followers kill goat, sprinkle its blood on 'Annaatthe' poster
Rajinikanth needs no introduction. The Tamil superstar boasts of a huge fanbase and before every single release of his, pujas are conducted, events are held, and his life-size posters garlanded. Some even welcome the films by pouring milk (a ritual called Palabhishekam) on cutouts. But this time some of his followers went overboard with their emotions, which has left other fan clubs disgusted and angry.
Other fan clubs condemned this act, called it brutal
A section of the superstar's followers celebrated the first look of his upcoming release Annaatthe by slaughtering a goat and spraying its blood on the poster. Pictures of this event were made public and as soon as they went viral, several of his fan clubs expressed anger and condemned this act. They criticized those fans and highlighted this is no way to show fandom.
'Regrettable, disturbing to hear, strongly condemnable,' say Rajinikanth's publicists, fans
The All India Rajinikanth Rasikar Mandram (fan club) also issued a statement in this regard. Calling the incident both "regrettable and strongly condemnable," VM Sudhakar, the administrator of the club, requested others to refrain from going to such extreme lengths to celebrate their Thalaivar. Rajinikanth's publicist Diamond Babu shared Sudhakar's statement. Riaz K Ahmed, another publicist, said, "This is very disturbing to hear."
Earlier too his fans offered goats as sacrifice during '2.0'
Apart from the fan clubs, social media users, publicists of the Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee, and animal welfare organization PETA also have criticized the incident. Before this, his fans had killed goats and offered them as a sacrifice, praying for the success of 2.0, a film that was released in 2018. The Shankar directorial did massively well, becoming the second-highest grosser in the country.
First song of 'Annaatthe' will drop on September 25
Coming back to Annaatthe, the rural entertainer will be produced by Sun Pictures. D Imman is composing music for a Rajinikanth film for the first time, and its first song will drop on SP Balasubrahmanyam's death anniversary, which falls on September 25. Annaatthe is slated to release on November 4, on Diwali, and it will face stiff competition from Marvel's much-awaited superhero offering, Eternals.
