Rajinikanth says 'sorry' when asked to comment on Tirupati laddu row

Superstar Rajinikanth met reporters outside an airport and refused to react to the ongoing Tirupati laddu controversy. The actor kept walking and ignored the serious questions.

In Short

• Rajinikanth refused to comment on the Tirupati Laddoo controversy
• His video response is going viral on social media
• He generally avoids commenting on contentious issues

Actor Rajinikanth on Saturday, September 28, refused to comment on the ongoing Tirupati laddu controversy. He was clicked by the paparazzi at the Chennai airport where a reporter asked him to react to the row over the presence of animal fats in the laddus.

Thalaivar kept smiling as he told the reporters "Sorry, no comment". The video of his tiny byte is now going viral on social media. Rajinikanth, who is known for his celebratory film career, has always avoided commenting on contentious matters. This was just another case where he decided to stay silent rather than express his views on an issue which has taken the nation by storm.

His reaction, or lack of it, comes amid the Andhra Pradesh government's decision to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged adulteration of ghee used in preparing the famous Tirumala Venkanna laddu. Led by Sarvashresth Tripathi, Guntur Range Inspector General of Police, the SIT will also probe the other irregularities in the case.

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Pawan Kalyan, schooled fellow actor Karthi for allegedly making fun of the issue. In a strong-worded post on X, he told Karthi to be careful before speaking about religious matters.

Karthi, on September 23, had attended an event in Hyderabad during which the anchor presented a few memes, one of which was about laddus. Reacting to the same, the actor said, "Ippudu laddu gurinchi maatladakodadu (we should not talk about laddu now), it's a sensitive topic manakoddadi (we don’t want)."

Later, the actor shared a post on X, apologising for "any unintended misunderstanding caused". He also called himself a humble devotee of Lord Venkateswara and wrote that he would always holds his traditions dear.

Pawan accepted the apology and wished well to Karthi and his brother, Suriya, in another social media post.