Tamil movie actor-producer Dhanush and director wife Aishwaryaa surprised many recently by announcing that they have called it quits on their marriage.

The couple announced the news in a joint-statement released on their respective social media accounts, which read, “18 years of togetherness as friends, couple, as parents, and well-wishers to each other The journey has been of growth, understanding, adjusting, and adapting. Today, we stand at a place where our paths separate.”

“Aishwaryaa and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better.”

The couple also expressed hope that the fans would respect their decision and give them the privacy to deal with their divorce.

The “Atrangi Re” actor tied the knot with Aishwaryaa, the eldest daughter of superstar Rajinikanth on 18 November 2004. They have two sons, Yatra and Linga.

On the other hand, the actor is currently busy filming several movies and promoting others, including Karthick Naren’s “Maaran”, as well as the upcoming Anthony and Joe Russo film, “The Gray Man”, to be streamed by Netflix.

In the same month that he celebrated his 71st birthday, Rajinikanth revealed that he has launched his own foundation to help students of marginalised communities.

On 26 December, the Tamil superstar released a statement to announce The Rajinikanth Foundation, which read, “The Rajinikanth Foundation was started by the Superstar of Indian Cinema Padma Vibhushan Rajinikanth to use education of the poor and the downtrodden as a tool to create a society built on Empathetic Governance, Progressive Thinking, Leadership Excellence, Scientific Temper, Democratized Education and Sustainable Economic System.”

“Though we have a Global vision, we want to limit our initial initiatives to Tamil Nadu. Superstar always says it is the grace of the people of Tamil Nadu and the love of Mother Tamizh that has brought him so much name and fame, So, anything the foundation initiates will be started from Tamil Nadu. The foundation believes in the idea of small beginning, consistent effort and course correction and eventually leading to monumental change,” it added.

The foundation then announced that they are now opening free registration for TNPSC Group Exam Training for the “Super 100 Batch”.

Rajinikanth was last seen in Siva’s “Annaatthe”, with plans to work with Nelson Dilipkumar (“Doctor”, “Beast”) in his upcoming project.

After the success of his Deepavali-released film, “Annaathe”, rumours are rife that Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has found his next movie project.

The actor reportedly has been meeting with various directors for his next title, with sources saying that he has been hearing ideas from the likes of filmmakers like Desingu Periyasamy (“Kanulu Kanulanu Dochayante”), Karthik Subbaraj (“Petta”), and Venkat Prabhu (“Maanaadu”).

However, Rajinikanth has allegedly expressed interest in a story narrated by director R. Balki, and that the filmmaker’s project might be his next one.

R. Balki aka R. Balakrishnan is most known for directing the Amitabh Bachchan-starrers, “Cheeni Kum” (2007) and “Paa” (2009). He also won Best Director in the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in 2018 as well as Best film on social issues at the 66th National Film Awards for his film “Pad Man” starring Akshay Kumar.

Celebrities are just like us, as was proven by SJ Suryah recently, who was absolutely elated to receive feedback from the superstar himself Rajinikanth on his new movie.

On 27 November, the “Maanaadu” actor shared the news in a tweet that read, “Today I feel that I got the greatest award for my acting skill. Got a call from our SUPER STAR [Rajinikanth] sir.”

He then addressed his post to the said “Annaatthe” star, saying, “Sir, you made my decade, sir. [Your] kind appreciation giving me a great strength to face this journey.”

Reportedly, the Tamil superstar has already watched “Maanaadu” and appreciated Suryah’s performance in the movie. The film was just released on 25 November, a few weeks following Rajinikanth’s own new movie, “Annaatthe”.

Directed by Venkat Prabhu, “Maanaadu” revolves around a common man and a police officer, who is trapped in a time loop at the day of a public conference of the chief minister and forced to live the same day over and over again. He has to stop the assassination of the minister and prevent a religious riot.

The film co-stars Silambarasan and Kalyani Priyadarshan.

Rajinikanth recently admitted that the movie “Viswasam” was the reason how he ended up working with director Siva on his hit new movie, “Annaatthe”.

The Tamil superstar shared the story about their collaboration in a recent post shared on Twitter, saying that he was curious about “Viswasam” after both his movie “Petta” and the said Ajith-starrer were released during the same time in 2019, according to The News Minute.

