What Rajinikanth Said At Velpari Celebration: His Witty Speech Wins Hearts - Watch

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, who is known for his oratory skills, stole the show with witty speech at an event in Chennai on Friday.

A grand event was held at Chennai's Kalaivanar Arangam to celebrate a remarkable milestone-over one lakh (100,000) copies sold of CPI(M) MP and writer Su. Venkatesan's acclaimed novel Velpari. The felicitation ceremony saw the presence of several prominent personalities, including superstar Rajinikanth, filmmaker Shankar, popular TV anchor Gopinath, and many others who praised the book and its author.

Rajinikanth's Speech With Humour

Taking the stage, Rajinikanth charmed the audience with his trademark humour and candid storytelling. He said, "Knowledge tells you what to speak, talent tells you how to speak, the stage tells you whether to speak, but only experience tells you what should and shouldn't be spoken."

The veteran actor then shared a light-hearted incident from a past event held at the same venue where a book on Kalaignar Karunanidhi was released.

"At that time, the hall was filled with ministers, IAS, IPS officers, and other dignitaries. I thought, 'Everyone's a friend here.' So I began saying, 'Old students are tough to handle, they don't leave the class easily.' I wanted to continue by saying they are the pillars and summit of any movement or organization. But before I could finish, the crowd laughed so much at the first line that I completely forgot the rest of what I wanted to say!"

Rajini's speech at an event had rubbed a section of DMK leaders the wrong way in 2024. He had spoken about how Chief Minister MK Stalin was "managing" senior leaders within the party and Durai Murugan had slammed the superstar for his remarks.

Rajini Continues

Continuing in his playful style, Rajinikanth said, "While coming here today, I reminded myself-speak carefully, Mr. Rajinikanth. Not everyone here is your fan. Some people might wonder, for a literary event like this, couldn't they have invited someone like Sivakumar, who can speak about the Mahabharata and Thirukkural for hours? Or Kamal Haasan, such an intellectual? But no-they invited this guy who, even at 75, wears cooling glasses and walks in slow motion!" His self-deprecating humour had the hall roaring with laughter.

The superstar also spoke about his love for literature, recalling how he was deeply moved after reading Jayakanthan's Yaarukkaga Azhudhaan (For whom did he cry?), saying, "I cried for three minutes after reading that book."

Praising director Shankar, Rajinikanth said he believes Shankar, along with Bharathiraja and Mani Ratnam, is one of the key filmmakers who transformed the face of Tamil cinema. He also wished Shankar the best for his upcoming film adaptation of Velpari.

Rajinikanth On Art

Reflecting on the role of art in society, Rajinikanth said, "Art knows no caste, no religion. The world of art stands beyond such boundaries. And the people of Tamil Nadu have always supported the artistic community wholeheartedly."

Sharing a personal moment, Rajinikanth revealed that author Su. Venkatesan had personally invited him for the event, happily informing him that Velpari had sold over one lakh copies. "I asked him, 'Has it sold more than Ponniyin Selvan?' and he said yes!" Rajinikanth recalled with a smile.

Su. Venkatesan, an acclaimed Tamil writer and Member of Parliament, was honoured for the phenomenal success of Velpari, which has not only won readers' hearts but also crossed a significant sales milestone, making it one of the notable literary achievements in recent times.