Rajinikanth explains why he touched UP CM Yogi Adityanath's feet: 'It's my habit to...'

Superstar Rajinikanth recently faced backlash for touching Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi's feet during his visit to the BJP leader’s residence in Lucknow. On Monday night, the Jailer star arrived back in Chennai and briefly interacted with media persons who were stationed outside the airport.

On being asked about his reaction to the controversy around touching the feet of UP CM, Rajinikanth said that he did that gesture out of respect. "It is my habit to touch the feet of Yogis or Sanyasis and take their blessings, even if they are younger than me. I have done that only," he said.

During his visit to Uttar Pradesh, Rajinikanth also organised a special screening of his film Jailer which was attended by UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. He met Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav at his residence as well.He also paid a visit to Surya Command and interacted with all ranks and families. He expressed deep gratitude and appreciation for Indian Army's service to the nation.

Before Uttar Pradesh, the Kaala star had also visited the holy site of Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand where he offered prayers to Lord Badri Vishal and also attended Lord Badri Vishal's evening aarti. Videos and photos from his spiritual went gone viral on social media.

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth's Jailer is roaring at the box office. The film, which follows the story of a retired police officer using his connections with former prisoners to save his son from a gangster, has crossed Rs 500 crore mark at the global box office, becoming the second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time behind his own 2.0, the 2018 science fiction actioner.

Apart from the superstar, the action comedy also stars Vinayakan, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Vasanth Ravi, Mirnaa Menon, and Sunil among others in pivotal roles. The Nelson directorial also features a pan-India star cast of Tamannaah Bhatia, Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, and Shiva Rajkumar in cameo appearances. (With inputs from ANI)

READ | Jailer crosses Rs 500 crore at box office, Rajinikanth-starrer becomes only the second Tamil film to achieve the feat