“Both films were super-hits and they garnered good responses from fans. I was curious to watch “Viswasam”. The producer (Satya Jyothi Thyagarajan) arranged for a screening. I liked the film till its interval but was still puzzled about its massive success. But as the film progressed, its colours changed and I involuntarily started clapping my hands,” Rajinikanth says.

The actor stated that he then set up a meeting with Siva to see if the filmmaker has a script for him.

“He said that I should play the lead in a film that has a good story like “Muthu”, “Annamalai” and “Padayappa” and that it’s been a long time since I have appeared as a villager,” said Rajinikanth, who then asked Siva to come up with a script with a similar concept.

Siva came back 12 days later with one.

“He only asked for two-and-half hours of my time and three bottles of water. After he completed the narration, I started crying and hugged him. I said I want him to make the film exactly like the narration and he promised that it would be even better.”

Saying that the director really did what he promised, Rajinikanth said that he would never forget the experience of working on the set of “Annaatthe”.

The film, which was released on Deepavali, co-stars Meena, Khushbo, Nayanthara, Jackie Shroff and many others.

After being hospitalised recently to undergo surgery, the great Rajinikanth is now back at home safe and sound.

On 1 November, the “Darbar” star shared a photo of him praying in front of his home temple on Twitter to assure fans of his well-being, captioning it, “Returned home.”

Rajinikanth was admitted to the Kauvery Hospital in Chennai back on Thursday, 28 October, where he underwent a carotid artery revasculation surgery to restore normal blood flow to the brain, just after receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in New Delhi.

Prior to his return, fans of the actor even performed prayers and man soru (eating food from the floor) for his speedy recovery as well as the success of his new movie, “Annaatthe”, which will be released this coming Deepavali.

This is not the first time that Rajinikanth was admitted to hospital. In December last year, he was in a hospital in Hyderabad due to fluctuating blood pressure and exhaustion.

Superstar Rajinikanth’s highly anticipated new movie, “Annaatthe” has finally released its official trailer.

The said trailer, which was uploaded online on 27 October, sees the actor playing the role of a respected village man who seems to be very protective of his little sister (played by Keerthy Suresh) and would do anything for her.

As usual, it wouldn’t be a Rajinikanth movie without over-the-top but interesting and fun villains and action fight scenes, and fans will not have to wait long as it will be released in time for Deepavali on 4 November.

Directed by Siva of “Veeram” fame, the upcoming movie co-stars Meena, Khushbu, Nayanthara, Jagapathy Babu, and Prakash Raj.

Watch the trailer here:

It looks like Vijay, called Thalapathy by his fans, has now become the highest-paid South Indian actor, after saying yes to a new movie for a hefty amount of money.

Sources revealed that the 47 year-old actor – real name Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar – has recently confirmed his collaboration with filmmaker Vamshi Paidipillay for a new Tamil-Telugu film for a whopping Rs 120 crores in remuneration.

For the meantime, Vijay will be busying himself shooting his action thriller, “Beast”, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and co-starring Pooja Hegde. Though unconfirmed, it was reported that his fee for this film is Rs 100 crores, overtaking even Rajinikanth’s fee.

He is also reportedly to star in another project with young filmmaker Desingh Periysamy. Vijay’s most recent movie was the 2021 film, “Master”.

Rumour has it that Bollywood darling Deepika Padukone may be collaborating with Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in an upcoming film project.

As reported on Zee5, the actress reportedly will star alongside the “Kaala” star in a big-budget production to be helmed by AGS Entertainment, and that it could be directed by Desingh Periyasamy of “Master” fame.

The two have never worked together before, and if the said rumour turns out to be true, it would truly attract a massive turnout at the box office.

For the time being, Rajinikanth is busy filming his upcoming movie, “Annaatthe”, an action-drama that also co-stars Jackie Shroff, Prakash Raj Khushbu, and Jagapathi Babu. The actor, who doesn’t do a lot of movies yearly, was last seen in the 2020 movie, “Darbar”.

Meanwhile, Deepika is set to appear in the new movie, “83” about the life of Kapil Dev. The film also co-stars real-life husband Ranveer Singh. She is also currently filming an untitled Shakun Batra movie and another film called “Pathan” alongside Shah Rukh Khan.