Rajinikanth donates Rs50 lakh to chief minister's fund for COVID-19 relief

Superstar Rajinikanth today met Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin and handed over a cheque for Rs50 lakh, to be used for COVID-19 relief, towards the TN CM Public Relief Fund.

Rajinikanth's move comes in the wake of similar donations by other Tamil movie stars like Suriya, Ajith and Sivakarthikeyan.

The veteran’s publicist took to Twitter to share the news. "Superstar Rajinikanth met Honourable Chief Minister MK Stalin today and donated ₹50 lakh to the TN CM Public Relief Fund," he tweeted.

Last week, Suriya along with his father and brother met the chief minister and handed over a cheque for Rs1 crore for COVID-related relief.

Recently, Stalin requested public and private organizations to donate generously to the chief minister's fund.

In his statement, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief said the state is in dire need of financial support during the pandemic and promised that the money collected would be spent to improve the infrastructure of hospitals in the state.

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth returned home after wrapping up a month's shooting schedule for his upcoming Tamil film Annaatthe. He boarded a private jet to reach Chennai after completing his portion in the film directed by Siva.

In December 2020, shooting for Annaatthe came to a standstill after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19 in Hyderabad. A day later, Rajinikanth was hospitalized in the city after his blood pressure fluctuated drastically. The shooting was halted and Rajinikanth returned to Chennai the next day.

Upon being discharged from hospital, Rajinikanth was advised a week of rest in bed.

After four months, Rajinikanth finally returned to a film set in April this year. Annaatthe, which is gearing up for release at Diwali later this year, also stars Keerthy Suresh, Meena and Kushboo Sundar.