By Baiju NT [ August 25, 2009 ]
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Theatre will never die: Rajinikanth

During his speech on the valedictory function of Ninaivalaigal, a drama festival organized in Chennai by South Indian Artists' Association (Nadigar Sangam), Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has urged the film industry to encourage plays as he feels theatre will never die.

"Stage play will never die. It will stay forever. I started my career on stage. I have done over 25 plays in Bangalore. When my friends saw my performance on stage, they encouraged me to act in Tamil films. The first thing I did was to come to Chennai and join the Film Institute," Rajinikanth said.

"In 1979, when I started my career, I was denied entry into the Nadigar Sangam premises when I came on my scooter to watch the play 'Ashok Chakravarthi', featuring Sivaji Ganesan. But I’m lucky enough to have been associated with great actors like Sivaji Ganesan, N.T. Rama Rao and Rajkumar. When I told them my desire to start a drama troupe, it was well-received by them," he said.

The actor suggested the Nadigar Sangam should utilize the vacant space inside its premises by constructing a state-of-the-art auditorium. "We have space here. We should not keep it idle. I am here to do my best for the association. Let us build an auditorium here," said Rajinikanth, who honoured M.N. Rajam and Anjali Devi during the occasion. A play featuring Sarathkumar, Radharavi and Swathi was later staged.

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