Tamil star Rajinikanth attended the 50th Golden Jubilee Celebrations of music composer Ilaiyaraaja on Saturday in Chennai. At the event, which celebrated the music composer’s reign in cinema, the actor recalled a funny incident when Ilaiyaraaja got so drunk that he danced into the early hours of the next morning. Here’s what he said.

Rajikanth recalls when Ilaiyaraaja got drunk

When Ilaiyaraaja took to the stage, he revealed that Rajinikanth had called him before the event and joked that he would reveal everything they’ve done through the years to the audience. “He called me two days ago and said, I am going to reveal what we have done. Once, we sat down to drink. He asked me later if I remembered anything I did. Then he said, you drank half a bottle of beer and danced like an artiste,” said Ilaiyaraaja.

Rajinikanth, who initially asked Ilaiyaraaja to speak about it, hilariously ran to join Ilaiyaraaja and explain what happened. He stated that during the shooting of the 1980 film Johnny, he was drinking with director Mahendran and decided to invite Ilaiyaraaja to the party too. “The performance he gave after drinking half a bottle will never be forgotten. He danced until 3 AM. Then, when Mahendran asked about the film’s music, he said, just sit still and shared gossip about the heroines,” said Rajinikanth, leaving the audience cracking with laughter.

Rajinikanth’s friendship with Ilaiyaraaja

Ilaiyaraaja composed numerous hit songs for Rajinikanth throughout his career. The actor spoke of his long association with the composer at the event and said, “I always call Ilaiyaraaja ‘Swami’. He is an amazing and extraordinary person. Even if the songs he composed in the 70s, 80s, or 90s are put into a film today, they will become hits. I see him as a great man. I have worked with him many times in these 50 years.”

Rajinikanth was most recently seen in Coolie. He will soon star in Jailer 2.