Superstar Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai worked together in the movie Enthiran, aka Robot, one of the biggest hits of their careers. The two essayed the roles of a couple in the film despite a 23-year age gap. During the launch of the movie in 2010, Rajinikanth addressed the issue while speaking to the media and shared a humorous story about a man who refused to believe he was cast opposite Aishwarya.

When a man refused to believe Rajinikanth was paired with Aishwarya Rai in Enthiran

The launch event was attended by Amitabh Bachchan, AR Rahman, Aishwarya and Rajinikanth. During the event, Rajini recalled how a man from Bangalore couldn’t believe he was the hero romancing Aishwarya. He said, “I’m not exaggerating. In Bangalore, my brother’s house is there, and I went there. Nearby, a Rajasthani tenant had come there. After knowing I was there, he came to see me. His name was Nandulal. He is some 60-plus. He came and said, ‘Hey Rajini, what happened to your hair?’ I said, ‘Jhadd gaye yaar, chorro (it shed, let’s forget about it)’.”

Rajinikanth recalled that the man then asked if he was enjoying retirement life, but the actor told him he was working on a film called Robot (Enthiran) starring Aishwarya. “He said, ‘Aishwarya Rai heroine? Arre kamaal ka ladki hai (She is a great woman), fantastic. Who is the hero?’” Listening to this, Amitabh Bachchan, who was in the audience and is Aishwarya’s father-in-law, burst into laughter.

The superstar continued, “I said I am the hero. He asked, ‘Are you?’ His kids were also with him and told him, ‘Daddy, he is the hero’. Then 10 minutes, he was there and didn’t speak a word. He was staring at me only. Then okay bye bye bye. Then I hear a voice from outside. ‘What has happened to Aishwarya Rai?’, ‘What has happened to Abhishek Bachchan. Leave it.’, ‘What has happened to Amitabh Bachchan?’, Heroine with him?’” Rajinikanth ended his speech by thanking Aishwarya for working with him in the movie.

About Enthiran

Helmed by Shankar, the science fiction action film featured Rajinikanth in dual roles as the scientist and the robot. The film also starred Aishwarya Rai, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam and Karunas in key roles. The story revolved around Vaseegaran, a scientist struggling to control his advanced android robot, Chitti, after upgrading its software to understand and exhibit human emotions. The project takes a dark turn when Chitti falls in love with Vaseegaran’s girlfriend, Sana and is manipulated by Vaseegaran’s mentor, Bohra, into becoming homicidal.

The film was a massive success at the box office, collecting ₹291 crore worldwide and ₹193 crore in India. Following its success, a sequel titled 2.0 was released, featuring Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson. The sequel surpassed the first film, earning ₹691 crore worldwide and ₹407 crore in India.