As Adityanath is a yogi, I fell at his feet: Rajinikanth

Rajinikanth, a Tamil actor, commented on his act of prostrating himself at the feet of Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, on Monday. "It is my custom to fall at the feet of sanyasis or a Yogi even if they are younger to me by age," he said.

While a viral video showing him tripping and falling at Adityanath's feet before entering the Chief Minister's official residence sparked conflicting reactions on social media, Rajinikanth provided an explanation. While Rajinikanth's defenders argued that the actor, who is extremely spiritual and devout, was correct in seeing Adityanath as a yogi, the superstar's critics demanded to know what had become of his "self-respect."

Rajinikanth put an end to the controversy on Monday night during a brief media interview at the Chennai Airport by stating that it has always been his custom to bow down to the feet of yogis and sanyasis as a sign of respect.

Since Saturday, Rajinikanth has been the subject of both criticism and encouragement on Tamil Twitter, or X. The actor visited the Himalayas, interacted with a number of monks in Haridwar, and met political figures, primarily from the BJP, in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh while on a ten-day tour of north India.

Others on social media criticised Rajinikanth for "letting down" his supporters in Tamil Nadu, which they referred to as the "country of self-respect," by bending down before a person who is 20 years younger than him. Thol Thirumavalavan, the leader of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), too criticised Rajinikanth for his behaviour.

On August 9, the day before his most recent movie Jailer opened in theatres throughout the world, the actor departed Chennai for north India. He thanked his followers and moviegoers for helping to make the movie a big success on Monday.

The movie's financier, Sun Pictures, claims that the first week's revenue of Rs 375.40 crores, the biggest first week total income in Tamil film history, set a new record.