Was The Release Of Rajini Starrer ‘Annaatthe’ Deliberately Delayed?

Super star Rajinikanth cited health reasons and backed out of politics. But stories and innuendos are still doing the rounds. What happened after he went to Hyderabad for that shooting schedule of yet to be released Annaatthe? Just to jog memories, this mega budget movie is a SUN Network production, and it is vital that Maran brothers get the DMK elected — several legal issues are riding on a DMK win for the brothers and the cousins. According to the tongue-in-cheek waggers, if Annaatthe had a Pongal release as originally planned, it would have given huge heft and traction to Rajini’s political entry and indirectly hit the DMK. So why not delay? And what better reason than Covid on the sets. Many think the penny dropped, a bit late for the star. Things were not going to be that simple, that you get a crazy fan following translate into votes, and snowball it into an AIADMK victory with its alliances. What MGR, M Karunanidhi, and J Jayalalithaa had wrought, endured and survived cannot be replicated. These were very special talents, colossuses who could overcome the toughest challenges. Rajini realised that his health issues could not take on the scorching heat and vitriol of election politics. Better to accept the fan frenzy, sustain your superstardom. Politics is a marathon only a few can run.