Actor Rajnikanth who was not born and brought up in Tamil Nadu is now an emotion and a legend for the millions of moviegoers in the South Indian state. His fans are often curious to know when the screen icon had reached Tamil Nadu for the first time. Rajnikanth has finally answered this question at the audio launch of his upcoming movie Darbar.
“It was the time when I had completed my SSLC. I was not really interested to study further. However, my elder brother wanted me to complete my education. He even arranged all the facilities for that. I wanted to start doing some job. It was then that he gave me Rs 160 to pay the school fee. I was sure that I would fail the school examination and the money would be wasted. That night, after having dinner, I left my house without telling anyone and reached the Bengaluru central railway station. A train was already there when I reached the station. I enquired where that train was headed to. I got the reply that it was going to Madras in Tamil Nadu,” recalled Rajini.
Soon, Rajini purchased a ticket and sat in the train. The next morning he reached Madras. Rajini noticed that an officer was checking tickets at the railway station. To his utter shock, Rajini realized that his ticket was missing. Though he tried to explain that he had lost his ticket, the examiner asked him to stand to one side. It was then that two railway porters, who saw young Rajini pleading with the examiner, came to them and requested the examiner to leave him. They asked the examiner whether he wanted to put the youngster behind the bars and even offered to pay the fine for him.
“I then told the railway officer that I had the money to pay the fine and swore that I had purchased the ticket. I even showed him the rest of the money that I had in my pocket. The officer looked at me for a while and then said, ‘you may go’. It was him who allowed me to set my foot on the Tamil soil. The porters who offered to pay the fine too were helpful,” said the actor.